'Really bothered me': After a 'frustrating' year, Cameron Smith is ready to reassert himself in Australia
Cameron Smith was at the top of the golfing world in 2022, but has admitted a slide in results in the years since he moved to LIV have forced him to reassess his game.
From being second in the world rankings and a recent major winner to making the move to the rebel league that rocked the sport, then struggling with his game, Smith has felt all the emotions.
After failing to make the cut at all four majors this year, the Australian star is determined to turn his career around and find success once again.
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While Smith has no interest in reinventing his style, he has his eyes set on producing an eye-catching performance at the Australian PGA Championship this week.
The 32-year-old is no stranger to the course at Royal Queensland, where the event will be held, having won the tournament three times.
Smith finished second to Elvis Smylie last year, but is hoping to rediscover winning ways on home soil, starting Thursday.
"I've played my whole career with really no expectation of playing well," Smith said.
Cameron Smith drives off the tee on the 7th hole prior to the BMW Australian PGA Championship 2025. Getty
"I expected to prepare well and do all that stuff well. This year, maybe just with a lot of stuff at home happening and expecting a lot more out of myself, particularly with how hard I've worked. It's not how I've played golf in the last 10 years.
"The work has been there and those poor rounds creeping in … it's been very frustrating. That's really bothered me this year, whereas in the past it hasn't.
"It's been difficult, but I just need to get back to how I [used to] think and that is just being cruisy and not worrying about a poor shot.
"Looking back on stuff has been good. So I'm looking forward to getting in and getting into the groove this week."
Where is the Australian PGA Championship?
The Australian PGA Championship will take place at Royal Queensland in Brisbane, with the action getting under from Thursday, November 27.
It is the fifth consecutive time that the event has been held at Royal Queensland.
The tournament runs for four days and is expected to end around 5pm (AEDT) on Sunday.
How to watch the 2025 Australian PGA Championship
The Australian PGA Championship will be broadcast live and free on Nine and 9Now.
Coverage will begin at 12pm AEDT on 9Gem on Thursday and Friday. Saturday and Sunday coverage will be broadcast on 9 from 12pm (AEDT).
Watch the 2025 Australian PGA Championship live and free on Nine and 9Now.
Prize money for the Australian PGA Championship
The 2025 edition of the Australian PGA Championship will see a total prize purse of $2.5 million up for grabs.
It is the largest sum of prize money in the event's 121-year history.
In 2024, the prize pool was $2 million.
Jason Day plays his second shot on the sixth hole on day one of the Australian PGA Championship. Bradley Kanaris via Getty Images
Key players at the Australian PGA Championship
A series of talent from all across the globe will be in action in Brisbane in hopes to win the Kirkwood cup, with past winners and newcomers among those in the mix.
Local stars including Cameron Smith, Adam Scott and Min Woo Lee have all confirmed their desire to win the title, which Elvis Smylie will be looking to defend.
Two-time PGA Tour winner Ryan Fox will also be at the tournament, along with LIV Golf superstars Joaquin Niemann, Marc Leishman, Cam Davis and Abraham Ancer.
Odds for the Australian PGA Championship
Courtesy of Sportsbet at the time of publication.
$11 | Joaquin Niemann and Min Woo Lee
$12 | Marco Penge and Rasmus Neergaard-Peterson
$14 | Marc Leishman
$15 | Adam Scott, Cameron Smith and David Puig
$21 | Carlos Ortiz and Sebastian Munoz
$23 | Elvis Smylie
Australia's Elvis Smylie in action. Getty
Past tournament winners
* Denotes that an athlete won in a playoff
2024: Elvis Smylie
2023: Min Woo Lee
2022: Cameron Smith
2021: Jed Morgan
2020: Not played due to COVID-19 pandemic
2019: Adam Scott
2018: Cameron Smith
2017: Cameron Smith*
2016: Harold Varner III
2015: Nathan Holman*
Hours of play (AEDT)
7am to 5pm | Thursday, November 27 to Friday, November, 28.
7am to 5pm | Saturday, November 29
5pm | Time play is expected to end on Sunday, November 30
Min Woo Lee acknowledges the crowd at Royal Portrush during the 2025 Open Championship. Christian Petersen via Getty Images
Tee times for round one
All times are in AEST. Times will be one hour later for all AEDT states.
