Smith in Masters mix after hot first round

Cameron Smith has posted a 70 at Augusta National to sit two under and four shots behind the lead after his first round at the Masters.

By Evin Priest, Australian Associated Press
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Australian Cameron Smith was well versed about Augusta National's course changes ahead of the 83rd Masters.

The brutal par-4 fifth was given a new tee that lengthened it by 50 yards to measure 495 yards.

But it was Thursday's opening-round pin placements took the Queenslander by surprise.

"The pin on the 14th was a ripper; that was a pearler," Smith said.

Countryman Adam Scott, playing his 18th Masters, said he had never seen flags in certain spots on Augusta's lightning-fast greens.

"There were some tough pins out there; couple took me by surprise," Smith said.

But it didn't stop Smith firing his way into contention on day one with a two-under-par 70 that left him four shots behind first-round co-leaders Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau.

World No.28 Smith, playing his third Masters, was struggling with the difficulty of the pin placements and was one-over the card through 11 holes.

But the 25-year-old found another gear and birdied three of his last six holes - including the two par 5s on the back nine.

"The scores weren't great and it was tough out there; if you don't have your best stuff like I did (Augusta) can be brutal," Smith said.

"Could have let it get away from me a little bit but I hung in there and put a nice swing on a few shots coming home."

A year after finishing as the top Australian in a tie for fifth, Smith is well in contention going into Friday's second round.

"It's nice to know I can still scratch out a score even without my A game," he said.

"I made plenty of clutch putts and sometimes you have to scrap a score out there and hopefully I can continue that the rest of this week."


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