“He’s looking out for our best” – The Open defending champion Cam Smith hopes LIV CEO Greg Norman keeps his job

Cam Smith, the 2022 Open Championship winner, arrives at the Royal Liverpool this week to defend his major championship.

The Australian golfer will play with PGA Tour players for the first time following last week's Senate meeting, in which Tour officials persuaded the Saudi Arabia PIF to remove LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman from his position. The Saudi circuit players, on the other hand, backed Norman.

LIV golfer Cam Smith lends his support to LIV Chief before the start of the Open Championship. Smith, speaking in support of Norman, told reporters:

“I’ve kind of become a bit of a friend of Greg’s, I guess, the last eight or nine months. Personally I think he’s doing a great job for our Tour. He’s looking out for our best, interesting. That’s all you can ask of a guy that’s running the show."

Smith was also optimistic about the future of LIV Golf, even after the merger, which gives PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan the authority to disband the Saudi circuit if he so desires.

“Yeah, absolutely I’m optimistic. I think golf is in a great spot," Cam added.

The Australian golfer also reflected on his previous year's victory at The Open Championship. He stated:

"I thought I was going to do all right, but I was actually holding back from tears. A bit of a moment, I guess, that crept up on me. I wasn't like not letting it go. But it was just a bit of a moment that I guess you don't think about and then all of a sudden it's there, and, yeah, you want it back.

"I've been saying to all my mates, 'It'll only be a week and we'll be drinking out of it again.' You never know, sometimes you can play your best golf at major championships and you can run fourth or fifth. Hopefully it's another week like last year and I'm back with the trophy," he added.

The opening round of the 2023 Open Championship will take place on July 20. It would be a 72-hole stroke play game, with players required to make the cut after 36 holes.

After making the cut, the remaining players will battle in the last two rounds for the Claret jug, with the final to take place on Sunday, July 23.

Cam Smith's odds to win the 2023 Open Championship

Cam Smith, with a chance of +1500, is one of the top 10 favorite bets to win the 2023 Open Championship. Smith presently competes on the LIV Golf Tour and has done well in recent tournaments, making him the betting favorite for this week.

Experts predict that Rory McIlroy will win the Major this week. His tournament odds are +525.

According to Sportsline, the odds for the 2023 Open Championship are as follows:

Rory McIlroy +525
Scottie Scheffler +750
Jon Rahm +1200
Rickie Fowler +1200
Tommy Fleetwood +1500
Viktor Hovland +1500
Cameron Smith +1500
Brooks Koepka +1800
Xander Schauffele +2500
Tyrrell Hatton +2500
Collin Morikawa +2800
Shane Lowry +3000
Dustin Johnson +3000
Jordan Spieth +3000
Patrick Cantlay +3000
Matt Fitzpatrick +3500
Tom Kim +4000
Justin Rose +4500
Cameron Young +4500
Tony Finau +5000
Adam Scott +5000
Bryson DeChambeau +5000
Max Homa +5000
Wyndham Clark +5000
Justin Thomas +5500
Min Woo Lee +5500
Hideki Matsuyama +6500
Jason Day +6500
Robert ManIntyre +6600
Taylor Gooch +7000
Sam Burns +7000
Sungjae Im +8000
Patrick Reed +8500
Denny McCarthy +8500
Keegan Bradley +8500
Corey Conners +8500
Ryan Fox +9000
Louis Oosthuizen +9000
Padraig Harrington +10000
Sepp Straka +10000
Branden Grace +10000
Russell Henley +10000
Sahith Theegala +125000