Ian Baker-Finch is urging fellow Australian golfer and British Open winner Cameron Smith to reject an offer to join the Saudi-backed LIV Tour.
Cameron Smith is being urged by his fellow British Open champion Ian Baker-Finch to reject a reported offer of around $90 million to join the LIV Tour.
Smith, the freshly-minted Open champion after his win at St Andrews, is a target of LIV Tour commissioner Greg Norman.
Media reports say the offer to Smith from the Saudi-backed LIV Tour is worth between $90m and $100m.
Baker-Finch, a fellow Australian who won the Open in 1991, hopes Smith declines.
"I know that they're talking to him and to many others," Baker-Finch told Melbourne radio station 3AW on Tuesday.
"I hope he doesn't (accept) because I think he can leave a great legacy by winning major championships and becoming the best player in the world.
"I don't think he needs the money. I don't think it's going to be something he should do.
"It's his decision - he'll be a $100 million guy or more if he did go.
"Does he want to win more majors or does he want the money?"
Smith flat-batted questions about him joining the LIV Tour after his Open triumph.
"I'm hoping that he stays (on the PGA Tour)," Baker-Finch said.
"Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy and a lot of those guys that still compete and play well in majors and want to win majors and want to leave a legacy, they're the guys I would be following."
Baker-Finch slammed the divisive way the LIV series had taken on golf's establishment.
Many critics believe the new series amounted to blatant 'sportswashing' by a nation seeking to improve its reputation in light of a history of human rights abuses.
But Baker-Finch was more worried about the potential impact on young golfers.
"The guys who go join LIV are going to miss out on the grind, what it takes to be a champion, to play in the great tournaments against the great players," he said.
"It's hard work. And you're not going to be a better player by going and playing 54-hole exhibition matches and getting paid 150-grand to finish last."
