"What will they whine about now?" - Fans react to defending champ Cam Smith becoming first LIV golfer getting featured coverage at The Open 2023

Defending champion Cam Smith has become the first LIV golfer to get into the featured group coverage at The Open 2023. He is paired with the 2022 US Open Champion Matt Fitzpatrick and will tee up at 5:30 am ET.

The news was shared by NUCLR GOLF on their Twitter that described the organizer R&A will feature a LIV golfer for the first time in this edition's event. The tweet read:

"R&A will feature a LIV golfer on Saturday for the first time this week, with defending champ Cam Smith getting featured group coverage"

🚨#NEW: R&A will feature a LIV golfer on Saturday for the first time this week, with defending champ Cam Smith getting featured group coverage @CamSmithLegion 📺

It is pertinent to note that earlier, none of the LIV golfers got featured group coverage at The Open 2023 in the first two days. Six-time major winner Phil Mickelson, recently crowned PGA Championship winner Brooks Koepka and even the defending champ Cam Smith were overlooked in the first two rounds to get a featured group coverage.

Fans, after seeing the news, jumped into the comment section to express their thoughts on Smith getting featured coverage.

Earlier, when LIV golfers were not in the featured group, fans lost their cool and took to social media to criticize the decision. A fan questioned what they (LIV Golf Fans) will complain about now,

"What will they whine about now?"

@NUCLRGOLF @CamSmithLegion What will they whine about now?

Cam Smith ended his day two campaign on T39 rank with a +2 score. A fan wrote that organizers always show players who somehow made the cut and the Australian golfer is the best fit.

@NUCLRGOLF @CamSmithLegion They always show someone who scraped through the cut on Saturday so Cam fits bill.

Another fan complained about not featuring Talor Gooch. The LIV golfer has won three individual events in the League and, according to this fan, is the best LIV player.

@NUCLRGOLF @CamSmithLegion Why aren’t they featuring Gooch? He’s the best LIV player by far.

A fan feels that the organizers featured Cam Smith only because they received heavy criticism.

@NUCLRGOLF @CamSmithLegion Only because they received a ton of crap for treating him so badly!! Not because they wanted to, I'm sure...

Here are some other top comments from fans:

@NUCLRGOLF @CamSmithLegion How courageous of them

@NUCLRGOLF @CamSmithLegion Bout damn time.

@NUCLRGOLF Not many still in the field.

@NUCLRGOLF @CamSmithLegion Watching from Australia we have seen as much of Cam as you would expect and as much as any other player.

However, there was a fan who felt that the broadcasters should focus on Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Tommy Fleetwood, Jordan Spieth, and Cameron Young who are playing well at The Open 2023.

@NUCLRGOLF @CamSmithLegion Why? They all have zero chance of winning. No one playing well. They should focus on the best golfers in the field like McElroy, Day, Fleetwood, Speith, young.

There are two featured groups on Saturday's play in The Open 2023. Cam Smith is paired with Matt Fitzpatrick and Jon Rahm is paired with Sungjae Im. Here are the featured groups and their tee times:

5:30 a.m. ET - Cam Smith, Matt Fitzpatrick
6:25 a.m. ET - Jon Rahm, Sungjae Im

How did LIV golfers perform at The Open 2023 till now?

After the end of round two on Friday, six LIV golfers did not make the cut at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club. Richard Bland, Laurie Canter, and Henrik Stenson were the top-ranked LIv players on the leaderboard.

Defending champion Cam Smith stood on T39 rank. Meanwhile, PGA Championship 2023 winner Brooks Koepka barely made the cut and was in the T62 position.

Here are the leaderboard standings of LIV golfers in The Open 2023:

Richard Bland - T11
Laurie Canter - T11
Henrik Stenson - T11
Thomas Pieters - T30
Abraham Ancer - T30
Cameron Smith - T39
Bryson DeChambeau - T39
Louis Oosthuizen - T39
Patrick Reed - T39
Brooks Koepka - T62
Phil Mickelson - Missed the Cut
Dustin Johnson - Missed the Cut
Talor Gooch - Missed the Cut
Charl Schwartzel - Missed the Cut
Branden Grace - Missed the Cut
Joaquin Niemann - Missed the Cut

Surprisingly, top LIV golfers such as Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, and Talor Gooch missed the cut at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club.