HONG KONG SHOULD OFFER DRIVER RELIEF FOR RIPPER CAPTAIN SMITH

HONG KONG – The good news for Cameron Smith this week at LIV Golf Hong Kong is he’s playing a course that’s provided him encouraging results in previous visits, including a solo second last year at the Hong Kong Open.

The better news is that the historic Hong Kong Golf Club offers greens that are small and require strategic thinking and a confident putter – traits that are a vital part of Smith’s major-level game.

The best news is that it’s only 6,710 yards.

Which means a reduced premium on the driver.

Which means a bit of relief for the Ripper GC captain, whose struggles off the tee has negatively impacted his scoring through the early part of the 2024 LIV Golf League schedule.

“There’s no question that I need to get myself in the fairway more often,” Smith said Tuesday after his range session. “It’s been a club that’s lost us golf tournaments too many times. I’m just frustrated, and I really want to do something about it.”

The numbers support his frustration.

After the first three events, Smith is tied for 51st with fellow Australian teammate Lucas Herbert among the 54 LIV Golf League regulars in fairway accuracy at 40.48%. The only two players with a lower percentage are Peter Uihlein (30.95%) and Andy Ogletree (36.51%).

Unlike Uihlein, who led the LIV Golf League in driving distance average last season, Smith does not quite have the benefit of applying the old bomb-and-gouge mentality when needed with additional yardage off the tee. Smith ranks 42nd in driving distance this season with a 292.8-yard average. (To be fair, Uihlein ranks 20th at 301.8, more than 20 yards off his average last season, as he’s dialed back the power a bit.)

While Smith’s putting ability remains arguably the best in the sport – he’s No. 1 in LIV Golf putting average again this season after ranking No. 1 in 2023 – the inaccuracy off the tee has impacted other elements. Example: In 2023, he ranked eighth in scrambling at 65.25%; this year, he ranks 32nd at 60%.

No surprise that his 2024 results have yet to meet the lofty standards held for the 2022 Open Champion, who last season finished second in the season-long Individual Championship race. Smith opened this year with a T-8 at Mayakoba, then finished T-15 in chilly Las Vegas and T-41 in the much warmer climates last week at Jeddah. That’s left him 20th in individual points going into Hong Kong.

“In all of these tournaments, there was lots of really good and probably just a little bit too much crap,” Smith said. “Lots of positives there. Just need to get rid of the rubbish and we’ll be back on top.”

Maybe it starts this week in Hong Kong.

The course, as mentioned, is short. In fact, it’s the shortest course that’s held a LIV Golf event to date. Smith doesn’t mind that. Short course means a premium on short game.

No wonder he’s been competitive in both his appearances here. Besides the runner-up to LIV Golf reserve player Ben Campbell last season, Smith also finished T-9 in the Hong Kong Open in his second season as a professional when he played on the Asian Tour.

He said the course requires significant strategic thinking, especially on approach shots.

“It a lot like Australian courses,” he said. “You’ve just got to plot your way around. There’s no real reason to hit drivers and be up close to the pin. All the greens are really big tilts from front to back, very old school. Lots of big breaking putts. There’s a lot to like for me.

“You have to think into the greens. You want to be under the hole on most holes, which I think is a very hard thing for professionals to do. Most of the time you’re trying to get it in there as tight as you can, whereas around here, probably 4-5 feet above the hole is far worse than being 10 or 15 feet under hole. You have to be smart.”

And for Smith, he also has to be realistic when it comes to solving his driver issues. He’s working on what he describes as a “tiny bit of a swing change” relating to his timing and tempo, and he anticipated some adjustment pains before seeing progress. That’s the stage he’s at now.

Although he’s found something on the range, it hasn’t translated to competition.

“It’s hard for me to let go on the golf course when my tempo might be a little bit slow and a little bit steery out there, whereas on the range where there’s no real pressure and it’s easy to just let go and really trust it,” Smith said.

“It’s coming. It’s frustrating, but I knew this was going to be the case for a little bit.”

His goal is to continue making progress and then hope to see significant improvement next month on Doral’s Blue Monster at LIV Golf Miami, followed by the Masters at Augusta National. Two weeks after the year’s first major, he’ll lead the Rippers into LIV Golf Adelaide, where expectations will be huge in front of the boisterous home crowd.

If all goes as planned in the next few weeks, he’ll re-engage for the Individual Championship – and perhaps wear a green jacket when he touches down on native soil.