Cam Smith has openly declared his “desperate” ambition to don the coveted green jacket by triumphing at the Masters in Augusta National this week.
As a member of the LIV Golf clan, Smith joins 12 others at the event, with seven being previous Masters champions. The Aussie is eager to be the eighth victor and the first LIV golfer to claim the title on the esteemed Georgia course since the league kicked off in June 2022.
He’s no stranger to major wins, having snagged The Open Championship crown on the hallowed grounds of St Andrews for its momentous 150th celebration nearly three years back, while captaining Team Ripper GC.
Since hopping over to LIV Golf shortly after his Open win, Smith hasn’t quite reclaimed the peak performance that earned him the title as Champion Golfer of The Year and propelled him to world number two. But he’s keeping fingers crossed for a turnaround this week.
“I haven’t thought about that. I desperately want to win one, and I think it would be the best one yet,” Smith expressed when pondering the prospect of being fitted with the green jacket. Despite sharing a spirited chuckle with journalists about sprucing up his signature mullet for the occasion, the gravity of his victory aspirations was unmistakable.
Rory McIlroy, who Smith outplayed to become Open champion in 2022, is also eyeing his first Masters title this week. The Northern Irishman has been on the verge of making golf history, as the career Grand Slam awaits him if he can just secure that elusive green jacket at Augusta.
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While he stands on the brink of becoming only the sixth golfer to achieve this illustrious accolade, McIlroy’s take on chasing the green jacket is markedly different from Smith’s. Faced with unparalleled expectations as a four-time major champion, McIlroy shoulders immense pressure going into the tournament.
However, McIlroy is intent on minimizing that pressure as the event looms closer. “It’s just narratives. It’s noise,” he declared on Wednesday, expressing his focus on silencing external distractions.
“It’s just trying to block out that noise as much as possible. I need to treat this tournament like all the other tournaments that I play throughout the year. Look, I understand the narrative and the noise, and there’s a lot of anticipation and buildup coming into this tournament each and every year, but I just have to keep my head down and focus on my job.”
As Masters week commences, McIlroy is set to start alongside Ludvig Aberg and Akshay Bhatia on Thursday, while Smith is paired with J. T. Poston and Aaron Rai.
- Source: NEWHD MEDIA
