THE 151ST OPEN

July 22, 2023

Cameron Smith

Mixed Zone

Q. Good finish there.

CAM SMITH: Yeah, it was nice today. Wasn't really too much different to the other couple days, to be honest. I just dodged a few bunkers. That was about the only difference.

I still feel as though I probably left a couple shots out there. But I guess that's kind of links golf. You take the good with the bad.

Q. Do you think this was a potential day like Rahm is having at the moment, where you could get to sort of 3-, 4-under?

CAM SMITH: Yeah, that would have been nice. I feel as though I played good enough to do it. I just didn't hole as many putts as I would have liked. I hit a lot of good putts, particularly on that back nine, that just either skirted the edge or didn't go in.

Yeah, would have been nice to get a few more, but it is what it is.

Q. A couple of shorter ones on the first nine --

CAM SMITH: Yeah, missed a short one on 4. Again, didn't really even hit a bad putt, just misread it a little bit, and kind of skidded in that dewy wet ground.

Q. Did you go in any bunkers?

CAM SMITH: No, I didn't. Missed them all today.

Q. You said yesterday that you thought everybody that was under par last night was still in the shout. Where do you stand now?

CAM SMITH: Yeah, still probably a little bit too far back. I think the weather is actually going to get better this afternoon from what my caddie just told me, so I'm sure the guys will go out and light it up this afternoon. It's not that windy, and we got a lot of rain overnight, so it's soft. There's a lot of opportunities with that wind switch, as well. That back nine plays a lot easier.

Yeah, I'm sure I'll keep going down the leaderboard as the day goes on.

Q. Tiny bit frustrating today that you weren't 3-, 4-under?

CAM SMITH: I was just happy that I missed all the bunkers today. (Laughter).

Yeah, that was really the difference. I think, yeah, for sure it would have been nice to get a few more, and probably I am a little bit frustrated. But all in all, it was a really solid day. There's not much to complain about.

Q. You found your footing a little bit more today. A lot of other major winners have kind of struggled to get something going. Why do you think it seems like there's been struggles like that?

CAM SMITH: It's just a tough golf course. You hit quality after quality shot, and if you don't, it penalizes you really quickly. That's the sign of a good golf course, I think.

I don't know; maybe everyone is just not quite on their stuff this week. I'm not really sure of the answer there.

But those bunkers, I think if you're trying to be aggressive and generally major winners are aggressive players, it can bite you in the bum. You can get in those bunkers, and like I said yesterday, it's a one-shot penalty.