First tee
6.00am | Josh Geary, Blake Proverbs and Daniel Rodrigues.
6.10am | Hunter Logan, Frederico Biondi Figueiredo and Connor McKinney.
6.20am | Cameron John, Nick Voke and Matt Jones.
6.30am | Jediah Morgan, Ugo Coussaud and Jake McLeod.
6.40am | Sam Bairstow, Jasper Stubbs and Rod Pampling.
6.50am | James Morrison, Phoenix Campbell and Jeff Guan.
7.00am | Filippo Celli, Simon Hawkes and Maximilian Steinlechner.
7.10am | Yannik Paul, Jak Carter and William Bruyeres.
7.20am | Joshua Berry, Andreas Halvorsen and Jimmy Zheng.
7.30am | Gregorio De Leo, Will Florimo and Quinnton Croker.
7.40am | Mike Toorop, Tyler Wood and Andrew Campbell.
7.50am | Quim Vidal, Lachlan Chamberlain and Brody Martin.
8.00am | Jayden Ford, Thomas Sims and Mason Lee.
11.00am | Daniel Hillier, Cam Davis and Joaquin Niemann.
11.10am | Abraham Ancer, Marc Leishman and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen.
11.20am | Yuto Katsuragawa, Sebastian Munoz and David Micheluzzi.
11.30am | Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Ryan Peake and Harrison Crowe.
11.40am | Nicolas Colsaerts, Geoff Ogilvy and Jack Buchanan.
11.50am | Eddie Pepperell, Rada Cabrera Bello and Rafael Campos.
12.00pm | Bernd Wiesberger, Peter Lonard and Daniel Gale.
12.10pm | Jordan Gumberg, Ben Henkel and Lachlan Barker.
12.20pm | Tobias Jonsson, Aaron Cockerill and Corey Lamb.
12.30pm | Clement Charmasson, Clement Sordet and Dylan Gardner.
12.40pm | Davis Bryant, Jack Munro and Adam Bland.
12.50pm | Michael Hollick, Jye Pickin and Joy Mackenzie.
1.00pm | Callum Tarren, Darcy Brereton and Gavin Fairfax.
10th tee
6.00am | Marco Penge, Min Woo Lee and Cam Smith.
6.10am | Ryan Fox, Adam Scott and Elvis Smylie.
6.20am | Jose Luis Ballester, Carlos Ortiz and Anthony Quayle.
6.30am | Alex Fitzpatrick, David Puig and Kazuma Kobori.
6.40am | Jason Scrivener, Joel Girrbach and Sudarshan Yellamaraju.
6.50am | Wenyi Ding, Curtis Luck and Wade Ormsby.
7.00am | Ben Eccles, Matthew Griffin and Tapio Pulkkanen.
7.10am | Jonathan Broomhead, James Marchesani and Kerry Mountcastle.
7.20am | Cameron Adam, Brett Rumford and Jack Thompson.
7.30am | Alexander Simpson, Benjamin Follett-Smith and Tim Hart.
7.40am | Jack Yule, Andrew Evans and Jason Norris.
7.50am | Ryan Van Velzen, Douglas Klein and Adam Brady.
8.00am | Robin Williams, Brady Watt and Mitchell Smith.
11.00am | Daniel Young, Matias Sanchez and James Conran.
11.10am | Sebastian Garcia, Greg Chalmers and Brendan Jones.
11.20am | Sean Crocker, Shubhankar Sharma and Renato Paratore.
11.30am | Cory Crawford, Tyler Hodge and Tom Vaillant.
11.40am | Jack Senior, Marcus Fraser and Matthew Baldwin.
11.50am | Christopher Wood, Jordan Doull and Freddy Schott.
12.00pm | Andrew Martin, David Law and Ricardo Gouveia.
12.10pm | Austin Bautista, Oliver Bekker and Andrew Johnston.
12.20pm | Stefano Mazzoli, Michael Wright and Rocco Repetto Taylor.
12.30pm | Nathan Kimset, Chris Malec and Brett Rankin.
12.40pm | Adri Arnaus, Nathan Barbieri and Frabrizio Zanotti.
12.50pm | Denzel Ieremia, Haydn Barron and Andres German Gallegos.
1.00pm | Kameron Williams, Mako Thompson and Connor McDade.
