The Masters Tournament is held at the prestigious Augusta National Golf Club and is undoubtedly recognised as golf’s greatest major. The Masters has been home to some of golf’s greatest moments, steeped in traditions and iconic memories.
With all eyes on the illustrious green jacket, Queenslander Cameron Smith is more than prepared for his second outing, having first played back in 2016 after a top-4 finish at the 2015 U.S. Open earned him an invitation.
Sunshine Coast based coach Grant Field has coached Smith since he was a teenager, identifying his unique talent and ability at a very young age and has worked to develop him into the impressive player he is today.
On the eve of the first round, Grant took time out from his busy schedule to share some insight from Augusta National on his predictions for the week.
How did you work together to get Cameron into the top 50 qualifying spots for the Masters?
I guess it’s a culmination of a lot of years’ worth of work, but just recently we have tried to actually take the focus away from the Top 50 as much as we can and focused on Cam continuing to play the way he has been for the past eight months or so. We figured that if he continued to do what he was doing then the Top 50 would take care of itself.
What were the preparations for the week prior?
Cam spent the week prior at home in Jacksonville; I flew in Sunday and the preparation was the same as any other week. If there is to be anything different, it will be slightly more time spent on and around the greens and on a couple of specific shot that Cam will need during the week.
How are the conditions at the Masters this year?
As always, the condition of the course will be perfect, as far as the weather they are predicting some overcast conditions and possibly a bit of rain. Nothing to serious I don’t think though.
Predictions for Cam this week?
I think that given this is his second trip to Augusta he will have a tonne more knowledge about how to play the course… To move from 100 odd to 45 in the world, he’s probably playing like a top 10, top 20 player in the world… Combine that with how Cam has been playing I see absolutely no reason why he isn’t contending come Sunday.
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