[Photo: Getty images]
Cameron Smith has opened up on his Augusta National close calls, describing them as agonising missed opportunities but hopes to join an elite list group of Masters and the Open Championship of St Andrews this week.
Smith gave the 2020 Masters during COVID-19 a red-hot crack when he became the first player in Augusta’s history to shoot four rounds in the 60s, only to finish T-2 to Dustin Johnson.
At the 2022 Masters, a month after his Players Championship win, the Queenslander played his way into the final group with Scottie Scheffler only to fade to a T-3 and watch the Texan grab his first of two Masters titles. The consolation – albeit a bloody good one – was that Smith hoisted the claret jug months later at the 150th Open at St Andrews.
In all, Smith, who was T-6 at Augusta last year, has five top-10 results from eight starts at the Masters.
Almost three years since his Open victory, Smith is itching to get off the one-major mark and become just the seventh player in history to win both a green jacket and an Open at St Andrews following Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo, Jack Nicklaus, Sam Snead, Seve Ballesteros and Zach Johnson.
In 2023, Smith earned career-best results at the US Open (fourth) and PGA Championship (T-9).
“The fire is still the same,” Smith told Australian Golf Digest about his chase for a Masters win. “Every time I go to the Masters and don’t win, I feel like it’s another missed year at Augusta. I want to win more majors, but you have to avoid adding more pressure on yourself and letting go and letting it happen. Augusta National is a place where I feel really comfortable about all the shots, so I want to let it go and let the course come to me. But there’s always that [thought], How many do I have left without winning one?“
It’s an honest answer and music to the ears of Smith fans who want to hear he has the hunger for a Masters win but also an acknowledgement that he won’t force it. After all, it is a golf course that requires extreme patience. Greg Norman, Ernie Els and Tom Kite are just some of the great players who never managed to capture a green jacket.
Smith did not play a practice round Monday (Tuesday AEST) given his Ripper GC team only finished off their LIV Golf Miami teams victory at Doral on Sunday night. He is due to begin practice from Tuesday at Augusta National.
Moreover, Smith, 31, desperately wants to be a multiple major champion.
“Yeah, I mean, there’s, there’s a lot of good golfers that have one major,” Smith said. “The list of golfers who have won two is pretty special. So I’d love to be on that list.
Smith is one of five Australians in the field at the 89th Masters, including 2013 winner Adam Scott, former world No.1 Jason Day, recent Houston Open winner Min Woo Lee, and Cam Davis.
Monday (US time) practice update:
Practice rounds at the Masters were suspended late on Monday morning and spectators were asked to evacuate the golf course due to heavy rain and lingering thunderstorms. Augusta National originally planned to close the course to even earlier, but when only light rain fell, “patrons” were allowed on the grounds for about 3.5 hours. Several players — Keegan Bradley, Matthieu Pavon and Thomas Detry – were among the Masters competitors seen on the golf course playing practice rounds on Monday.
This long-range weather forecast for the Masters week predicts storms Monday afternoon. Bu the rest of the week looks good with relatively cool temperatures mixed with mostly sunny days.
