Cameron Smith, the 2022 Open champion, is set to participate in the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. The Australian golfer aims to overcome recent challenges by drawing inspiration from his past performance at Portrush, where he first believed winning an Open Championship was possible.
Smith is part of a group of nine Australians competing this week. Reflecting on his earlier experiences, Smith stated, “That was basically the first time I’d ever played really decent golf in the UK.” He expressed confidence in his ability to win and acknowledged a change in mindset regarding The Open.
Smith will be joined by teammates Marc Leishman and Lucas Herbert. Ahead of his Round 1 tee time with Marco Penge and Justin Hastings, Smith spoke about his early frustrations with links-style golf and how simplifying his approach helped him succeed.
Despite a challenging year on LIV Golf, Smith remains optimistic about translating practice into tournament success. He said, “It’s been a really frustrating year… I just have struggled to take it to the course.”
Smith will tee off at 3:57 pm AEST on Thursday, followed by fellow Australians Jason Day and Ryan Peake.
The event promises significant attention from the golfing world as players compete for a prize pool of $US17 million.
