Cameron Smith has come out swinging in his bid to win a second LIV Golf event this season, leading the event after a hot first round at Bedminster in New Jersey.
Smith put together six birdies, including a miraculous 3-wood off the cart path on one of the par 5s, as well as a bogey, to post a 66. His five under par score was enough to lead Charles Howell by one, with Patrick Reed and Dustin Johnson shooting 68 to sit at three under.
Smith was solid with the driver on the tight fairways of the par-71 Trump Bedminster layout.
“It was nice to come out on a course with some pretty nasty fairways and nasty rough and hit some fairways,” he said.
Smith is at the end of a busy stretch of golf that included five events in the past six weeks, one of which he won (LIV London) and another was his title defence at the Open Championship.
But he still has plenty of intensity.
“Because I want to win, plain and simple,” he said “That’s why we all do it. That’s why I put in the work. I think runs of golf can either help you or haunt you. If you get off to a bit of a rough start in that period, you’re working through something, but I’ve managed to play some pretty solid golf. Other than my week last week (a 35th at LIV Greenbrier), I don’t think I would do anything different or try anything different.
“It has been a long stretch and looking forward to a break. but we have a job to do this weekend.”
Among Smith’s Australian teammates, Marc Leishman was even par, Jed Morgan was one over and Matt Jones six over.
