New-and-improved Smyth returns to LIV Golf as a Wild Card

MEXICO CITY – You may or may not remember Travis Smyth’s three LIV Golf starts during the inaugural 2022 season. 

If you do remember that version of him, you definitely won’t recognize him now. 

The 31-year-old Australian is returning to the LIV Golf lineup for this week’s tournament in Mexico City. He’ll tee off Thursday at Club de Golf Chapultepec as a Wild Card player, filling the spot that opened with Scott Vincent moving into the starting lineup this week for HyFlyers GC to replace Phil Mickelson. 

It’ll be Smyth’s first LIV Golf start since the last weekend in July of 2022 when he finished solo 22nd at LIV Golf Bedminster. 

Asked how his game has changed in the ensuing four years, Smyth replied Wednesday: “Totally different. I used to do some funky stuff with my swing; I was working with a pretty out-there golf coach at the time. My body was really average, and I had some lower back issues at the time. I was pretty much a mess back then. 

“I’m a much better player now. Super-pumped to see how I stack up against these guys now since I’m in some good form.” 

Actually, he’s in great form, having won the Japan-Australasia Championship last month and the International Series Japan earlier this month for two wins in his last three starts. 

He currently leads the International Series season-long rankings and the Asian Tour Order of Merit – and that’s after claiming the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit earlier this year.

He’s also a career-best 135th in the latest world rankings and already has guaranteed spots in both the PGA Championship and Open Championship this summer.

“I’ve felt like I’ve hit it better or played better through stretches before this,” Smyth said. “But my ability to score and put myself in contention – mentally I feel like I’ve come up to another level, and it’s allowed me to play a bit better. I’m scoring well and hitting the shots when I need to to stay in contention and also win.” 

Smyth will travel to Singapore next week for the International Series’ Singapore Open presented by The Business Times, as he seeks to maintain his spot atop the rankings. The International Series champion at the end of the season will earn a spot in the 2027 LIV Golf League, one of the reasons he’s prioritizing his schedule around those tournaments. 

It was a scramble, however, to get to Mexico City. After receiving notification Sunday morning in Australia that he had a spot in this week’s field, he had to apply for a visa while dealing with some passport issues after his appearance in Japan. He’s also in the middle of moving to a new house in Australia. He arrived Tuesday ready to check out the high-elevation course. 

“Everything’s felt a bit of a rush,” he said, “but I had a good night’s sleep and today feels nice. Really excited to be part of this again.”