Cam Smith Says 'Keyboard Warriors' Made His Decision To Join LIV Golf More Difficult Following Win At St. Andrews

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Cam Smith fired a bogey-free, eight-under 64 to win the 2022 Open at St. Andrews in what was one of the more exciting major finishes in quite some time. While the golf that Sunday was nothing short of incredible, rumors about the Aussie joining LIV Golf were rampant, and they ultimately turned out to be entirely accurate.

Speaking ahead of this week's LIV event at Centurion, Smith spoke about winning his first major title last year at the home of golf. He made it clear that he didn't appreciate the questions he received from the "keyboard warriors" about potentially joining LIV mere minutes after hoisting the Claret Jug. Some of the things written by said "warriors" made his decision that much more difficult.

"I think, like you said, perhaps a little bit overshadowed that I'd probably just won the biggest tournament that I'll ever play in and someone was asking that," Smith explained.

"But as I look back on that, it's just a guy trying to do his job. I suppose it was a little bit harder from then onwards, definitely whilst making the decision, just some nasty stuff, I suppose, said by the keyboard warriors. I knew it was going to be tough, but I feel since I made the decision, I made the right one."

Cam Smith Can't Defend His Title At The Players, But May Stil Show Up

Cam Smith didn't appreciate some of the 'keyboard warriors' criticizing his move to LIV Golf. (Photo by Luke Walker/WME IMG/WME IMG via Getty Images)

Smith won The Open on July 17, 2022, and officially joined LIV on August 30, just 44 days later.

This is a classic scenario that two things can be true at once.

Smith had every right to be frustrated while being hounded with questions about potentially joining LIV minutes after winning the biggest tournament of his career. The reporters asking questions about him joining the Saudi-backed circuit had every right to do so as well.

Last July, nobody had a clue what the world of professional golf was going to look like, and the fact that one of the best young players on the planet who picked up three wins in 2022 was about to bolt for the PGA Tour's rival circuit was arguably a bigger story than him actually winning The Open.

The "keyboard warriors" Smith is referring to have to be the golf fans and media members acting as if the sport was going to disappear because some of the best players in the world were taking hundreds of millions of dollars to play the sport in a different league.

Also, it's refreshing to hear a professional athlete admit that reporters and fans influenced their decision process a bit. It's easy to forget pro athletes get influenced by outside sources.

Follow Mark Harris on Twitter @ItIsMarkHarris

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.