‘Been difficult': Smith reveals confidence crisis

Perth Now

31-07-2025

Former world No.2 Cameron Smith has admitted he's lost a 'bit of confidence' in his golf game after missing five-straight major cuts but is adamant he's putting in the work to fix things as he eyes off back-to-back LIV team championship wins.
After missing the weekend at the British Open, Smith became the only player in 2025 to miss all four major cuts.
He wasn't alone in struggling at Royal Portrush, however, with only one of the nine Australians in the field, Smith's LIV teammate Marc Leishman, getting through.
But the result was the continuation of a battling run in 2025 for the 2022 British Open winner who is 16th on the individual LIV standings with a best result of a tie for fifth from 12 events.
Other than the majors, Smith hasn't ventured outside LIV to play this year and his world ranking has slipped to 212, the lowest it's been since 2014.
It's a far cry form 2024 when Smith enjoyed three team wins with LIV, including the season-ending team championship.
As it was confirmed this year's LIV season-ender would be played in Michigan, with some changes to the format, Smith revealed his loss of confidence and what he was doing to work his way back.
'You're constantly trying to figure stuff out, whether you're playing great or whether you're playing bad. Golf is a funny game like that,' he said.
'It's been difficult, I can't quite really put my finger on it. I feel like my technical stuff, particularly with my swing, is as good as it's ever been, and I'm not getting the results from it. It's been difficult in the sense that it feels really good, but I can't go out there and play my best golf.
'Working through it mentally, I feel like I've lost a little bit of confidence in my game. But I'm slowly getting that back, and that's through hard work and hitting the right shots on the golf course.
'It's just a matter of time, I feel like. I don't think it's a technical issue or anything like that. It's just a little bit of a setback, and we'll be right back up there before we know it.'
Smith said a short game focus in the wake of his early Open exit could help him fix things.
'Probably more so than anything else is the chipping and putting. I feel like you can learn a lot about your full swing in those little pitch shots,' he said.
'I spend a lot of time around the green, a lot of time putting, and then go out there and play the golf course.'
Smith is likely to join Rory McIlroy and Adam Scott at this year's Australian Open at Royal Melbourne but is yet to confirm his full end-of -year schedule.
Last year, Smith played six events in Australia, finishing runner-up at the Australian PGA but 48th at the Open after criticising the set-up of Kingston Heath in what was the final year of the dual-gender format.