Baker-Finch urges Open champion Smith not to join LIV
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 [July 19, 2022] SYDNEY
(Reuters) - Former major champion Ian Baker-Finch says LIV Golf
Invitational Series are talking to his fellow Australian Cameron
Smith but has urged the newly-minted British Open winner to resist
the advances of the Saudi-backed circuit.
Smith reacted angrily when he was asked about the possibility he
might join the breakaway series after he won the Claret Jug at St
Andrews on Sunday, saying his management team dealt with "that
stuff".
"I know that they're talking to him and to many others, I hope he
doesn't because I think he can leave a great legacy by winning major
championships and becoming the best player in the world,"
Baker-Finch told Melbourne's 3AW radio.
"I don't think he needs the money, I don't think it's going to be
something he should do. It's his decision, he'll be a $100 million
guy or more if he did go. Does he want to win more majors or does he
want the money?
"I'm hoping that he stays and leaves a great legacy. I think Justin
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, they're the guys I'd be following."
Baker-Finch, who won his only major at the 1991 British Open at
Royal Birkdale, also slammed the divisive way the new series had
taken on the establishment.
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Australia's Cameron Smith alongside the Claret Jug during a press
conference after winning The Open Championship REUTERS/Paul
Childs/File Photo
While some critics say the new series amounts to blatant 'sportswashing'
by a nation trying to improve its reputation in light of a history
of human rights abuses, Baker-Finch was more concerned about the
potential impact on young golfers.
"The 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," he said.
"It's hard work and you're not going to be a better player by going
and playing 54-hole exhibition matches and getting paid 150-grand to
finish last."
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Peter Rutherford)
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