'It's One That I've Always Wanted' - Cameron Smith Commits To Fourth Home Event Of Australian Summer

LIV Golf's Cameron Smith has committed to play in the Australian Open later this year - marking his fifth home event of 2024.

The man from Brisbane, Queensland has already teed it up at LIV Golf Adelaide - helping his Ripper GC team to a thrilling playoff success on home soil - and is currently in the field for four more Australian tournaments before Christmas.

Firstly, between October 31 and November 3, Smith will play the Queensland PGA Championship - the fifth event on the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia calendar. He will then move on to the New South Wales Open at Murray Downs (Nov 14-17) before switching his attention to DP World Tour competitions thereafter.

The Australian PGA Championship is first up at Royal Queensland GC between November 21-24, and the Australian Open takes place between November 28 and December 1. The final chapter of Smith's latest Australian odyssey will see him attempt to win the Stonehaven Cup for the first time at his 12th attempt.

Twice has the 31-year-old come up painfully short in the past - the most brutal of which arrived when he lost to Jordan Spieth in a playoff at the 2016 championship. The very next year, a week before landing the first of three Australian PGA Championships, Smith ended fourth at his national open.

Speaking to ABC News about the subject, Smith said: "I don't know if it's been a difficult tournament for me but there's been a couple of hard pills to swallow in the past.

"I've been close a couple of times, lost in a play-off, so there's definitely some motivation there to win it and get that trophy.

"It's one that I've always wanted to win, one that's always been on my radar and I feel like I've prepped for a lot and I just haven't been able to do it yet."

Ripper GC's captain will be joined by a host of high-profile names at the Australian Open, including fellow Australians Min Woo Lee, Jason Day, Cam Davis, and Hannah Green - the leading Aussie woman at the dual-gender tournament. Defending champion and LIV golfer Joaquin Niemann has also committed to the Australian Open.

Hoping to peak at exactly the right time as he hunts that elusive national open crown, Smith explained his busier Australian summer schedule.

He said: "I've just got some extra time, and I feel like last year I had a lot of time off and got to do some really cool things in Australia that I haven't been able to do," the 31-year-old said.

"I really wanted to be prepped for the last couple of events, they're obviously smaller tournaments but I think it's good to give back to Australian golf wherever I can.

"I had some spare time so rather than sitting on the lounge, actually doing some work and prepping for the big ones — not only at the end of year but leading into next year — it just made a little bit of sense for me to do that."

Cameron Smith Australian Summer Schedule