News24
11 Dec 2019, 12:42 GMT+10
Melbourne - Australian Cameron Smith admitted on Wednesday his friendship with US star Patrick Reed has been damaged after calling him a cheat.
Reed, who is part of captain Tiger Woods' US team at this week's Presidents Cup in Melbourne, was docked two strokes for improving his lie during the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas last week.
Smith responded by telling local media he had no sympathy for "cheats", which sparked a denial from Reed that he had done anything wrong.
The Australian, on Ernie Els' International team for the matchplay event in Melbourne, said he had not spoken to Reed since.
"I'm sure he didn't like it. I think there is a little bit of tension there. I've looked at Patrick a couple times but he hasn't looked back," Smith said after a practice round on Wednesday.
Asked if he would try and talk to him to clear the air, Smith replied: "I definitely won't go out of my way. I think our friendship, I guess, is not quite there anymore."
He suggested though that if Els wanted him to break the ice, for the good of the team, he would consider it.
"You know, what Ernie thinks is best I'm willing to do. I'm here to do a job for Ernie and that's all I'm focusing on."
Reed's practice swings twice moved sand from behind his ball in a Bahamas waste bunker in the third round of the tournament and he insisted on Tuesday the transgression had not been deliberate.
"It's not the right word to use," he said when asked what it felt like to be called a cheat.
"At the end of the day, if you do something unintentionally that breaks the rules, it's not considered cheating and at the end of the day that's what it is," he added.
Woods came to Reed's defence on Tuesday, calling him "a great kid" who would not let the row hinder him in the Presidents Cup.
Smith was not picked for the opening fourball round on Thursday while Reed was selected to play alongside Webb Simpson against Hideki Matsuyama and CT Pan.
Draw for Presidents Cup fourball matches on Thursday between the International and US teams at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club (Internationals first):
Marc Leishman/Joaquin Niemann v Tiger Woods/Justin Thomas - 00:32
Adam Hadwin/Im Sung-jae v Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay - 00:47
Adam Scott/An Byeong-hun v Bryson DeChambeau/Tony Finau - 01:02
Hideki Matsuyama/CT Pan v Webb Simpson/Patrick Reed - 01:17
Abraham Ancer/Louis Oosthuizen v Dustin Johnson/Gary Woodland - 01:32
Not playing:
International: Cameron Smith, Li Haotong
US: Rickie Fowler, Matt Kuchar
Get a daily dose of Middle East Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Middle East Star.
More InformationPARIS, France: Fast-fashion giant Shein has been fined 40 million euros by France's antitrust authority over deceptive discount practices...
GENEVA, Switzerland: A new United Nations report alleges that dozens of global corporations are profiting from and helping sustain...
LONDON/STOCKHOLM: The Persson family is ramping up its investment in the H&M fashion empire, fueling renewed speculation about a potential...
SYDNEY, Australia: Australia will not ease its strict biosecurity rules during trade talks with the United States, Prime Minister Anthony...
New Delhi [India], July 6 (ANI): A grand jungle safari project coming up in the Aravalli Hills is going to redefine Haryana's identity....
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 6 (ANI): The tragic Air India crash in Ahmedabad last month has left many shaken, including actor...
MOSCOW, Russia: This week, Russia became the first country to officially recognize the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan since...
CAIRO, Egypt: This week, both Hamas and Israel shared their views ahead of expected peace talks about a new U.S.-backed ceasefire plan....
WASHINGTON, D.C.: The Trump administration has made public a visa decision that would usually be kept private. It did this to send...
MADRID, Spain: Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota and his younger brother, André Silva, have died in a car accident in Spain. Spanish...
LONDON, U.K.: An unrelenting heatwave sweeping across Europe has pushed early summer temperatures to historic highs, triggering deadly...
President Donald Trump's plans to build a space-based Golden Dome missile defense shield have drawn immediate criticism from China,...