Cameron Smith
AP
AUGUSTA, Ga. — The entire consideration, understandably, was fixated on Tiger Woods.
The eventual winner of the inexperienced jacket on this week’s 86th Masters, nonetheless, very effectively could have been taking part in one group forward of Woods in Thursday’s opening spherical at jam-packed and buzzing Augusta Nationwide.
Watch out for Cam Smith, the 28-year-old Australian with the scraggly blond mullet and pencil mustache, straight out of the solid of the film “Quick Instances at Ridgemont Excessive.’’
He’s sizzling, having simply received the Gamers Championship final month, he’s had success on the Masters (a runner-up in 2020 and a tie for tenth in 2021), he has top-of-the-line brief video games of any participant on the planet, which occurs to be very useful at Augusta Nationwide, the place creativity and execution win the day, and he’s fearless.
Smith, for some time on Thursday regarded like he was about to run away from the sphere. After all, no main championship is received on a Thursday, however after a double bogey on his opening gap, Smith went on a heater, taking part in holes No. 2 by means of 17 in 8-under par.
He received to the 18th gap at 6-under for the spherical, however took double bogey to fall again to 4-under and convey loads of different gamers — together with Woods at 1-under — again into it.
By day’s finish, Smith was one shot behind Sungjae Im. That, nonetheless, doesn’t make Smith any much less harmful for the following three days.
Smith’s dodgy begin clearly didn’t trouble him, as a result of he went on to card eight birdies after the double-bogey slap within the face proper out of the field.
And you'll guess his double on 18 isn’t going to negatively have an effect on him when he stands on the primary tee Friday afternoon for his second spherical.
Smith is a natural-born killer on the golf course. Whereas so many gamers generally tend to play defensively at Augusta, due to the difficulty that lurks on nearly each gap, Smith appears to be like in any respect of these holes as birdie alternatives.
His fearlessness performs as effectively at Augusta as his sensible brief sport.
And his confidence.
“I simply have perception in my sport,’’ Smith stated. “I do know that if I’m taking part in effectively, I could make loads of birdies, and there’s 54 holes left on the market and loads of birdie alternatives. I’m wanting ahead to it. I like this place. I do know it presents loads of birdies. I simply actually needed to get in a groove.’’
He did, displaying greater than a glimpse of why he is likely to be the person to beat within the area this week.
“To be trustworthy, these couple of double bogeys actually didn’t have too [many] dangerous pictures in them,’’ he stated. “It’s not like I used to be scratching it out of the timber. [Nos.] 1 and 18 [were] clearly actually irritating. I feel it’ll inspire me the following few days.
“I really feel like I performed some actually strong golf, and to be 4-under is slightly bit disappointing. However, given the situation of the golf course and the situation with the wind and stuff like that, should you had have given me 4-under firstly of the day, I might have taken it.’’
Requested once more in regards to the two double bogeys that left blemishes on an in any other case stellar day, Smith stated, “I’ve moved on already. The much less you guys [reporters] convey it up, the faster I’ll neglect about it. I’m performed with it. The stuff in between was very nice.’’
Sure, it was. It was dominant.
The one urgent query about Smith getting into the week was whether or not he may need stunted his momentum having not performed for the reason that Gamers. He withdrew from the Valspar the week after TPC after which opted to not play within the WCG-Dell Match Play, as a result of he had his mom and sister visiting from Australia and Gamers week took loads out of him.
Smith conceded to being slightly bit “not sure, to be trustworthy’’ about whether or not the break could have had an opposed impact on him.
“I really feel like my sport remains to be actually strong,’’ he stated. “I stored up with it fairly good. I most likely had per week off. As quickly as my mother and my sister went, I received again into golf fairly good and simply began feeling actually good.
“I didn’t lose any confidence.’’
That confirmed Thursday.
That’s what makes him the person to beat for the ultimate 54 holes this week.
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