Home hero Smith to play Australian Open, PGA Championship

The British Open winner, Smith will tee off in front of home fans at Brisbane's Royal Queensland Golf Club for the November 24th-27th PGA Championship before heading to Melbourne for the December 1st-4th Australian Open at Kingston Heath and the Victoria Golf Club.

"I've had an unbelievable year and to be coming home to play tournaments is the icing on the cake," Smith said.

"I'm so excited to see friends and family again. Some of them I haven't seen for years now and once I get to the golf course, I've got my eye on some more trophies."

Smith's future on the US PGA Tour is under a cloud following reports he is set to defect to the Saudi-backed breakaway LIV series.

LIV and Smith have declined to comment.

Both the Australian Open, the country's most prestigious event, and the PGA Championship are co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour, which has moved to suspend some players who played in the LIV series.

However, Australian golf officials have confirmed Smith and other Australian players would still be welcome to compete on the local tour if signed up to LIV.

The PGA Championship and Australian Open return after being cancelled for two years due to COVID-19. Top Australian golfers Marc Leishman and Lucas Herbert have also confirmed they will play the events.