Cameron Smith RAGES at "s****y" opening round at Australian Open

LIV Golf star Cameron Smith was left to rue a poor opening round at the Australian Open and is in real danger of missing the cut.

Ben Smith's picture
Thu, 1 Dec 2022
Cameron Smith RAGES at "s****y" opening round at Australian Open

Cameron Smith is in danger of missing the cut at the Australian Open after a "pretty rubbish" opening round he described as "s****y". 

LIV Golf star Smith, 29, did manage to show us some magic over his first 18 holes when he produced this remarkable shot from a horrid lie. 

But in the end he laboured to an opening round of 1-over par 71 at Kingston Heath Golf Club in front of thousands of fans who lined the fairways.

Related: Cam Smith laments missing out on World No.1 spot

Smith - who was filmed partying hard after his Australian PGA Championship victory last week - opened with a birdie at No.1. 

Consecutive bogeys at No. 6 and 7 put him well off the pace but a bounce back birdie at 9 meant he turned in level par. 

On the home stretch the champion golfer of the year made bogey at 12, birdied 15 but dropped another shot on his penultimate hole of the day. 

His miserable day was summed up when he had to take a penalty stroke at the final hole when his tee shot found an unplayable lie. 

It has left Smith eight strokes off the early leader David Micheluzzi, who notched eight birdies on his way to a scorching opening round of 63. 

Smith needs to be inside the top 70 players by the end of play on Friday. The tournament is being played with men and women in the field for the very first time. 

There is also a second cut on Saturday to 30 players so as to allow the women's and all-abilities fields into the championship.

The champion golfer of the year told the media: 

"It was all pretty rubbish to be honest. That's as bad as I've played in a long time. It was pretty shitty.
"The course was pretty difficult, the conditions were pretty difficult, but still I need to be better than that."

He added: 

"I think I had some delayed tiredness, maybe did feel a little bit foggy and stuff out there at times.
"It's not really an excuse. You know, it's my job to do all that stuff."

Grace Kim leads the women's field with a 7-under 66 opener. Kim is a 21-year-old pro who has recently earned her LPGA Tour card. 

The 2022 U.S. Open champion Mingee Lee - who is the sister of Min Woo Lee - has made a steady start with an opening round of 2-under. 

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Next page: Cameron Smith leaps to defence of Greg Norman