MEMPHIS – Right around the time Judge Beth Labson Freeman was calling the case of “Mickelson et al vs. PGA Tour” into recess, Open Championship winner Cameron Smith sat down at the dais in the interview room of the PGA TOUR's first FedEx Cup playoff event to dodge questions about a report that he, too, will soon be joining LIV Golf.
It might've been the most polarizing minutes of what quickly became the most polarizing day in professional golf's most polarizing year.
The LIV Golf Invitational Series was already threatening to dilute the game's uppermost stratosphere by signing contracts with many big-name players, but then it filed a temporary restraining order to allow three of them to continue playing on the PGA TOUR, starting with this week's tournament.