“The fields aren’t as strong” – Cameron Smith explains why it’s important for LIV golfers ‘to be up there’ at The Masters

Cameron Smith arrived at Augusta National Golf Club on Monday morning to a cold welcome. Stepping into the practice range amid debate around LIV Golf and the PGA Tour, the Aussie said that he was happy to see familiar faces and shake hands.

Despite downplaying the tension between the two sides, Smith has now come out to state that LIV players must give all ‘to be up there’ at the Masters. Backing LIV CEO and Commissioner Greg Norman’s comments on LIV players winning the prestigious event, Smith said that it was important to rise above the chatter regarding their game quality. The Aussie went on to state that he was the first player to say that The Masters fields “aren’t as strong.”

Speaking to the media at Augusta, Cameron Smith said, as quoted by Golfweek:

“For sure I’d love to see one of us guys get up to the top of the leaderboard and really give it a nice shot. I think it’s just important for LIV guys to be up there because I think we need to be up there. I think there’s a lot of chatter about, ‘these guys don’t play real golf; these guys don’t play real golf courses.’ For sure, I’ll be the first one to say, the fields aren’t as strong. I’m the first one to say that.”

He added:

“But we’ve still got a lot of guys up there that can play some really serious golf, and we compete against each other hard week in and week out and we’re trying to do the same things that we did six months ago.”

🚨JUST IN: Cam Smith wants to silence LIV critics at #TheMasters: I think it’s just important for LIV guys to be up there, I think we need to be up there... I think there’s a lot of chatter about ‘These guys don’t play real golf; these guys don’t play real golf courses’… I’ll be… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… https://t.co/1jdDfbbqwY

It is pertinent to note that Smith’s comments come just a day after Greg Norman revealed his wish to see all 18 LIV players party on the 18th green if one of his lot were to win the 2023 Masters on Sunday.

Cameron Smith addresses his Masters welcome

Speaking ahead of Tuesday night’s annual Masters Champions Dinner, Cameron Smith also addressed the welcome he received from other players at Augusta.

He said:

“It was good to see some familiar faces. Lots of laughs and lots of handshakes, and it was really nice. I didn’t want to expect too much but at the same time, I kind of wanted that, not only for myself but just for the game of golf. I think there’s a lot of stuff going on at the moment that doesn’t need to be going on, especially in the media. I think it’s definitely wound up a little bit too much.”

This is Smith’s seventh Masters outing. The golfer finished T-3 last year. The 29-year-old made his Augusta National debut in 2016 when he finished T-55. The then-young golfer struggled with the result. However, the player has since come a long way and is being dubbed as a strong favorite to win the green jacket this week.