Cameron Smith peaking for Masters before return to Adelaide to rectify last summer’s poor showing

Months after he missed the cut defending his Australian PGA title, Cam Smith still burns and knows just how to lay those bad memories to rest.

Cameron Smith was back to his best at the LIV event in Hong Kong. Picture: Lintao Zhang/Getty Images

If there’s one thing Cameron Smith doesn’t want to do in 2024 it’s play as bad at the LIV event in Adelaide as he did when he returned home last summer.

The major champion is peaking a month out from the event widely regarded as the biggest event on the LIV circuit last year when packed fairways at The Grange Golf Club cemented the Australian fervour to see the world’s best players.

Those crowds were mirrored at both the Australian PGA in Brisbane and Australian Open in Sydney last November when Smith failed to deliver on his headline act status.

The proud Queenslander missed the cut in his home state, failing to defend his PGA title that months later still left him burning just at the thought of his poor showing.

He showed some fight to finish tied for 17th at the Australian Open but still considers both massive missed opportunities on two fronts having been ultra-successful on the LIV tour with two wins last year.

Not only did he miss out on trophies he covets, particularly the Stonehaven Cup, awarded to the winner of the Australian Open, a trophy that bears some of the greatest names ever to play the game, but he also missed out on crucial world rankings points. That enhanced the need for stellar major performances this year for Smith to live out his Olympics ambitions again in Paris.

Cameron Smith missed a rare cut at last year’s Australian PGA. Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

Smith did his best to analyse what went wrong on that lacklustre trip home and decided he probably wasn’t focused enough, with a home wedding in Brisbane occupying his thoughts.

But he also resolved to not let it happen again, knowing he would be coming back in April with a chance to right those wrongs.

“It was disappointing. I don’t know how to put it. It was just sh*t mate to be honest,” Smith said of his poor showing last summer.

“I don’t want to get to that spot ever again, I don’t want to do that ever again. I’ve played so well in Australia in the past and that was just really disappointing.

“After we finished in Miami (LIV team championship) golf wasn’t the priority.

“I was worried about what we were going to do in Australia, I had the wedding, a lot of friends and family come over towards the end of the year. I put it down to a bit of a lack of attention.

“But we are back to golf being the priority now. I’m feeling really good.”

Crowds flocked to watch Cam Smith at last year’s LIV event in Adelaide. Picture: Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

Smith is confident he’s found the best plan to attack the major season in 2024 as well, beginning at the Masters next month, and his form trajectory suggests he’s right.

He finished second at the most recent LIV event in Hong Kong, losing on the first hole of a playoff, with another event in Miami before he heads to Augusta, where he has four top-10 finishes in the past six years, before the tour then brings him back home to Adelaide.

“Last year we only played two or three times before Augusta, this time we have five tournaments and a little bit of lead time going into Miami, which is the week before Augusta, where we can zone in on and make those little tweaks we think we need to make,” he said.

“It’s definitely a better competition set-up this year and better timing.”

Originally published as Cameron Smith peaking for Masters before return to Adelaide to rectify last summer’s poor showing