Some rituals are little more than nuisances that must be endured. Not, though, the return of the Claret Jug. As nice a photo opportunity as it is, Cameron Smith – he of the ice-cold veins – couldn’t prevent some tears welling up in his eyes as the moment got to him.
What was his isn’t any longer.
And the man who faced down Rory McIlroy a year ago with a display of putting on the Old Course at St Andrews had unsteady, jelly legs as the handover took place.
“A bit of a moment, I guess, that crept up on me . . . I wasn’t like not letting it go, but it was just a bit of a moment you don’t think about and then all of a sudden it’s there and, yeah, you want it back . . . hopefully I can get it back. I want that thing back so bad,” said the Australian who will seek to defend the championship at Royal Liverpool where, as it happens, McIlroy lifted the famous trophy on its last staging in 2014.
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The last few weeks have offered the probability that the two will be protagonists again on the links on the Dee estuary, with Smith winning on the LIV Tour two weeks ago and McIlroy finally rediscovering the art of winning in the Scottish Open – a co-sanctioned event on the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour – on Sunday.
“There’s plenty of guys here that given their week can be right up there on Sunday afternoon. I’m sure Rory will be one of them. He’s played great golf the last few months. It looked like he finally got one [on Sunday] and it may have opened the floodgates for him for sure,” said Smith of that prospect.
In truth, though, the man with the mullet is only thinking of himself and what he can do. Although he jumped to LIV shortly after getting his hands on the Claret Jug, a prized defector for the startup tour, Smith has managed to stay competitive for the Majors on the limited schedule, tied-9th at the US PGA and fourth in the US Open.
“On paper it says we’ve been playing less, but it feels like we haven’t had a week off here in a few months,” claimed Smith.
As ever, the putter remains the strongest weapon in his armoury. If there is a weakness, it is when he has the driver in hand.
“It’s just the driver just needs to behave itself . . . my 5-iron and up has always been a bit of a struggle for me, and that’s an area of the game that we’ve worked probably harder on than we have in the past. It’s close. I feel like it’s right there. It just all has to come together,” he added.
Smith, of course, wasn’t in Scotland. He’s an outsider nowadays to the comings and goings of the PGA Tour with LIV’s shorter schedule providing his competitive days but also more days off. So it was that he arrived to Hoylake on Saturday and got to know the links as best he could.
“I’m determined to try my best every week and just try and be a better golfer than I was last week. I never really expect too much of myself. The thing I expect is to be doing everything 100 per cent, ticking all the boxes early in the week, making sure I’m prepared, and then just go out there and give it my all. That’s all I can really do,” said Smith.
“I think I’ve done that fantastic this year and especially last year. It was such a good year last year, you almost expect to win. I think that’s not really a good way to look at golf. Just expect to do all the things that you’re meant to do 100 per cent and then go out there and give it a crack, and if you win, you win.”
Meanwhile, Séamus Power, who was forced to withdraw from the Scottish Open after the first round with a hip injury, is fit and ready. The Waterford man played 18 holes of practice at Hoylake without suffering any recurrence of the complaint.
