The swift removal of Cameron Smith’s name from the winner’s reserved parking spot at TPC Sawgrass when he joined LIV Golf last year was a clear signal he wouldn’t get to defend his title at The Players Championship this week.
Smith also dropped another place in the world rankings, to No.5, ahead of the showpiece event he won in 2022 as one of five victories that put him on the precipice of the world No.1 ranking he now knows he’ll likely never hold.
But while the superstar Queensland won’t be competing anywhere this week as the best players in the world gather just a 10-minute drive from Smith’s home in Florida for a title Smith called the “fifth major” after his win, a resurgent Jason Day will lead a seven-man Aussie charge on the back of a fourth-straight top-10 finish.
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