Cameron Smith didn’t know what to anticipate when he walked out to the driving vary at Augusta National on Monday.

He was pleasantly stunned to be greeted with hugs from a number of of his former PGA Tour pals.

“It was good to see some familiar faces,” Smith mentioned. “Lot’s of laughs, and lots of handshakes. And it was really nice.

“I was just kind of letting it all happen naturally. It was just a really nice experience. I didn’t want to expect too much, but at the same time I kind of wanted that. Not just for myself, but for the game of golf.”

Now it’s getting right down to the enterprise of making ready for the Masters, an occasion Smith has but to win however has performed constantly nicely at. That features a tie for second three years in the past and a tie for third final yr amongst 4 top-10s in his previous 5 Masters.

“I haven’t really had a bad week here in a pretty long time, so I’m just really looking forward to getting back out there,” he mentioned.”

Smith acknowledged this can be a large week for him in addition to the opposite 17 LIV Golf gamers within the Masters subject, with widespread hypothesis about how aggressive they are going to be this week. The Saudi-backed league options 54-hole, no-cut tournaments with 48-player fields.

“There’s a lot of chatter about, ‘these guys don’t play real golf. These guys don’t play real golf courses,’” Smith mentioned. “I’ll be the first one to say that the fields aren’t as strong.

“I’m the first one to say that, but we still got a lot of guys up there that can play some really serious golf. I think we just need a good, strong finish.”

Smith presents one of many strongest present instances for critics of the standard of LIV Golf.

The reigning Open champion was the second-ranked participant on the planet when left for LIV following final yr’s Tour Championship. He gained the Australian Open PGA Championship in November earlier than a prolonged offseason again in his house nation, and Smith admits taking an extended offseason break than regular.

He has but to search out his kind this yr, lacking the minimize on the Saudi International on the DP World Tour earlier than posting finishes of T5, T24 and T26 within the first three LIV occasions of 2023.

Smith has used the Masters to kick-start gradual begins in earlier seasons, and hopes Augusta National will rekindle the inventive aspect of his recreation.

“For me, it’s frustrating when I’m playing like this on any tour,” he mentioned. “I feel like I’m tournament-ready, I’ve just got a few tweaks here and there to do.

“I feel like this course makes me find some of those things, and it just comes naturally. I feel like this place is really comfy for me.”

Despite the cordial begin between gamers on the driving vary, Smith is aware of the chatter in regards to the LIV-PGA divide will solely develop because the week rolls on. There’s the Champions Dinner on Tuesday after which crowds actually begin to arrive because the week strikes ahead .

Come Sunday, Smith hopes defending champion Scottie Scheffler is placing the inexperienced jacket on a LIV participant.

“I don’t know how the rest of the week is kind of going to unfold,” he mentioned. “For sure, I’d love to see one of us guys get up to the top of the leaderboard there and really give it a nice shot.”