Home hero Cameron Smith desperate for first win of 2024 at Australian PGA
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
Cameron Smith, captain of Ripper GC, holds the LIV Golf Team Championship trophy in September.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
BRISBANE – Cameron Smith knows time is running out to bag a first individual victory of 2024, and the Major champion is hungry to get it done in his home town of Brisbane at the Nov 21-24 Australian PGA Championship.
The event at Royal Queensland Golf Club is co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and is the first stop of the European circuit’s global 2025 schedule.
Smith, who won the 2022 British Open, is the biggest name in a field that also includes compatriots Jason Day, a former world No. 1, and defending champion Min Woo Lee.
The 31-year-old is yet to record an individual win in 2024 and has only a handful of tournaments left to change that.
After the Australian PGA, he will tee up in the Nov 28-Dec 1 Australian Open in Melbourne and the Asian Tour’s Saudi International in early December.
“I’d love for my first win (of 2024) to come here,” Smith, who is a member at Royal Queensland, said on Nov 19.
“I would have loved for it to come a little bit earlier. I feel a little added pressure with tournaments running out.”
“But I feel like this is a course that I really love, and I really enjoy playing, and I’ve played it a lot of times.
“I think it’s going to play a little bit different than it has in the past, given the weather, but... I feel like my game is in really good stead, and I’m feeling really confident.”
He is desperate to keep alive a streak of winning at least one tournament worldwide each year since 2020 across the PGA, DP World and LIV Golf tours after several close calls in 2024.
On the LIV Golf circuit, he posted three runner-up finishes and played a part in his team, Ripper GC, winning the league’s season-long title.
At the Majors, his highlight was tied sixth at the Masters.
To sharpen up, Florida-based Smith returned to Australia in October and played two humble state-level events.
At the Queensland PGA Championship, he tied for third and was second behind Lucas Herbert at the Nov 14-17 New South Wales Open. Fellow Australian Herbert is also in the running this week.
Smith is determined to atone for the 2023 Australian PGA, where, as defending champion, he shot a seven-over 78 in the second round and missed the cut.
At the time, he choked back tears and conceded a lack of competition contributed to what he called his worst day in 10 years as a professional golfer.
“I feel like my game is in a really good spot,” Smith added.
“I’ve done all the prep, particularly the last month, to really be competitive. I want to be in contention on Sunday.” AFP
