Cameron Smith is desperate to tuck into a meat pie when he returns to Australia later this year and wants to come home with a green jacket, declaring his epic win at The Players Championship proved he could win a major.
Smith won’t play again until the Masters next month, withdrawing from the world match play to spend more time with his family and re-energise following his victory at TPC Sawgrass.
Still “pretty tired” following a marathon five-day effort to win what he called the “fifth major”, Smith revealed a pre-season plan to target events he plays best, including at Augusta, had driven him to two wins so far in 2022, having also won in Hawaii in January.
Speaking from Florida on Thursday, the Queenslander said spending more time with his mother and sister, who were visiting for the first time in more than two years, would be his first priority before he made the four-hour drive to Augusta on the Monday of the tournament ready to chase a green jacket with “fresh legs”.
Smith, who has two-top five finishes at the Masters in the past three years, looms as one of the favourites to win this year and said his past record there meant he didn’t need to change anything this time around.
“I try not to read up too much on who‘s the favourite and who’s not. I’ve always been one to kind of go about my business and it will be the same out there,” he said.
“I’ll play with the same people, I’m sure I’ll prepare the same and I’m just really looking forward to the event to be honest. I feel like I’m playing some of the best golf of my life, so can’t wait to get up there.
“I’ll spend a few days here at home with (sister) Mel and mum before they go. Have a nice couple of weeks at home, really prepare for Augusta well and go up there with a fresh pair of legs.”
Smith jumped to a career-high ranking of six after his win and couldn’t hide the confidence it gave him to be the first Australian male to win a major since Jason Day’s victory in the 2015 PGA Championship.
“Obviously, to prove myself against 144 of the best guys in the world and come out on top was pretty cool,” he said.
“It’s basically our fifth major, everyone treats it like that. Guys are there to win, so there‘s no reason why I can‘t go on and win one of those big ones.
“A xjmtzywbig priority at the start of the year, to be honest, was really look at the schedule and look where we want to play good golf. Obviously, there’s places throughout the year I feel really comfortable on and I definitely want to win one of those majors.
“That was a big priority with the team at the start of the year and I think we’ve done a really good job.”
Smith confirmed he would head home to Australia at some stage this year, with the potential to line up in the Australian Open and PGA.
But there’s one other thing he’s looking forward to on return.
“I’m going to really look forward to that first meat pie, I think,” Smith said.
“That’s something that they haven’t quite figured out how to do over here yet. They do have them, but they just don’t taste like home. Yeah, I can’t wait to get back there and crack into one of those.”
Smith said he “hadn’t thought about” the new Saudi-backed Greg Norman golf tour, which on Thursday revealed it would launch in June with an eight-event series with nearly $350m in prizemoney on offer.
But he is unlikely to be moved to join up.
“The PGA Tour I think is the pinnacle of golf and that’s where I want to be,” he said.
“I want to be competing against the best guys in the world, and if they’re playing over here, then I want to be playing against them.”
