“He’s looking out for our best” – The Open defending champion Cam Smith hopes LIV CEO Greg Norman keeps his job

Cam Smith, the 2022 Open Championship winner, arrives at the Royal Liverpool this week to defend his major championship.

The Australian golfer will play with PGA Tour players for the first time following last week's Senate meeting, in which Tour officials persuaded the Saudi Arabia PIF to remove LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman from his position. The Saudi circuit players, on the other hand, backed Norman.

LIV golfer Cam Smith lends his support to LIV Chief before the start of the Open Championship. Smith, speaking in support of Norman, told reporters:

“I’ve kind of become a bit of a friend of Greg’s, I guess, the last eight or nine months. Personally I think he’s doing a great job for our Tour. He’s looking out for our best, interesting. That’s all you can ask of a guy that’s running the show."

Smith was also optimistic about the future of LIV Golf, even after the merger, which gives PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan the authority to disband the Saudi circuit if he so desires.

“Yeah, absolutely I’m optimistic. I think golf is in a great spot," Cam added.

The Australian golfer also reflected on his previous year's victory at The Open Championship. He stated:

"I thought I was going to do all right, but I was actually holding back from tears. A bit of a moment, I guess, that crept up on me. I wasn't like not letting it go. But it was just a bit of a moment that I guess you don't think about and then all of a sudden it's there, and, yeah, you want it back.

"I've been saying to all my mates, 'It'll only be a week and we'll be drinking out of it again.' You never know, sometimes you can play your best golf at major championships and you can run fourth or fifth. Hopefully it's another week like last year and I'm back with the trophy," he added.

The opening round of the 2023 Open Championship will take place on July 20. It would be a 72-hole stroke play game, with players required to make the cut after 36 holes.

After making the cut, the remaining players will battle in the last two rounds for the Claret jug, with the final to take place on Sunday, July 23.

---

Cam Smith's odds to win the 2023 Open Championship

Cam Smith, with a chance of +1500, is one of the top 10 favorite bets to win the 2023 Open Championship. Smith presently competes on the LIV Golf Tour and has done well in recent tournaments, making him the betting favorite for this week.

Experts predict that Rory McIlroy will win the Major this week. His tournament odds are +525.

According to Sportsline, the odds for the 2023 Open Championship are as follows:

• Rory McIlroy +525
• Scottie Scheffler +750
• Jon Rahm +1200
• Rickie Fowler +1200
• Tommy Fleetwood +1500
• Viktor Hovland +1500
• Cameron Smith +1500
• Brooks Koepka +1800
• Xander Schauffele +2500
• Tyrrell Hatton +2500
• Collin Morikawa +2800
• Shane Lowry +3000
• Dustin Johnson +3000
• Jordan Spieth +3000
• Patrick Cantlay +3000
• Matt Fitzpatrick +3500
• Tom Kim +4000
• Justin Rose +4500
• Cameron Young +4500
• Tony Finau +5000
• Adam Scott +5000
• Bryson DeChambeau +5000
• Max Homa +5000
• Wyndham Clark +5000
• Justin Thomas +5500
• Min Woo Lee +5500
• Hideki Matsuyama +6500
• Jason Day +6500
• Robert ManIntyre +6600
• Taylor Gooch +7000
• Sam Burns +7000
• Sungjae Im +8000
• Patrick Reed +8500
• Denny McCarthy +8500
• Keegan Bradley +8500
• Corey Conners +8500
• Ryan Fox +9000
• Louis Oosthuizen +9000
• Padraig Harrington +10000
• Sepp Straka +10000
• Branden Grace +10000
• Russell Henley +10000
• Sahith Theegala +125000