PIF SAUDI INTERNATIONAL POWERED BY SOFTBANK INVESTMENT ADVISERS

February 2, 2022

Cameron Smith

Royal Greens Golf and Country Club

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Cam, thank you very much for joining us. What are your first impressions being here?

CAMERON SMITH: Yeah, it's great. We got in really early Monday morning so we weren't able to see a lot of the drive from the airport, but I mean, walking out on that 15th, 16th hole yesterday was pretty incredible. I couldn't believe the colour of the water. It really took my breath away.

Q. What does it mean to you -- it's obviously your job to travel the world as a golfer, but is there a part of it that you quite enjoy getting to come to new places like Saudi Arabia?

CAMERON SMITH: Yeah, absolutely. I feel especially at the start of my golfing career, I travelled a lot. I travelled a lot through Asia and the U.S. New places bring new friends and stuff like that, so it's always good travelling. I love it.

Q. You were out practising yesterday; how are you hitting the ball, and what do you think it'll take to do well this week at Royal Greens?

CAMERON SMITH: Yeah, I played pretty good. I got to touch all the holes yesterday. The course is in great shape. The game feels good. I was just probably a little bit slow to be honest. I felt like I was in slow motion, obviously with the time change. I feel a lot better this morning, though, so we'll see how we go today.

Q. Obviously you started the year in record-breaking fashion with that lowest-ever 72-hole score on the PGA Tour. Is there a feeling that this might be a big year for you? Is that something you buy into?

CAMERON SMITH: To be honest, I'm just trying to do the best I can every day. I know that sounds kind of cliche, one shot at a time. I've done a good job of preparing myself, I think, before tournaments at home. I've been working a bit harder in the gym, and yeah, hopefully all the hard work pays off.

Q. You were just talking about your win in Hawai'i. I asked DJ the same question; what does it do for your confidence so early in the season when you do get a win like that and going into the business part of the year?

CAMERON SMITH: Yeah, I guess it's just like a -- I didn't have a big fall. I only played three events in the fall. I did a lot of work at home, and it's just nice to know that you're working on the right things basically. Obviously to compete against Jon on the weekend and clip it off him was obviously really good, but it's just nice to know that you've done the right thing.

Q. We're hearing a lot about the Saudi Super League concept. Apart from all the noise that goes with it, what do you actually make of the concept itself?

CAMERON SMITH: To be honest, I haven't thought a lot about it. I've got guys around me that think about that stuff. I'm just out here trying to play the best I can. We'll worry about that stuff when it comes around.

Q. It was reported in the Daily Telegraph in London this morning that Ian Poulter has been offered £22 million to jump to the Super League. Is that something that would interest you or are you a PGA Tour guy?

CAMERON SMITH: Again, that's a conversation for another time. I've got guys around me and a really good team around me that can think about that stuff. They're just worried about how I can compete and how I can be the best golfer I can be.

Q. Have you had an approach? Can you tell us that?

CAMERON SMITH: No, I haven't.

Q. You've been out there practising and training; how did you see the organisation and the preparations from Royal Greens, Golf Saudi and the Saudi Golf Federation have been doing a great job with this tournament. What are your expectations for it?

CAMERON SMITH: Yeah, the golf course is great. I think it's going to be windy the whole week, something that I've always kind of felt comfortable in. Obviously growing up in Australia it's a very windy place, as well. I'm looking forward to being able to hit some different shots into the green.

The golf course is great. It's beautiful. Like I said before, the 16th hole really took my breath away. I couldn't believe the colour of the water. I've heard this is a beautiful place, but I wasn't really expecting that to be honest. That was unreal.

Yeah, I'm looking forward to the week. We've got lots of good players here. The tournament is very well run, and I can't wait to compete against some of the best golfers in the world.

Q. This is obviously on the Asian Tour and the International Series was announced yesterday on the Asian Tour. As an Australian player, do you think that's important that the game in Asia gets a boost, and would you be encouraging young Australian players to use that pathway to go forward?

CAMERON SMITH: Yeah, absolutely. I started my career on the Asian Tour, as well. It's been really good to me. I think as much as we want to be good golfers, we want to grow the game of golf, as well.

The more outlets we can get and the more widespread of golf we can get, definitely the better.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you, Cam. Appreciate your time and all the best for this week.