$100m question: Aussie hero Baker-Finch hopes Smith not lured by LIV
Cameron Smith is being urged by his fellow British Open champion Ian Baker-Finch to reject a reported offer of around $90 million to join the LIV Tour.
Smith, the freshly-minted Open champion after his win at St Andrews, is a target of LIV Tour commissioner Greg Norman.
Media reports say the offer to Smith from the Saudi-backed LIV Tour is worth between $90m and $100m.
Baker-Finch, a fellow Australian who won the Open in 1991, hopes Smith declines.
āI know that theyāre talking to him and to many others,ā Baker-Finch told Melbourne radio station 3AW on Tuesday.
āI hope he doesnāt (accept) because I think he can leave a great legacy by winning major championships and becoming the best player in the world.
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āI donāt think he needs the money. I donāt think itās going to be something he should do.
āItās his decision ā heāll be a $100 million guy or more if he did go.
āDoes he want to win more majors or does he want the money?ā
Smith flat-batted questions about him joining the LIV Tour after his Open triumph.
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āIām hoping that he stays (on the PGA Tour),ā Baker-Finch said.
āJustin Thomas and Rory McIlroy and a lot of those guys that still compete and play well in majors and want to win majors and want to leave a legacy, theyāre the guys I would be following.ā
Baker-Finch slammed the divisive way the LIV series had taken on golfās establishment.
Many critics believe the new series amounted to blatant āsportswashingā by a nation seeking to improve its reputation in light of a history of human rights abuses.
But Baker-Finch was more worried about the potential impact on young golfers.
āThe guys who go join LIV are going to miss out on the grind, what it takes to be a champion, to play in the great tournaments against the great players,ā he said.
āItās hard work. And youāre not going to be a better player by going and playing 54-hole exhibition matches and getting paid 150-grand to finish last.ā
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