Five Australians arrive at Augusta National for a tilt at the nation’s second ever green jacket with Min Woo Lee riding high and Cameron Smith taking an unusual approach to Masters preparation.
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Lee claimed his maiden PGA Tour victory last month and appears the most likely of the nation’s contingent to contend after holding off fast-finishing world No.1 Scottie Scheffler at the Houston Open.
But Smith has an impressive record at the first major of the year and has hit form at the right time, while the class of 2013 Masters champion Adam Scott and fellow former world No.1 and major winner Jason Day cannot be understated.
Rounding out the quintet is Cam Davis, who has won twice on the PGA Tour but needs to emerge from a rough patch after a promising start to 2025.
Former PGA Tour player and Fox Sports commentator Paul Gow assesses the chances of each of the Australians in the field at Augusta National this week.
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MIN WOO LEE
World ranking: 22
Previous Masters results (most recent first): T22, MC, T14
Last five starts (most recent first): 1, T20, MC, T11, 48
The 26-year-old is peaking at the right time, but it is always very difficult to back up after a win.
He got a taste of that roughly a year and a half ago during the home summer when he followed up his Australian PGA Championship victory with a third placed finish at the Australian Open the next week.
He led heading into the weekend but ultimately ran out of steam.
That is why the week off in between The Masters and his Houston Open victory will do him the world of good.
The West Australian admitted he was left “drained” by the emotional rollercoaster of his breakthrough PGA Tour win, but the refresher should have him primed to tackle Augusta National, a course he had already lit up and says is his favourite in the world.
Lee finished tied 22nd finish last year despite a broken finger sustained from dropping a dumbbell on his hand in the gym in the lead-up as well as battling illness throughout the week.
Plus, in the final round of his debut appearance in 2022, he matched the front nine record with a scintillating six-under 30.
“Min looks the best (of the Australians) purely on current form and that’s all you can ever go on,” Gow said.
“There’s a maturity level you’ve got to get to first and understanding all the bits and pieces, that are so micro. You knew that someone like him was going to win some day, you just don’t know when.
“It was good theatre. He certainly likes to entertain, and he did.
“It’s good that he’s having the week off. He’s had to do a lot of press and other stuff now that he’s the superstar. But he’ll get that out of the way and get to Augusta.
“Augusta is an interesting place. The players get so protected.
“If you’re any Joe Blow, it’s hard to get access unlike a typical week on the PGA Tour.”
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CAMERON SMITH
World ranking: 123 – LIV events don’t receive world ranking points
Previous Masters results (most recent first): T6, T34, T3, T10, T2, T51, T5, T55
Last five starts (most recent first): T9, T19, T20, 30, T25
Smith’s lead-in to the first major of the year has been quiet with the Ripper GC captain only playing the LIV events so far this season but he appears to be peaking at the right time.
A top ten-finish at the LIV Miami event, which wrapped up on Monday morning Australian time, was coupled with a team victory to head to Augusta in good spirits.
Smith has spent a lot of time at home due to the arrival of his first child, Remy, and spoke on the impact of fatherhood after Ripper’s win in Miami.
“Yeah, it’s so cool. I miss him so much, actually. It was hard to come away this week,” Smith said.
“I mean, I’ve had a few times where it’s been hard to get away from home. But it was a different level this week. I can’t wait to see him tonight.
“It’s cool he’s the winning formula for the team, obviously, I think. One from one, Remy is. It’s so cool.
“People express – I’ve got two great dads next to me (Marc Leishman and Matt Jones)- how cool it is to be a father, but you really can’t put it into words. It’s been so awesome.”
Smith has used the quieter golfing schedule to undertake a pre-season of sorts.
Smith came home to Australia and played four events in front of his adoring home fans in November and December, but he has not played a four-round event since the Australian Open.
Instead, he has been working heavily on a few key traits to try make sure his game is on point when he arrives at Augusta, a venue where he boasts five top-10 finishes in eight starts.
Ripper GC employed a new performance coach this year, and Smith said the move has been a significant one.
“He’s so good. I think just with a team comes organisation, and maybe some stuff that you can think is easy to do that isn’t quite easy to do, and little things throughout the week kind of piss you off, and you wish they weren’t there,” Smith said.
“So he has kind of cleaned all of that stuff up. He’s really, I think, made us — we were already a great team, but I think he’s made us work as individuals probably a little bit harder at the start of the week, get some stuff done that we needed to get done.
