U.S. OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP 2023

June 17, 2023

Cam Smith

The Los Angeles Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. You must have had a range of emotions in that round, the way it went up and down.

CAM SMITH: Yeah, lots of good in there. I don't think there was lots of bad, either. I think it was just the golf course was tough.

Yeah, the golf course is getting firmer and faster, as I expected, and going to take some really good play to get around even, and managed to hang in there for a while and get under par, and yeah, just a bit of a poor finish, I guess, the last five holes.

Q. After you birdied 12 and 13, did you think you had yourself back on track?

CAM SMITH: Yeah, the game was feeling good all day, to be honest. It's just, like I said, the golf course is so tough, you get out of position once, it's tough to make a par.

It was a good little momentum switch and then I was really looking forward to 14, and a bogey there kind of hurts on a par-5.

Q. To have that putt go in at the end, it at least took a little upswing anyway at the end?

CAM SMITH: Yeah, I feel as though I hit lots of really good putts, especially the last three holes. Two of them were for par. It was nice to see that one drop before night's end.

Q. 3-under, still not out of it. What do you think has to happen tomorrow?

CAM SMITH: Geez, probably one of the best rounds of my life. It's going to have to take at least 5- or 6-, probably even 7-under, I think. The golf course is getting tougher, but there's still lots of wedges out there. The leaders are there for a reason, as well. They're obviously playing really good golf.

Q. What are the little things that have changed in the course that maybe the casual person wouldn't notice?

CAM SMITH: I guess as the week has gone on, obviously the greens have got firmer and faster, and there's a lot of shots that you're literally trying to hit to 20, 30, 40 feet.

I guess for the people viewing it, it probably looks like boring golf sometimes, but they're probably some of the best shots we'll hit this week.