[Photo: Getty images]
Cameron Smith battled a terrible day with the irons but scrambled around Augusta National to be in contention on day one at the Masters.
The 2022 British Open champion hit just six greens in regulation from 18 but managed to get in the clubhouse at one-under-par and six shots behind first-round leader Justin Rose (65) at the 89th Masters.
“It was a bit scrappy with the irons; the driver felt all right,” Smith said. “I just couldn’t quite see the shots out there and couldn’t quite commit.”
Despite missing 12 greens and six of the 14 fairways, Smith used his world-class short game and putting to make just one bogey. His only two birdies of the day came at the par-3 sixth and the par-4 18th.
“It was a really good scramble,” he said of his par saves. “I think I hit a couple of greens on the front nine and maybe three or four on the back. There was still plenty of good in there. The wedges felt great. The putter felt great. Even the driver felt great.”
Smith say his long game paled in comparison to the final round at LIV Golf Miami, where he navigated Doral’s brutal Blue Monster course to record his first top-10 of the year.
“If I’m going to win this thing, I definitely need to do better than that,” Smith said. “Golf is such a weird game. I feel like my last round last week at Doral was probably the best I’ve hit it in a long time, and coming out here today is probably the worst I’ve hit it in a long time.”
Smith also spoke about the blue blazer he wore in Wednesday’s practice round. The Queenslander said he knew it was all the talk on social media but that he had received
“Yeah, I guess. Funny story, I think — I met Charlie, the Greyson [Clothiers] guy, and we had a couple of beers and maybe even a couple too many beers, and we got to talking about fashion,” Smith said. “He said, ‘It would be great if you wore a blazer at the Masters. I think it’s the place to do it.’ I agreed to it. I’m a man of my word, so I did it. It was actually good, though. I mean, for how a sport coat or a blazer should feel, that one I was able to swing in pretty easy. It was a bit chilly, so it kind of worked out. Yeah, it was good. Lots of love really [on social media]. It was pretty good. I wouldn’t say I’m a fashion guru by any standard, but I felt good in it.”
