Cameron Smith can’t wait for the weekend to start. The Aussie skipper of Ripper GC is confident that they are “definitely the fan favorites” in Adelaide.  Reports suggest the Grange will be more crowded this year. And, Smith wants to soak in all the support he gets outside the ropes. The atmosphere was pretty much the same last year, and Smith played great golf at the par 72, 6,946-yard layout. All that was undone by one Talor Gooch, however. 

Last year’s champion set a 36-hole record for the upstart league. “Insane,” Cameron Smith says. So much so, that a year later, the former Open champion couldn’t help but look at the stats from last year. He has home support, but that won’t be enough. 

Talor Gooch threat looms large a year later

LIV Golf Adelaide was the launchpad of Talor Gooch last season. The Oklahoma State product fired 62 on the opening day and repeated that again on Saturday. Heading to the final round, Gooch held an insane 10-shot lead, almost sealing the title. Despite late threats from Anirban Lahiri, Gooch walked away with a three-shot victory. 

“I think what Goochy did last year was pretty insane. I don’t think we’ll see that again. We were just looking at his stats actually yesterday, and what he did and trying to basically mimic that for this year. Yeah, looking at what he did, it was pretty insane golf.” 

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Even Talor Gooch admits that it would “be hard to ever replicate.” But the 32-year-old is in much better form than he was a year ago. Gooch has two top-tens this season and has walked up the podium with his team in Las Vegas. “I know that I’m a better golfer now than I was a year ago. Hopefully we can just figure out how to catch fire again,” the defending champion told LIV Golf.”

For Cameron Smith & Co., home soil advantage won’t mean much. They are fan favorites; a pulse check on the audience will tell you that. But the Greg Norman layout, which was a bit ‘crumbly’ and unpredictable last year, is no more familiar to Ripper GC than it is to Smash. Contrarily, the home soil expectation can also play tricks on your mind, Smith said. 

Cameron Smith admits there is one downside of home support

Last year, Cameron Smith was under par through the weekend, firing back-to-back 66s in the final two rounds. The Australian was solo fourth at 15-under. Ripper GC, though, was eighth, despite the loudest cheer reserved for them. Those cheers can lift you up but also place a humongous burden on your shoulders. 

“I think it can definitely be a good thing and a bad thing at the same time. Obviously the support from the fans is amazing, but internally I think sometimes you can get caught out just trying a little bit too hard, trying to make a putt go in, trying to hit a shot close, and you get caught out,” Smith said in the pre-tournament press conference. 

LIV Golf Adelaide will kickstart on April 26. Cameron Smith will tee off at the Grange after a T6 at the Augusta National. He has two top tens this season, including a playoff loss in Hong Kong.