New Open champion Cameron Smith set to join controversial LIV Golf tournament

He's set be joined by six other high-profile golfers

Less than 24 hours after winning The Open, reports have emerged claiming that Cameron Smith is set to join the controversial Saudi-backed LIV Golf tournament. Smith became the first Australian to win the Claret Jug since Greg Norman in 1993, beating Rory McIlroy to the title at St Andrews. His celebrations were marred though as a journalist quizzed him on the prospect of joining the LIV Golf tournament, just moments after his famous victory, leading to an angry response from Smith, who refused to rule out a switch. "I don't know, mate," he said. "My team worries about all that stuff. I'm here to win golf tournaments. "I just won The Open, and you're asking about that. I think that's not good."

Several other high-profile players expected to join Smith

Several high-profile players have opted to join the Saudi-backed breakaway project, with enormous sums of money on offer to competitors. The project has received significant financial backing and the total prize money pot across eight events amounts to roughly £205m. Smith, 28, is also expected to be joined by six other big names in the game. The likes of Tommy Fleetwood and Ryder Cup captain Henrik Stenson have also been touted to make the move. Stenson is expected to be stripped of his role as Ryder Cup captain, just two months after he was confirmed as the skipper ahead of the famous showdown against the US in Italy next year. Other names also linked with the move include Bubba Watson, Marc Leishman and last year's Masters champion, Hideki Matsuyama. Sergio Garcia was the most recent name to publicly confirm his defection after resigning from the DP tour. He joins the likes of Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Paul Casey, Martin Kaymer, Phil Mickelson, Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Patrick Reed by signing up to the LIV Golf tournament. Related links:

• Graeme McDowell reveals death threats over Saudi-backed LIV Golf Series switch
• Paul Casey joins Saudi-backed LIV Golf Series, despite previous ‘hypocrite’ comment
• Brooks Koepka’s LIV Golf switch only makes his US Open comments more galling