Cameron Smith returns to British Open with three missed major cuts in 2025 and a decade-low ranking
This week he heads to Royal Portrush outside the world's top 200 after three straight missed cuts in majors in 2025.
But he's hopeful a tough workout in the three-round LIV event in windy conditions in Spain, and ball control work at home, can bring about a turnaround in fortunes and help him get his hands on the trophy again.
Smith finished tied for seventh at Valderrama, just his fourth top-10 finish in 10 LIV events this year, with a tie for fifth his best return.
Stacked alongside his missed cuts at this year's Masters, US Open and US PGA, it makes for grim reading for the 31-year-old Queenslander who flew straight to Portrush from Spain looking to get more reps in conditions that will demand he be at his best.
'You're going to hit some bad shots. You're going to get blown over by the wind. The ball is going to do some crazy stuff,' he said after getting a test of the wind last weekend, albeit in warmer conditions than he'll get during the Open.
'It's just stuff that you have to take on and really move on with. You have to flight it. You have to shape it.
'I've been working hard hitting lots of shots, been working on my flights and all that stuff at home in preparation for this week or really the next three weeks.'
Smith won't be on his own as the Open returns to Northern Ireland, with his LIV Australian teammates Marc Leishman and Lucas Herbert having qualified to be among nine Australians at the year's final major.
That cohort includes Elvis Smylie, who consigned Smith to runner-up at last year's Australian PGA, a victory that helped earn him full playing rights in Europe for the first time.
While things haven't gone exactly as planned for the left-hander, who is yet to record a top-10 finish and has missed four cuts in his 12 events, his recent upward trajectory has created hope.
Smylie finished in a tie for 34th at the Scottish Open last weekend, and having begun his prep for Portrush some time ago, by watching the official film of local hero Shane Lowry's 2019 victory, said he's feeling geared up and ready to go.
'You want to feel confident by having good results going into big events,' Smylie said.
'So that's definitely on my mind to put a good week in Scotland to build that confidence knowing the results are there as well as the good feelings that I can produce.
'But it comes back to the work I am doing. I feel like I have been doing good work the last few weeks. I'm looking forward to getting there and doing the work.'
Australians in the Open Championship.
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