Cameron Smith returns to British Open with three missed major cuts in 2025 and a decade-low ranking
Three years after his major breakthrough, Cam Smith returns to the British Open with his ranking at a 10-year low and some major issues to address.
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Three years ago Cameron Smith was ranked No.2 in the world and drinking out of the claret jug after winning the British Open in a major championship breakthrough expected to be the first of many.
This week he heads to Royal Portrush outside the world’s top 200 after three straight missed cuts in majors in 2025.
Watch golf’s last major of the year, The Open Championship at Royal Portrush LIVE with FOX SPORTS, available on Kayo Sports.
But he’s hopeful a tough workout in the three-round LIV event in windy conditions in Spain, and ball control work at home, can bring about a turnaround in fortunes and help him get his hands on the trophy again.
Smith finished tied for seventh at Valderrama, just his fourth top-10 finish in 10 LIV events this year, with a tie for fifth his best return.
Stacked alongside his missed cuts at this year’s Masters, US Open and US PGA, it makes for grim reading for the 31-year-old Queenslander who flew straight to Portrush from Spain looking to get more reps in conditions that will demand he be at his best.
“You’re going to hit some bad shots. You’re going to get blown over by the wind. The ball is going to do some crazy stuff,” he said after getting a test of the wind last weekend, albeit in warmer conditions than he’ll get during the Open.
“It’s just stuff that you have to take on and really move on with. You have to flight it. You have to shape it.
“I’ve been working hard hitting lots of shots, been working on my flights and all that stuff at home in preparation for this week or really the next three weeks.”
Former PGA pro and Fox Sports golf expert Paul Gow believes Smith has the game and motivation to contend again at majors.
“I’m assessing his game by the numbers — his driving is not good and his iron play is not good,” Gow told news.com.au.
“But I have spoken to his coach, Grant Field, and they’ve been working on that tirelessly to get that right.
“Putting’s still good, but his driving — he’s only hitting 46 per cent of fairways and 65 per cent of greens. He’s got to take that up. That’s a must.
“He needs to really get that on song around a golf course like this, but he’s an Open Champion. So going back to this event, that could put the spring in the step that’s required for him to then catapult to the rest of the year.
“He’s come off a 13th at the LIV event in Dallas. He’s had a couple of good results there.
“So there’s signs that he actually is playing good, but he’s not putting it all together at the time.
“As much as people want to criticise him that he’s playing enough golf, and he’s probably not working hard enough at it, well I can tell you he is.
“He’s trying to get that game back and they’re working on parts of the golf swing and it’s hard to get it right.”
Smith won’t be on his own as the Open returns to Northern Ireland, with his LIV Australian teammates Marc Leishman and Lucas Herbert having qualified to be among nine Australians at the year’s final major.
That cohort includes Elvis Smylie, who consigned Smith to runner-up at last year’s Australian PGA, a victory that helped earn him full playing rights in Europe for the first time.
While things haven’t gone exactly as planned for the left-hander, who is yet to record a top-10 finish and has missed four cuts in his 12 events, his recent upward trajectory has created hope.
Smylie finished in a tie for 34th at the Scottish Open last weekend, and having begun his prep for Portrush some time ago, by watching the official film of local hero Shane Lowry’s 2019 victory, said he’s feeling geared up and ready to go.
“You want to feel confident by having good results going into big events,” Smylie said.
“So that’s definitely on my mind to put a good week in Scotland to build that confidence knowing the results are there as well as the good feelings that I can produce.
“But it comes back to the work I am doing. I feel like I have been doing good work the last few weeks. I’m looking forward to getting there and doing the work.”
After a shocker at the US Open following his breakthrough Masters win, Rory McIlroy has bounced back with a second place at the Scottish Open, showing he’s in form to contend for a sixth golf major.
Gow said: “If he can’t get himself back up for the Open Championship in his home country around Royal Portrush, I don’t think we’re going to see a lot of McIlroy contending in majors.
“Will the motivation be there? Will the application and the dedication be there? Not sure.
“So this is a big week for McIlroy.”
Gow picked Brit Tommy Fleetwood, LIV star Jon Rahm, and Aussie Lucas Herbert as players to watch out for at The Open.
Australians in the Open Championship.
Cameron Smith, Jason Day, Min Woo Lee, Adam Scott, Elvis Smylie, Curtis Luck, Ryan Peake, Marc Leishman, Lucas Herbert.
Watch every round of The Open Championship on Fox Sports via Kayo Sports.
Originally published as Cameron Smith returns to British Open with three missed major cuts in 2025 and a decade-low ranking
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