Cameron Smith – Fishing The Mighty Murray To Land Hopeful First Win Of The Year.

10 months ago by Comments Off on Cameron Smith – Fishing The Mighty Murray To Land Hopeful First Win Of The Year.

Some seven weeks after leading his LIV Golf ‘Ripper’ side to a $US 14m triumph in Texas and Cam Smith tees-up as the star attraction in the $AUD 800,000 New South Wales Open being played close to Australia’s famed Murray River.

It is the second of four straight ‘Down Under’ tournaments for the 2022 Open Championship winning hero and culminating with the ISPS Handa Australian Open in Melbourne.

Smith’s first event back home was last fortnight where he finished third in the Queensland PGA Championship and after contesting this week’s event he’ll return to his beloved Brisbane for the co-DPWT sanctioned BMW Queensland PGA, a tournament he’s won three times, before heading south to Melbourne for the similar co-sanctioned ISPS Handa Australian Open and the event he finished runner-up to Jordan Spieth in 2016 in Sydney.

However the 31-year old’s attention is this week and a host Murray Downs course laid-out close to the Murray River that separates the states of Victoria and New South Wales.

And, as reported by YSports Smith wasted little time indulging his other passion, fishing.

However while the fish weren’t biting, Smith says he’s hopeful of a first ‘individual’ title success since winning last year’s Australian PGA Championship.

“The prep the last three days has been really solid. I spent a lot of time out on the course,” he said to reporters.

“Getting to know these Australian courses, particularly the country ones, is a little bit different, so just seeing how the ball reacts and the bounces and all that stuff takes a little bit of getting used to.

“But I feel like I’ve got it pretty down pat now and I prepared the same for this tournament as I would for a major championship.

“I feel like that’s one of my good traits and, yeah, we’re definitely here to try and win.”

Also in the field is Lucas Herbert and one of Smith’s Ripper winning team from last month in Texas, and with the duo being joined over the first two rounds NSW reigning amateur champion Declan O’Donovan.

Herbert, a winner on both the PGA Tour and DP World Tour since he last played the NSW Open in 2017, knows how much his world has changed since he finished runner-up back then.

Now the soon-to-be 29-year-old, who this journalist was present when he captured both the 2020 Dubai Desert Classic and 2021 Irish Open at Mt. Juliet, looks to win for a second time on NSW soil, having captured the 2012 NSW Boy’s Amateur title.

Though his life now if very different from those earlier days of his career as he informed the media at Murray Downs when he once shared a bedroom located above a gas station with five others.

“There was about five of us all staying in an apartment above a car garage where you take your car in to get service sort of thing”,  said Herbert smiling

“All sorts of noises going on through the night. I reckon someone slept on a couch, but it was back when that was fun”.

 

 



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