LIV Golf star Cameron Smith appeared to blame his protege Elvis Smylie for his collapse in the second round of the Australian Open after their group was put on a shot clock for slow play.
Smith, who won The Open two years ago, made a flying start to his round at Kingston Heath with three birdies and an eagle in his first six holes. It fell apart on the back nine, though, with the 31-year-old struggling after being put on the clock.
He made three bogeys and a double bogey between the 10th and 16th holes, undoing all of his good work in the first half of the round.
Smith’s group was warned for slow play down the stretch, which he appeared to blame on Smylie after the same thing happened when they played together at Royal Queensland last week.
Reflecting on his poor round, Smith said: “I don’t get put on the clock too often. I feel like we do a pretty good job. There is a common denominator there that’s a little bit slower.
“It’s not something I like because I feel like I’m a pretty fast paced player as it is, so being put on the clock is just another thing. I feel like I did my best to play as quick as I can and I feel like I’m running around. I just made a couple of poor choices.
“We got on the clock there and it didn’t seem like we were playing that slow, and it felt like we were just rushing. Made some really poor choices mentally, I think, led to a few bogeys. You kind of get on that train in that wind and it’s not a good spot to be in.”
Asked if he was planning on speaking to Smylie about the pace of his play, Smith replied: “It’s not my job to. I think there’s better ways to go about that stuff, but that’s another topic.”
Smylie, meanwhile, refuted Smith’s description of him as the ‘common denominator’ by suggesting that everybody in the group was responsible for the slow play warning.
“It’s a group thing, it’s not an individual,” he said. “I feel like I do a very good job whenever I am in the position when I have to keep up with the pace of play. I did a really good job of just focusing on my own game, especially when we were falling a little bit behind.
“I was just trying to do my best of walking to the ball and making sure I did my routine, process, and go as soon as I was there to keep the pace up. But when you are put on the clock, you definitely feel a lot more anxious.”
