While the PGA Tour and LIV Golf might be in talks about a merger, not all golf pros are excited about uniting the sport’s factions.

It’s been about a year and a half since whispers of a massive $1.5 billion merger deal surfaced, with subsequent updates suggesting that golf’s internal conflict could be drawing to a close.

Back in June 2022, the PGA was rocked when big names like Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, and Bryson DeChambeau defected to the Saudi-funded upstart league, LIV, lured by huge paychecks even though it put their future major tournament appearances at risk. Joining LIV that same year were Aussies Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith, with Smith riding high off his victory at The Open.

While fans may be hoping for peace between the competing tours, Leishman is quite happy with LIV’s more relaxed schedule. As an integral part of the winning Ripper GC team, the breakaway tour has given him one of “the best years of his life,” the 41-year-old golfer said.

“The fields are just so good every week. You’re playing against some really good players and it’s hard to win out there. Obviously, that’s a box I’d like to tick, to win on LIV individually,” Leishman shared candidly before the Australian PGA Championship on Tuesday. “I’ve put it down as a pretty good year on the golf course and off the golf course, it’s probably the happiest I’ve ever been.

“It’s been the best year of my life. Getting to spend so much time with my kids, they came to a few tournaments and those that they came to I played really well. Traveling around with seven or eight of us, eating out for dinner, and having fun every night, I’ve really enjoyed that about it.

(L-R) Marc Leishman, Lucas Herbert, Cameron Smith and Matt Jones

(L-R) Marc Leishman, Lucas Herbert, Cameron Smith and Matt Jones celebrate Ripper GC winning a team trophy ( 

Image:

Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)

“Playing some good golf and winning as a team – it’s very rare in golf that you get to actually celebrate with other people when you win who are equally as happy as you are, and that’s the cool thing about what we get to do now. We’ve had some memorable nights out and made some great memories all round.”

Leishman and Smith joined LIV Golf for a reported combined figure of £142m ($180m) and have earned $21.5 and $41.1m, respectively, on the course. Their winnings were boosted by their team, Ripper GC, winning the team championship in Dallas, where they are joined by fellow Australians Lucas Herbert and Matt Jones.

However, one drawback of being a LIV golfer is the lack of ranked events, with Leishman currently sitting 914th in the world, having not played in a major since 2022. Smith is 128th and warmed up for the Australian PGA with a second-place finish at the NSW Open and a tie for third at the Queensland PGA, where the Ripper team captain proved his loyalty to LIV by scouting for new talent.

Smith, a franchise owner himself, shared his perspective: “For me, being a franchise owner, it’s something that you look at, young guys coming through,” he explained. “It’s been really cool to see because we don’t get to see that very often and being so far away all the time, sometimes you don’t even really get to look at the scores.

“It’s been cool to play with them, see how they compete, and get a few ideas in the head.”