“As bad as I’ve played in a long time” - Cameron Smith unhappy with 'rubbish' start at ISPS Handa Australian Open

Cameron Smith has had a resounding start to 2022, becoming the fifth Australian golfer to win The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass and then winning the first major of his career at The Open Championship. However, the star golfer is in danger of missing the cut at the ongoing ISPS Handa Australian Open.

Smith hit a "rubbish" one-over in his opening round on Thursday at Victoria Golf Club. Speaking about his 1-over-71, Cameron said:

"That is as bad as I've played in a long time. It was pretty (expletive). "

The Australian golfer, who has been playing in his home country, went on to say:

"I think the course was pretty difficult, the conditions were pretty difficult, but I need to be better than that."

Cameron Smith won the Australian PGA Tour Championship last week and hopes to claim the Australian Open. Now it seems quite difficult for him to make the cut at the tournament.

Cameron Smith (Image via Getty)

The golfer believed it was a bad day, as he further explained:

"Maybe some delayed tiredness. I did feel a little bit foggy out there at times, but it's not really an excuse, it's my job to do all that stuff."

He went on to say:

"It's not like I don't know how to play golf, it was just a bit of a bad day."

It is important to note that Cameron Smith received the Keys to the city after he returned to his hometown and became the first golfer to earn the honor.

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"I just felt uncomfortable all day," says Cameron Smith after struggling on the course on Friday

The Australian Open has been held over two courses this year and concurrently runs the men's and women's championships. The tournament is offering an equal purse of $1.15 million for both championships.

On Thursday, David Micheluzzi took the lead in the men's category with a shot of 7-under 63, while in the women's event, Grace Kim gained the lead after a 7-under 66 in the first round.

Cameron Smith is still struggling on the course. On Friday morning, he shot a 1-over 73 at Kingston Heath and sits at +2 after the second round.

"I just felt really uncomfortable all day," said Smith.

He added:

"It was similar to (Thursday). I couldn't quite hit the ball out of the middle of the club face for some reason or another. I think the mind was a little bit foggy, I was a little tired as well after such a big week.

Having turned professional in 2013, Cameron Smith has reached number two in the world rankings. He has won 10 professional events so far and one major tournament.

Smith has won six PGA Tour titles, four European Tour titles, and three PGA Tour titles in Australia. Besides this, he finished second at the 2020 Masters, T13 at the PGA Championship in 2022, and T4 at the 2015 U.S. Open.

At the end of August, he joined the newly formed LIV Golf Series after being offered an attractive amount. He finished fourth in his first LIV Golf event and won over $5 million from the championship.