Double bogeys sour Smith’s fast Masters start
MULLET man Cameron Smith says bookend double bogeys at the first and final holes won’t derail his Masters’ dreams.
The world No. 6 and rising said he would instead focus on his stunning eightbirdie blitz from holes five to sixteen in a four-under 68 at a windswept Augusta National.
“I’ve moved on already,” Smith said. “The less you guys bring it up, the quicker I’ll forget about it. I’m done with it. I think the stuff in between was really nice, and just take the positives out of it.
“I feel like I played some really solid golf today, and to be four-under is a little bit disappointing.
“But given the condition of the golf course and the condition with the wind and stuff like that, if you had given me four-under at the start of the day, I would have taken it.”
Fresh off victory in last month’s Players’ Championship, Smith’s world-class short game was on show again in his quest to become just the second Australian to claim a green jacket until his 18th hole stumble.
“To be honest, those couple of double bogeys really didn’t have too bad shots in them. It’s not like I was scratching it out of the trees. Got my second shot into a reasonable spot and just misjudged the wind on both wedges,” he said.
Three-time Masters winner Gary Player joked that tournament chiefs might ask Smith “to have a haircut” if he wins.
“I’d love to see how he’s accepted with that long hair in the clubhouse. They might tell him to have a haircut,” Player said.
Smith, 28, admitted a new strength and conditioning regimen, including sessions on an exercise bike at home in Florida, had raised his game to another level.
“I’ve made lots of good changes, I think, to my body, and I just feel like I’m able to walk off the golf course and not be wrecked,” he said.