Cameron Smith arrives at Augusta National looking to join Tiger Woods as the only player to win the Players Championship and the Masters in the same year. Woods achieved that feat at the height of his success and just two weeks before completing the Tiger Slam in 2001.
Smith recorded a record-tying ten birdies in the final round at TPC Sawgrass, earning an incredible $3.6m in the process. The victory is the biggest in the Aussie's career so far and it's given him a taste for more: "I feel pretty hungry, mate. Pretty good time of year to be playing good golf. You know, it's just nice to contend. Still been working hard the last couple of weeks at home, and, yeah, I really can't wait to get back out here this week."
Smith, who is currently third in the FedEx Cup and sixth in the Official World Golf Ranking, has not played tournament golf since the Players Championship, or indeed much golf at all: "I've had three weeks off after the Players. Yeah, just ready to compete. I feel like my game hasn't done too much over the last few weeks. Just hitting a few balls here and there and focusing on the short game for around here.
"I've played a few rounds here and there at Sawgrass. My dad came into town last week, so we had a hit, but mostly just practicing, mate. Really been focusing on the short stuff and putting."
The 28-year old is well fancied this week having finished in the top-10 in three of his last four Masters appearances; including a runner-up in 2020 when he became the first player in history to break 70 in all four rounds.
