Cam Smith has poured cold water on the notion that he and his fellow LIV players won’t be competitive at next week’s Masters.
Ahead of the LIV Orlando event which starts today [Friday], Smith fired back at critics of the Saudi-backed series who’ve labelled the league as nothing but an exhibition – its guaranteed money contributing to a diluted culture of competition that could mean far from ideal preparation for golf’s four majors.
“Most of us [LIV golfers] will get four cracks at it this year [in majors], and hopefully we can get a win out of it,” Smith said.
“Maybe we just show a really hearty effort. I think for us, internally, it’s the right thing. There’s a lot of chatter going around about ‘these guys don’t play real golf anymore’ and I think it’s BS to be honest and we just want to show people that.”
By his own lofty standards, Smith has failed to reach the heights of his Open Championship winning form of last year this term. Confessing that his extended off-season may have been slightly too much time away from the clubs, Smith missed the halfway cut in Saudi in January and has finished sixth and 26th at LIV’s opening two 48-man events.
That’s not to say a return to Augusta won’t help him find a spark; the Aussie clearly right at home at the George gem having registered four top-10s at Augusta, including a podium finish behind Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy last year.
“First and foremost for me, I’m trying to go there and play the best golf I can,” Smith said.
“Is it important for LIV [golfers to play well at the majors]? … I think it is important for us to go there and really show a high standard of golf, which we know we’re all capable of.”
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