Cam Smith eyes rare Aussie golf double

Cameron Smith says the Australian Open has been on his radar for a long time as he looks to go back-to-back after winning last week's PGA Championship title.

CAMERON SMITH of Australia.
CAMERON SMITH of Australia. Picture: David Cannon/Getty Images

With one box ticked by winning the Australian PGA Championship, superstar golfer Cameron Smith has arrived in Melbourne looking to add his first Stonehaven Cup to a bulging trophy cabinet.

The 2022 British Open champion will start favourite at the Australian Open, which gets underway on Thursday with men and women both competing at Victoria Golf Club and Kingston Heath in a world first.

With five titles to his name this year, including the Players Championship, Smith is looking to finish with a bang and become the first golfer since Greg Chalmers in 2011 to jag the PGA-Australian Open double.

Peter Thomson, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Greg Norman are some of the luminaries to have their name etched on the Stonehaven Cup, which was first contested back in 1904.

"I haven't won one of these yet and this has been on my radar now for a long time," world No.3 Smith said on Tuesday.

"I've been close a few times and haven't quite got it done, so no better week than to win one in Melbourne.

"The plan was to come down here (to Australia) and win both of them and I ticked one box. Hopefully I can do one more this week.

"It would be a really nice way to finish off a really good year."

Smith almost clinched the Australian Open title in 2016 before losing to American Jordan Spieth in a three-way play-off at Royal Sydney.

"That one hurt a little bit as it would have been my first win as a pro, so it would have been a neat one to win," the 29-year-old said.

"That was a good week, and I've played really solid in other Opens but haven't quite got that close."

Taking a day to recover from the celebrations after winning the PGA title, Smith planned a practice round at Kingston Heath on Tuesday.

He was a crowd favourite at Royal Queensland throughout the four days, and rallied in an interrupted final round to win by three shots.

After moving from the US PGA tour to the Saudi-backed LIV Golf in August, Smith said he had only felt love from home fans in his first Australian tournament in three years.

After a long year he hoped the crowd at the Victoria course, which will solely host the final two rounds, could help lift him home.

"That'll help - the crowds are going to be awesome down here," he said.

"I really drew a lot off those guys last week, obviously being in Brizzy there was a lot of home support and hopefully there's a few guys down here as well."

He welcomed the challenge of the sand-belt courses, describing them as a mix between links golf like St Andrews where he won the Open, and the sweeping fairways of Augusta.

"You get to play plenty of shots, you have to to play good golf around here, Smith said.

"I feel like I play my best golf when I'm creative and I'm just happy to be down here.

"This is the best that golf has to offer."