AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Cameron Smith returned to the Masters on Monday with a small measure of trepidation, an uncommon feeling for somebody who has contended two of the final three years and who refers to Augusta Nationwide as his “joyful place.”

Smith is with LIV Golf, the final huge identify to defect to the Saudi-funded tour. And having heard a lot noise and sensed a lot acrimony, he didn’t know what sort of reception he would obtain when he walked onto the vary.

To his aid, it was the standard dose of hugs and handshakes.

“And it was good,” Smith mentioned to the most important gathering of the day within the interview room.

The British Open champion was the one LIV golfer on the interview schedule, a courtesy Augusta Nationwide affords all of the reigning main champions no matter the place they play.

What was he anticipating?

“I wasn’t actually positive, to be trustworthy,” Smith mentioned. “I used to be simply type of letting all of it occur naturally — went out to the vary and did my stuff and yeah, it was only a very nice expertise. … I feel there’s plenty of stuff occurring in the meanwhile that doesn’t have to be occurring, particularly within the media. I feel it’s undoubtedly wound up a little bit bit an excessive amount of.”

This Masters has a full plate of exercise, and LIV Golf would seem like the primary course.

Smith has not competed towards one of the best of the PGA Tour for the reason that Tour Championship final August. For the likes of Dustin Johnson, it’s been a little bit longer.

It didn’t take lengthy for the combo of gamers from two excursions to trigger a stir. The follow spherical tee sheet listed a most tantalizing foursome of Tiger Woods, Fred {Couples}, Tom Kim and Bryson DeChambeau, who complained solely final week that Woods had lower him off ever for the reason that former U.S. Open champion went to LIV.

Seems it was a Masters mix-up. The fourth was Rory McIlroy, the loudest PGA Tour supporter during the last yr.

{Couples} has made his ideas clear, just lately saying at a PGA Tour Champions breakfast that Phil Mickelson was a “nut bag” and Sergio Garcia a “clown.”

{Couples}, the 1992 Masters champion and nonetheless immensely well-liked, says he has no private beef with both and would haven’t any hassle sitting with them on the Masters Membership dinner on Tuesday night time or taking part in in the identical group.

“I’ve no drawback with any of them,” {Couples} mentioned. “Simply please don’t bash a tour that I’ve 43 years invested in. It bothers the hell out of me. They don’t trouble me. They actually don’t. They’re golfers. I’m a golfer. I respect all of them.”

The Masters usually releases tee occasions on Tuesday afternoon, and that has grow to be an occasion to see which LIV gamers — 18 of them are on the Masters — will probably be in the identical group as PGA Tour loyalists.

Shane Lowry performed with two LIV golfers — Mickelson and Louis Oosthuizen — on the U.S. Open final summer time. Adam Scott performed with Johnson and Marc Leishman at St. Andrews.

“Look, clearly there’s going to be some pairings which are going to be attention-grabbing this week,” Lowry mentioned. “I all the time say this about skilled golfers. All of us work in the identical workplace. If you happen to work in the identical workplace, you’re not going to love everybody in there. Identical method as this. I met Dustin on the vary — I all the time take to each other with Dustin. It was good to see him.”

“There’s rather a lot to hype,” Lowry mentioned. “However for those who’re paired with whoever, you don’t actually care about what they’re doing. You’re simply attempting to win the match.”

One query about LIV golfers is how a lot they’re taking part in, as the brand new circuit has had solely three occasions in 2023. Smith performed 5 occasions going into the Masters final yr, and he briefly challenged Scottie Scheffler till the Texan pulled away to win his first main.

This yr he has performed 4 occasions — the one 72-hole occasion was the Saudi Worldwide on the Asian Tour, the place he missed the lower. That was adopted by three 54-hole LIV occasions, the final two ending out of the highest 20.

Smith isn’t in peak type, which he attributes to a protracted break at dwelling in Australia through the offseason. However Augusta Nationwide tends to convey out one of the best in him, and he’s hoping the nice vibes will result in an important efficiency.

If not him, then Smith would like to see one other LIV participant with a shot on the inexperienced jacket.

“I feel it’s simply necessary for LIV guys to be up there as a result of I feel we have to be up there,” Smith mentioned. “I feel there’s plenty of chatter about these guys don’t play actual golf, these guys don’t play actual golf programs. For positive, I’ll be the primary one to say, the fields aren’t as sturdy. I’m the primary one to say that.

“However we’ve nonetheless acquired plenty of guys up there that may play some actually severe golf, and we compete towards one another laborious week-in and week-out and we’re attempting to do the identical issues that we did six months in the past.”

Brooks Koepka is coming off a one-shot victory final week in LIV Golf-Orlando, the place the greens had been crusty and brown and quick. It was performed on the Crooked Cat course at Orange County Nationwide, the place the PGA Tour used to stage Q-school.

Johnson was requested about any similarities between Crooked Cat and Augusta Nationwide.

“I don’t assume you can have these in the identical sentence, apart from I performed there final week and I’m taking part in right here this week,” Johnson mentioned.

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