Cameron Smith admits he must “tidy up” the driver despite returning to the winner’s circle ahead of his Open title defence.
The Aussie stunned Rory McIlroy at St Andrews last summer to lift the 150th Open with a superb final round 64.
He subsequently moved to the LIV Golf League, where he picked up his second title at the Centurion Club outside London at the weekend. Now, Smith intends to spend time in the capital before heading to Royal Liverpool on Saturday to prepare for next week’s final Major.
And the World No.7, who carded a final round of 68 to finish 15-under-par, admits his game needs to sharpen up for the links.
Smith, who pocketed $4 million for the individual title, said: “I feel like I’ve done so much work on my driver this year and it’s really been feeling good.
“It wasn’t its best weekend this weekend. I feel like I have to do some work on that. Even though it’s a links course, generally you have to hit a lot of different shots off tees.
“So if there’s one thing, I think it would just be tidy up that driver, and I’ll be set. It’s the Open Championship, so you want to do your best. There’s always that pressure. It’s still got all the biggest names there.”
Smith is among 16 players from LIV Golf due to tee it up at the Open and he admits his latest win is a welcome boost ahead of his first trip to Hoylake.
Smith, who tied for ninth at the PGA Championship and finished fourth at the US Open, added: “I think it’s more of a confidence thing there. Just winning again I think is nice.
“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. There’s nothing worse going into a big golf tournament and you’re playing crappy golf.”
Cameron Smith defends the Claret Jug next week after triumphing at the 150th Open at St Andrews
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Smith’s victory was his second title since joining LIV last September after losing in a playoff to Dustin Johnson in May at the Tulsa event. He has never played Hoylake before and plans to travel up this weekend.
“I’ll have a bit of a longer prep than usual,” he said. “I’ll put the clubs down for three or four days, just hang out in London, see all the sights, and just have a good time, relax.”
But the former World No.2 knows he has plenty to practise after enjoying his winter following five wins in 2022 year, including the Open.
Smith opened at Centurion with an impressive eight-under-par 63 before a 67 on…
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