19 September 2023 , 14:41
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Cameron Smith has the chance to get his hands on the 2023 LIV Golf title as well as a cool £14.5 million ($18m) at this week's LIV event in Chicago.
Smith is currently the man to catch in LIV's individual seasonal standings, as he sits at the top on 170 points with three events left to play. The Australian star has two victories to his name so far in 2023, after prevailing at LIV London in July, and LIV Bedminster one month later.
His win at Bedminster last time out saw him move to the top of the standings after taking over long-time leader Talor Gooch, who currently has three wins to his name, coming in Adelaide, Singapore and Andalucia.
The next stop on the breakaway circuit's schedule comes this week at Rich Harvest Farms in Chicago, the spot in which Smith secured his maiden LIV crown in his second Saudi-backed league appearance 12 months ago. One year on the former world No. 2 has the chance to defend his title, and has some added incentive too.
Sitting pretty of the top of the year-long standings, Smith has the chance to become LIV's 2023 champion if he secures victory in Chicago, and RangeGoats star Gooch comes outside the top-three. Victory will of course see him collect the usual £3.2million ($4m) prize for prevailing over 54 holes.
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Cam Smith could land a £14.5 million bonus (AP)This time around though, the Aussie would also be handed a £14.5m bonus which comes with winning seasonal crown. Smith could not ask for a better venue for his potential title crowning, as he returns to the place in which he secured his first LIV title a year earlier.
Looking forward to his Chicago comeback, the former Open champion told LIV Golf: "Yeah, I'm pumped to get back there. Obviously, [I] had a good year there last year. I love the golf course [and] area and can't wait to get to Chicago.
Keen to once again impressive the locals, he went on: "I think the fans were awesome there last year. That's probably what I remember the most. And the corn fields, that was pretty cool. But the fans were unreal, they were behind me all week and I can't wait to get back there and show them something else."