Reigning Open champion Cameron Smith has admitted 'it hurts' that he can't be world No 1 as he showed signs of regret over his £80million defection to LIV Golf last year.

Smith has also declared the world rankings will be 'obsolete' if points aren't awarded to LIV events, with a slew of the world's best players now part of Greg Norman's billion-dollar breakaway.

The Australian climbed to a career-high ranking of No 2 in 2022, a year in which he won five times, as well as both The Open and The Players Championship.

He has only dropped to No 4 since joining LIV after his triumph at St Andrews, but other LIV players have had bigger slips, with Dustin Johnson, arguably a top-10 player, ranked 41.

Smith is the only LIV player inside the world top 35. 

A petition put forward by Norman and LIV to have their events - which are 54-hole, no-cut tournaments and don't qualify for world ranking points - included in the rankings has yet to be answered.

Smith said he was coming to grips with missing out on a major career goal but declared the rankings would be 'obsolete' if they didn't catch up to golf's new world order.

'I've tried to take it not that badly, to be honest. I think when you rock up to a tournament, you know who you have to beat, whether there's a world ranking or not,' he said in Saudi Arabia, where he will start his 2023 season.

'There's generally seven or eight guys that are in that field that you know are going to put up a pretty good fight.

'For sure, it hurts. I feel as though I was really close to getting to No.1, and that was definitely something I wanted to tick off.

'But kind of the longer that this stuff goes on, I think the more obsolete those rankings become. That's just the long and short of it, I think.

'Do we need them? It would be nice, but like I said, you know who you've got to beat when you get on the golf course.'

But while Smith can't be world No 1 the other aspect of being a LIV player has started to consume his life. 

Smith has taken charge of the all-Australian team, which will have a name change for 2023 and will also get to play a LIV event in Adelaide in April.

'I guess it's been an off-season for golf but kind of seemed like I was on the phone every day talking about something to do with the team, so it's been really exciting,' he said.

'It's for sure been a little bit different and something that I'm not really used to, but I feel as though the longer it progresses, the more I'm getting used to it.

'I can't wait for us to start up in Mexico. I think we'll have a great year, and for sure looking forward to that event in Adelaide. I think it'll be a ripping tournament.'