Home hero Smith to play Australian Open, PGA Championship

[August 25, 2022] MELBOURNE (Reuters) - World number two Cameron Smith will return home to play the Australian PGA Championship in November and the Australian Open the week after in a major boost for the local golf tour.

The 29-year-old British Open winner, Smith will tee off in front of home fans at Brisbane's Royal Queensland Golf Club for the Nov. 24-27 PGA Championship before heading to Melbourne for the Dec. 1-4 Australian Open at Kingston Heath and the Victoria Golf Club.

"I've had an unbelievable year and to be coming home to play tournaments is the icing on the cake," Smith said.

"I'm so excited to see friends and family again. Some of them I haven't seen for years now and once I get to the golf course, I've got my eye on some more trophies."

Smith's future on the U.S. PGA Tour is under a cloud following reports he is set to defect to the Saudi-backed breakaway LIV series.

LIV and Smith have declined to comment.

Australia's Cameron Smith poses with the Claret Jug as he celebrates after winning The Open Championship REUTERS/Paul Childs

Both the Australian Open, the country's most prestigious event, and the PGA Championship are co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour, which has moved to suspend some players who played in the LIV series.

However, Australian golf officials have confirmed Smith and other Australian players would still be welcome to compete on the local tour if signed up to LIV.

The PGA Championship and Australian Open return after being cancelled for two years due to COVID-19.

Top Australian golfers Marc Leishman and Lucas Herbert have also confirmed they will play the events.

(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Christopher Cushing)

[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]  This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.