SYDNEY
\nIf Cameron Smith needed any extra motivation to perform well at the Masters later this month, his desperation to get to the Olympics in Paris in August will provide it.
\nThe 2022 British Open champion tied for 10th at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago but, as world number 62, he has four other Australians ahead of him in the world rankings, which will determine which two players go to Paris.
\nSmith\u2019s defection to the LIV Tour means he earns no rankings points from most of his events so doing well at Augusta as well as May\u2019s PGA Championship and the U.S. Open in June is essential if he is to play at Le Golf National from Aug. 1-4.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s desperately a place that I want to get to and represent Australia,\u201d the former world number two told reporters from Florida on Tuesday.
\n\u201cI have to play well to get there, I know I have to play well, and I\u2019m probably only going to get three or four shots at it before they make the selection. I guess it is more pressure.\u201d
\nSmith has finished in the top five at Augusta three times in seven visits and getting his hands on the famous green jacket remains another major ambition. \u201cIt\u2019s just such a cool place … I desperately want to get it and it would be awesome if I did,\u201d he added.
\n\u201cWe\u2019ve just had three weeks off and I\u2019ve been out on the course focusing on shot-shaping and controlling flight, which I think is pretty crucial for playing good around there.\u201d
\nThe 30-year-old is getting used to having more time off with the much-touted unification between LIV and the U.S. PGA Tour still looking a long way off. Smith is not complaining.
\n\u201cI\u2019ve probably got another four or five weeks off every year in the last couple of years and been able to spend more time in Australia,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know if I\u2019m willing to sacrifice being away from my family and stuff as much as I had in the past.\u201d
\nSmith\u2019s team posted a picture on social media of him shorn of his mullet on Monday but it turned out to be an April Fool\u2019s prank and the famous hairstyle will be on show at the LIV event in Adelaide later this month.
\n\u201cIt was probably a unanimous decision on the whole tour that was the best event that we had (last year),\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SYDNEY If Cameron Smith needed any extra motivation to perform well at the Masters later this month, his desperation to get to the Olympics in Paris in August will provide it. The 2022 British Open champion tied for 10th at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago but, as world number 62, he has four other […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":398174,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-398153","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n