In his four years on LIV Golf, Cameron Smith has earned close to $50 million, and now, with the league’s funding clock ticking, the paychecks may not stay as lucrative. But instead of opting for a return to the PGA Tour and facing the criticism that would come with it, retirement is also an option. Is it one for Smith, though?

“I’m 32, so I’ve got a while yet,” he told 10 News AU. “Gee, I haven’t been asked that question before. That’s good.”

The 2022 Open champion is very assured that the league will survive beyond the season. He also extends confidence to LIV Golf Adelaide, one of the most successful LIV Golf events. Adelaide drew over 1150,000 spectators across four days in 2026, a new attendance record for the professional golf event in Australia, and he is adamant that the flagship will return next year as well.

“Absolutely, yeah, that’s the goal. I think it’s going to be another great event. I’m sure it will be a great atmosphere. We’ll have the same crew out there, and it’ll be another really good week.”

As the captain of the all-Australian Ripper GC, Smith holds a 25% equity stake in the franchise. Ripper GC’s director Nick Adams said this week that team values could reach $1 billion, which would put Smith in line for a $250 million payday from his stake alone, and yet Smith has shared more reasons for his loyalty to the league.

He joined LIV Golf in the summer of 2022, just weeks after winning The Open Championship at St Andrews Links, and has never wavered on that decision. When LIV golfers were given a return pathway earlier this year, Smith shut down the conversation quickly, saying LIV was “the best decision” he had made and that he still stood by it. He has repeatedly defended the move. Speaking to broadcaster Rick Shiels earlier this year, Smith put it plainly:

“It was the best decision of my life, not from where the tour is going and where it’ll end up, but also from a life standpoint as well. The extra time I get to spend in Australia compared to what I used to get means a lot. I feel like I’m a much happier person now compared to where I was before.”

For now, Smith’s performance on the course tells a different story. He has three individual LIV wins to his name: Chicago 2022, London 2023, and Bedminster 2023. Each of those victories came with a $4,000,000 first-prize check. He also finished second in the 2023 season-long individual standings, earning a $10 million bonus. However, since then, the wins have dried up.

“I want to win tournaments; I want to win majors,” he said recently. “The fire is really burning at the moment. It feels like I’m getting a lot of confidence back on the golf course again.”

For now, Smith is focused on his next opportunity that comes at the PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club from May 11–17. Anyways, Smith isn’t alone in being pressed on what LIV’s uncertain future means for them personally. His fellow league player, Thomas Pieters, offered a far more unfiltered window into the moment the PIF news broke.

Thomas Pieter was ready to retire when he heard the funding news

“I called home, and I was like, I’m ready to retire on Monday if they pull the plug that quick. And that was like, okay with me, kind of.”

Pieters was clear that a return to the PGA Tour was never a part of any fallback plan for him. He says that he has tried that life and wasn’t happy there, and he would sooner explore the DP World Tour than go back to the American Tour.

He also acknowledged that he is completely fine with not being the best player in the sport, but he understands that he has already achieved more than he ever possibly believed growing up in Belgium.

After three sluggish LIV seasons, 2025 was a breakthrough for him. His best individual finish yet is 19th, with consecutive T4s in Korea and Virginia and back-to-back T8s to close the year, qualifying for the LIV zone for the first time. In 2026, he is carrying that momentum. He currently sits eighth in the individual season standings.

What happens with LIV after 2026 ends remains to be seen, but for now, its players seem confident in it.

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