Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Cam Smith, still bristling at disrespect for LIV Golf, reckons he’s finally found the perfect preparation for an Adelaide tournament renowned as the breakaway tour’s gold standard.
Smith tees off on Thursday at the Grange Golf Club in Adelaide after toning down off-course commitments as the tournament’s poster boy.
“I already feel like I have done a better job this year than I have in previous years,” Smith said of his preparations.
The Australian enters LIV’s fourth Adelaide tournament heeding valuable lessons from past editions, where off-course demands impeded on-course performance.
“The (off-course) commitments have probably got a little bit less, so we can spend more time on the golf course,” Smith said.
“You want to be stepping up on Thursday ready to go; you don’t want to be sleepy or tired or feel like you need a coffee halfway through a round – that was definitely the case last year.”
Smith’s best result in Adelaide – tied for third in 2023 – is the highest individual finish in South Australia of any on his all-Australian team, Ripper GC.
Last year, conceding he felt drained by his off-course schedule, a flagging Smith tied for 30th.
This time, the 2022 British Open champion will deliberately steer clear of trappings around the Adelaide event, including Ripper’s on-course “party house” nestled between the 13th and 14th tee boxes.
“I won’t be attending until Sunday. I think I’ve had too many experiences in past years,” he said.
Smith, a three-time LIV winner, was desperate to collect an individual title at an Adelaide tournament regarded as the tour’s flagship.
“I think this is the gold standard, as do many of my peers out here,” he said.
“We’re doing stuff this week that just keeps moving the needle with LIV.
“We’re moving in the right direction, I would say, around the world, but this is still the gold standard.”
For the first time, LIV Golf events this year offer world ranking points – but only for the top-10 finishers at tournaments.
“It’s a work in progress probably still, but it is nice to have that behind us,” Smith said.
“That has been a long time coming, so it’s nice to get the recognition.
“It’s so hard out here. I don’t think we get the respect of the golfing world that maybe we (deserve) sometimes because of what it is and how we play.”
Smith was ranked world No. 2 when he signed with LIV. Now he’s 227th – a ranking that bewilders fellow Australian and Ripper teammate Lucas Herbert.
“If they’re going to have Cam Smith outside the top 100 in the world, I don’t know that’s necessarily a fair system,” said Herbert, now world No.227 after peaking at 40th in 2022 before joining LIV.
“Once going to LIV, my interest in where I was ranked in the world was pretty low – and, to be honest, where anyone else was ranked in the world.
“It seemed like the system wasn’t maybe doing it the best way it could have.”