“I think there was a sense maybe last year or even at the start of this year where we kind of were focusing too much on what everyone else needs to do rather than ourselves, and he’s cleaned all that stuff up.
“I know for myself, I feel like I’ve been better prepped the last three or four weeks. I’m sure the other guys have, as well. Just little stuff like that, the one percenters throughout a tough week, especially in a week like this, really pays off, so he’s been a good addition to the team.”
Fox Sports’ Paul Gow strongly agrees that Smith’s preparation has the 2022 British Open champion well-placed.
“He grows another leg when he gets to Augusta,” Gow said.
“What (the quieter schedule) has allowed him to do, which he hasn’t done in the past because it’s such a heavy schedule on the PGA Tour at the beginning of the year, is work with his coach Grant Field on different shots.
“Straightening up his driver, working on the irons and he’s been working a lot on his putting.
“What cost him last year at Augusta was his putting.
“I would normally you say you need to have a few runs under your belt before you get to Augusta, but in Cam’s circumstance, where he’s working on these things over many months, it’s not like he leaves a LIV event and goes and puts the clubs in the garage, he’s been doing a lot of work to get that right.
“Normally, you can only do that in the off season but because he came back home for the Aussie summer, there was no off season for him.
“So, I think we’re going to see a different Cam Smith around Augusta this year.”
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ADAM SCOTT
World ranking: 31
Previous Masters results (most recent first): T22, T39, T48, 54, T34, T18, T32, T9, T42, T38, T14, 1, T8, T2, T18, MC, T25, T27, T27, T33, MC, T23, T9
Last five starts (most recent first): T57, MC, T36, T37, T22
Australia’s only green jacket owner arrives at the scene of his unforgettable 2013 triumph a bit upside down.
The 44-year-old has long been regarded as having one of the nicest swings in golf, and concerns have often been raised about his putting despite that famous birdie putt at the second playoff 12 years ago proving he could hold his nerve on the greens.
But so far this year on the PGA Tour, he has not been able to find his groove off the tee.
“Adam Scott hasn’t started the year too well. He’s putting well but he’s driving the ball poorly,” Gow said.
“But you can’t dismiss Adam Scott, Jason Day and Cameron Smith who have great records around Augusta.”
Scott’s incredible streak of 15 straight cuts made at Augusta National shows he just knows how to find a way to get himself in the hunt at The Masters.
And Gow believes Scott along with Day and Smith, will benefit from returning to the scene of past success.
“I don’t think it’s a bad thing that none of them are coming in with ridiculously hot form,” Gow said.
“You get to Augusta, and you drive down Magnolia Lane, and there’s a lift of energy.
“They’ll walk onto the first tee, and they won’t even think about a bad shot.
“They’re only ever thinking about a good shot.”
JASON DAY
World ranking: 36
Previous Masters results (most recent first): T30, T39, MC, MC, T5, T20, T22, T10, T28, T20, 3, WD, T2
Last five starts (most recent first): T27, T8, T50, T13, T32
Based on the former world No.1’s form line, Day should play well at Augusta.
He has managed to be in the hunt in every second PGA Tour event he has played so this year with a tied third at The American Express, tied 13th at Pebble Beach and tied eighth at Bay Hill.
Day has been “solid but not outstanding”, according to Gow.
Although his impressive history at The Masters gives him a leg up, plus Gow believes the fact Day, Scott and Smith all have not had a win yet this year could be an advantage.
It allows them to go about their business on their quiet rather being caught up in the hype and hysteria of Masters week.
“They all fly under the radar. No one is talking about them,” Gow said.
CAM DAVIS
World ranking: 58
Previous Masters results (most recent first): T12, 46
Last five starts (most recent first): MC, MC, MC, MC, T5
Davis’ is not the form line you would be hoping for coming into The Masters, but his tied 12th finish last year shows he’s got the game to compete at Augusta.
He started the year with three top 20s in his first four events and just needs to rediscover that form.
Gow is confident that he can as a top-five finish at the PGA Championship in 2023 proved he can match it with the best at a major.
“He’s missed the last four cuts in a row,” Gow said.
“A place like Augusta National actually suits him, so that’s the interesting bit.
“He can move the ball both ways. He’s very talented.
“I think we’ve got five absolute chances.”
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