Cameron Smith will head to Royal Liverpool this weekend for his British Open defence chock full of confidence after riding his red-hot putter all the way to a second LIV Golf victory in London which he hopes “opens the floodgates” for more wins.
While the future of LIV in 2024 remains clouded, Smith will forever be a two-time winner after holding off a fast finish from Masters champ Patrick Reed and fellow Aussie Marc Leishman to secure a one-shot win at Centurion.
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After collecting his $6 million winner’s cheque Smith said his mind was never far from his Open defence and after four days “seeing the sights” in London the Queenslander will head to Hoylake for his first look at the links course where he’ll try and win the Claret Jug again.
“Just winning again I think is nice,” Smith said, tasting victory for the first time in 2023.
“It really hasn’t been that long, I think. In Australia at the end of the year (PGA last December) was my last win, but it feels like forever, and especially the way I’ve been playing the last couple months, I’ve been knocking on the door.
“It’s nice to get one out of the way, and hopefully it opens the floodgates a little bit.”
Smith’s Ripper GC fell agonisingly short of capturing its first ever team title despite the bold showing from great mates Smith and Leishman who played together in the final round, urging each other on.
Leishman picked up just der $3 million for his efforts, his best LIV finish, but he won’t be at the Open with Smith, a sacrifice he made by joining the breakaway tour.
Having also finished fourth at the US Open last month, Smith said that while he still has some things to “clean up”, he’ll hit Royal Liverpool feeling the buzz of being on top of his game knowing the world’s bets players are waiting for him.
“I think it’s just nice to be playing good golf. There’s nothing worse going into a big golf tournament and you’re playing crappy golf,” he said.
“Like I‘ve mentioned, there’s probably a few things to clean up if I want to contend in a couple of weeks’ time, but yeah, it’s still a big event. It’s still got all the biggest names there. It’s the Open Championship, so you want to do your best. There’s always that pressure.
“Just more of a confidence booster, I think.”
The British Open starts on July 16.