The animosity between the PGA Tour and the controversial Saudi-backed LIV Golf Series is real. So, too, is the pettiness.
Among the perks of winning the Players Championship — the flagship tournament on the Tour — is the reigning champ having a reserved parking spot with his name on it in front of TPC Sawgrass’ clubhouse for a year. PGA Tour members also get playing privileges at the Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., course, which is just down the street from the tour’s headquarters. But both of those have been yanked from Cameron Smith after he bolted for LIV last week.
The parking spot sign for Smith, who won the Players in March, has been replaced with a generic one that reads, “Tour players only.”
“If they go to LIV they don’t have any of their [PGA] Tour privileges at TPC properties,” TPC Sawgrass general manager Derek Sprague told Golfweek.
Smith — who lives a few miles from TPC Sawgrass and had practiced at the venue regularly since moving to the area in 2015 — did not immediately responded to a message from The Post. But a source close to the Aussie did confirm to The Post that LIV golfers no longer have member benefits at any TPC venue, including Sawgrass, and that the parking spot had been taken away from Smith, who, like the other golfers from LIV have been suspended by the tour.
That’s not all.
Cameron Smith Getty Images
Cameron Smith won the PGA Tour’s Players Championship in March. ERIK S LESSER/EPA-EFE/ShutterstoA replica bag with Smith’s winning clubs was also removed from the pro shop at TPC Sawgrass, according to Golfweek. Photos of the Aussie that previously adorned the walls of the sprawling clubhouse have also been taken down.
Meanwhile, Smith, who won the British Open in July to climb to No. 2 in the world, made his LIV debut last week outside Boston, where he tied for fourth. He also finished T-6 as part of the team competition.
