Cam Smith sets sights on Masters glory and Olympic tracksuit

Cam Smith admits he’s desperate for a green jacket and Olympic berth in his make-or-break bid for the Paris Games at next week’s US Masters.

Cameron Smith is eyeing a green jacket at Augusta National – and a spot at the Olympics. Picture: Getty Images

In the name of the father, the son, Greg Norman, Amen Corner, three-putts, pine needles, Eisenhower Tree, the sloping fairways, slippery greens, Ike’s Pond and Rae’s Creek, another US Masters is nearly upon us. Here we go again. Australia’s curse of Augusta National was broken by Adam Scott in 2013 but green jackets haven’t exactly been flying off the rack in Butler Cabin.

The famously fancy club at 2604 Washington Rd sounds a decent joint. I’ve heard grizzled old sports writers get a song in their hearts and chirp of the place, “It’s a wonderland!” Not a blade of grass is unkempt. Litterers are taken out the back and shot. Six Australians will be teeing it up from April 11 and one of them is a knockabout fellow by the name of Cam Smith.

He’s the affable chap who won the Claret Jug as The Open champion at St Andrews. A Masters victory will give Smith the two most cherished prizes in the sport and perhaps tempt him to deploy the ‘Gone fishing’ sign forever.

“Oh, mate, it would be unreal,” he told Australian reporters in a Zoom call from the US on Tuesday. “The Open at St Andrews is pretty special but I think to double it up with a green jacket would just really be unbelievable, eh? It’s the place I grew up watching. I didn’t miss a shot there from when I was about five or six years old all the way through to before I turned pro. It’s just such a cool place and to have the opportunity to do it for my sixth or seventh time there now, I desperately want to get it. It’d be awesome if I did.”

Smith’s had a swing at seven Masters. His record is a ripper. He’s come second, third, fourth and fifth at a layout clearly to his liking. He was undercooked last year because of a lack of pre-Masters LIV Golf tournaments and finished 34th. He shot an exquisite 13-under-par to run second in Hong Kong last month and plays again at Donald Trump’s Doral course at Miami from Wednesday.

“It’s definitely one of the things we spoke about as a whole (LIV) group last year,” he said. “We only got to play three events before the Masters. This will be our fifth event of the year so there’s a little bit more tournament time. Just being competitive will help a lot but also just picking the clubs up a little bit earlier. There were a few things that needed to change and they changed it. It’s been great for us.”

He said of the 18 holes at 2604 Washington Rd: “It’s generally a place I’ve always felt comfortable around. At the start of the year the Masters is definitely the thing that’s on your mind the most. As soon as the new year begins, as soon as you pick the clubs back up after Christmas, you’re straight into it and you’re definitely thinking about it. We’ve just had three weeks off, and in those three weeks I’ve been trying to get out on the course a little more and really focus on some shot-shaping and control of flight, which is crucial for playing good around there.”

Smith’s first drive next week will be behind the wheel of a car. Three-hundred-and-thirty yards straight down Magnolia Lane, where he’ll be joined by fellow Australians Scott, Jason Day, Min Woo Lee, Cam Davis and amateur Jasper Stubbs.

“The first time you go there you expect the course to be just brutally hard on every hole,” Smith said. “But if you play it correctly there’s actually quite a few birdie opportunities. It seems like it’s one of those courses where you can almost birdie every hole but you can make a bogey or a double on every hole pretty quickly. It’s not as much of a grind as it’s almost made out to be. It’s just a very hard golf course to kind of get right.”

Spain’s Jon Rahm is the defending champion and LIV Golf’s newest recruit. The Masters is a bastion of traditionalism and it’s to be seen whether Rahm is embraced upon his return or razzed for defecting to the rebel league.

“I think he’ll get the reception he deserves, just like any champion there,” Smith said. “Augusta is world-class with everything they do. I wouldn’t expect them to do anything just because he’s come to LIV. I think they respect all their champions.”

The mooted merger between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour is moving slower than a group of hackers in a Thursday morning fourball. Asked if he would be prepared to “dock the boat” and return to a more strenuous tournament schedule in the name of a merger, Smith replied: “There’s a lot of really happy guys on our side. For myself, I’ve got another four or five weeks off every year … to spend more time in Australia. I don’t know if I’d be willing to sacrifice being away from my family as much as I have in the past. What’s happened in the last couple of years, it’s been so nice. If it means playing more, I think it (a merger) is going to be a tough sell. I’m a golfer, I just want to play golf, and I’m happy playing out here. I’m not sure playing more golf would be the answer.”

The backdrop to Smith’s pursuit of the green jacket is his ­attempt to secure an Olympics tracksuit for the Paris Games. Ineligible for ranking points at LIV Golf events, he’s fallen to 62nd in the world and fifth among Australians. The top two will be selected for Paris. Smith trails Day (world No.22), Lee (No.32,) Scott (No.52) and Davis (No.60). The Masters is probably make or break for Smith’s Olympic aspirations.

“I knew it was going to happen,” he said. “It’s definitely been in the back of my mind. It’s desperately a place that I want to get to and represent Australia. I don’t know about there being more pressure. It’s been a long time since I’ve looked at those rankings but I just know there’s a little bit of work to be done. I know I have to play well, and I’m probably only going to get three or four shots at it before they make the selection. So I guess there is more pressure.”