Smith slams ‘BS’ LIV sledge after Masters carnage with no defectors making top five

Australian Cameron Smith has taken a swipe at LIV Golf critics, blasting rumours about the circuit’s stars - while making a ‘crazy’ prediction about his own Masters future.

Falling short again at the Masters, Australian star Cameron Smith says the clock is ticking on his green jacket dreams.

Smith finished tied for sixth - his fifth top 10 in his last seven starts at Augusta National.

“I mean I’m 30 years old now,” Smith said after a final round 71, finishing nine shots back of winner Scottie Scheffler.

“I know that sounds crazy but there’s going to be a point in my career where things start to go the other way and I’d like to think that I am still on the up and can still compete with the best golfers in the world but it’s just, you know, time ticks on and there’s only one of these a year - so you’ve got to make the most of it.”

Smith holed out for eagle from the bunker at the second to make a fleeting run, but never made a birdie.

“That was a great start - the start that I needed,” he said.

Can Cameron Smith get his hands on a green jacket before his career ends? Picture: Getty Images

“I hit two good shots in there and then two good shots into the next and it just goes over the back, and it’s probably another birdie hole.

“I feel like I hit a lot of good shots to just outside that birdie range over the weekend.

“If the ball went three or four or five foot closer it would probably be a different story, but it didn’t.

“I made a few up and downs today to keep the momentum going but just couldn’t get anything going, particularly over the weekend when the wind started to die off. I wouldn’t say the golf course got any easier but it could have been a lot better.

“I was putting good. I hit lots of good putts, I was saying to my coach, probably the putt that I hit on the last yesterday was the only bad one that I hit to be fair - other than that the greens are just tricky and with the wind it’s hard to match up the speed and the line.”

Asked about suggestions LIV players had less of a competitive edge than their PGA Tour rivals, Smith said: “No. No, that’s BS.”

Last year’s winner Jon Rahm finished tied 45th, shooting nine over par. Picture: Getty Images

But he said an untimely bout of food poisoning at last week’s LIV event in Miami had impacted on his preparation.

“I think the adrenaline definitely kept me going out on the golf course,” Smith said.

“The start of the week was definitely a struggle and I didn’t prep the way that I wanted to - but I hit the ball really good, did everything good, it just didn’t quite all go to plan.”

Smith will now head to Adelaide for this month’s LIV event.

“It is a massive week for us, dreaming of a team win down there would be something pretty special,” he said.

“I’m playing some really good golf. Just got to travel over to Australia, do all the right things and really keep on top of the game. I just need those putts to go in basically.”

Originally published as Smith slams ‘BS’ LIV sledge after Masters carnage with no defectors making top five