Disappointed Cameron Smith Earns Unexpected Backing but at Jay Monahan’s Expense: ‘They Hate Him’

Cameron Smith would have won the 2024 Australian Open if the field was not as crowded, or so he believes. The LIV Golf star has been looking for a victory ever since returning to the PGA Tour Australia a few months ago. He failed to capture a single title leading up to the DP World Tour season 2025 opener.

So when the 2024 ISPS Handa Australian Open finally arrived, Smith was more than eager to capitalize on the opportunity and grab his first victory away from LIV Golf. He was definitely determined to achieve the feat as he was tied at the top of the leaderboard at the end of round 1.

He and his fans believed that the time had come for Cameron Smith to lift a trophy finally. But things didn’t go as planned. An extremely crowded Kingston Heath Golf Course filled with men and women professional golfers made the entire event quite grueling. Top that off with bad weather and Smith was left frustrated by the end of the event.

The crew of No Laying Up Podcast discussed this issue in detail in a video they shared on your YouTube a few hours ago. TC, Neil, and KVV were on the subject of the events at the 2024 Australian Open. That’s when TC acknowledged the ground staff at the course: “Hats off to the superintendents down on the sand belt for getting these courses ready. They got an absolute deluge of rain. Pretty uncharacteristic playing conditions down there.” However, he also had a bit of criticism to share as he talked about how “they need to put a pin in the co-ed staging of the Australian Open,” as he mentioned how having men and women play on the same courses on the same days was hectic and unfair.

He elaborated on how women and men pro golfers don’t play the same kind of golf and the challenges presented to them on a divided course create a lot of problems. He mentioned how Cameron Smith also had the same issue with the entire setup as it caused a lot of disruption apart from the bad weather. After a brief discussion about the limitations of the setup, TC said, “I think the whole country except for New South Wales, it’s gotten really dysfunctional to the point where James Sutherland is basically like, ‘yeah, this is our Jay Monahan’,” drawing a comparison between the commissioners of the two Tours.

Sounds like trouble down under for all the golf fans. Perhaps the MIS management styles of Jay Monahan and James Sutherland are similar. But does that mean that Cameron Smith’s cries are still justified? Let’s take a look at his performance in the event to understand the situation.

Did the course really ruin Cameron Smith’s win?

Cameron Smith got a great start to the tournament with a first-round performance of 65. However, there was a major dip in his performance as he followed that up with a par. Things got even worse on the third day as Smith scored 4-over 76. He finally ended the nightmare with a 71 in the final round to finish at T39. It’s safe to say that bad weather and an overcrowded course may have played a major role in the deterioration of Cameron Smith’s performance. While the weather was unexpected,

Do you believe that Cameron Smith would have won the 2024 ISPS Handa Australian Open if there had been no rainfall and there was no co-ed setup? Share your views in the comments section.