FILE PHOTO: Ripper GC's Cameron Smith in action - LIV Golf in Singapore. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Cameron Smith is on a redemption mission at the Australian PGA Championship this week after crashing out of his home event last year in a setback that left him struggling to hold back tears.
The three-time winner failed to make the cut in his title defence a year ago in a huge disappointment for the golfer and legions of fans at Royal Queensland.
Determined to avoid another shocker at the DP World Tour co-sanctioned event, the former world number two arrived in Australia early and warmed up with a joint runner-up finish at the New South Wales Open on Sunday.
"It was completely disappointing to play how I did last year. It was terrible. It was a terrible feeling," Smith told reporters on Tuesday.
"I think being a Brisbane boy probably even hurt a little bit more and it’s not very often I get to play in front of a home crowd.
"We have a few events here in Australia, but I like to think this is my home event.
"So that was definitely part of the motivation to get up and get ready for this week."
The A$800,000 ($521,000) New South Wales Open in a rural town on the Murray river was a change from the astronomical prize money and glitz of the Saudi-backed LIV circuit Smith plays on.
Smith's Ripper GC franchise claimed the $14 million purse for winning LIV's team title in Dallas in September.
Ripper GC teammate Lucas Herbert, who shared in the LIV prize money, won the New South Wales Open by three strokes, with Smith denied a drought-breaking win after stumbling through a messy final round.
Smith was also upstaged two weeks ago at the Queensland PGA Championship in Brisbane by Phoenix Campbell, a local professional with a world ranking of 782, and has not won on any circuit since his last LIV title in 2023.
"I’d love for my first win (in 2024) to come here," Smith said of Royal Queensland.
"I would’ve loved for it to come a little bit earlier. I feel like maybe there's a little bit of added pressure with some tournaments running out.
"The only thing I want as a competitor is to be in contention on Sunday and I’ve been fortunate enough to do that the last couple of weeks, just haven’t quite got across the line."
($1 = 1.5359 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
