LIV GOLF ADELAIDE

February 10, 2026

Cam Smith

Elvis Smylie

Marc Leishman

Lucas Herbert

The Grange

Ripper GC

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Elvis, can you share what the past 48 hours have been like for you?

ELVIS SMYLIE: Yeah, it's been a whirlwind of a 48 hours. It's been a quick turnaround since Riyadh. As soon as that final putt went in on the Saturday, we pretty much had to get ready, get on the charter and get here.

I had a bit of time to reflect on the plane. I've had so many wonderful messages from friends and family, and it's great to be home.

Q. LIV Golf Adelaide has become a bit of a home event for the club. How excited are all of you to be back here, not only coming off the week 1 success but from the different fan experiences, entertainment you've got going with Ripper Point and the Ripper House on the 14th hole and just the overall energy and excitement this week?

CAM SMITH: Yeah, I mean, I think we all just can't wait to get started. I think this is our biggest week of the year, particularly for us. It feels like it's the league's biggest event. Feels like everyone wants to play well here.

It's cool to have that at your home event. We've got a great setting out on 13 and 14, Ripper Point and Ripper House, some great acts, which I won't be attending until Sunday. I think I've had too many experiences in past years.

Yeah, excited to get the week started.

MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, it's obviously a massive week for us to play in front of the home crowd. It's a highlight of my year. The course is as good as I've probably ever seen it. Looks like the weather is going to be perfect. Shaping up to be a massive week, and hopefully it can be a big week for the Rippers and we can get everyone cheering on 13 and 14 and the rest of the golf course.

I'm looking forward to Elvis, being able to watch him experience a massive week. Like Cam said, it's a highlight of our year, and I know he's going to enjoy it.

LUCAS HERBERT: I feel like I'll just be repeating what the other boys said. It's nice not to be the new guy for once, watching Elvis deal with this week for the first time. It takes a lot of energy out of you with so many people and so many commitments and whatnot here this week.

It's nice it's my third year in and have a bit more of an understanding how to deal with it all. Like these boys, really looking forward to getting the week started. Course is in unbelievable shape, and it should be a great week.

Q. Cam, the focus has been on you the last two or three years. Does Elvis winning last week and being a new member mean that a little bit of that spotlight may go off you, which I imagine would help?

CAM SMITH: Yeah, it's nice. Yeah, I mean, I think it's our biggest week. It's the team's biggest week. We all have so many commitments this week.

It's draining, but it's what we expect. We know that we have to deal with it. We've been here plenty of times before now. It is Elvis's first time around, and I feel like the last couple years especially we've done a better job of managing the commitments and the outside stuff so we're ready to play on Thursday.

We're all prepped for it. We're playing great golf. We're all playing confidently. It's nice for Elvis to come out here and immediately shine like he did last week.

Q. Can that free you up personally to concentrate on your game and not being the one Australian name that everyone talks about?

CAM SMITH: Maybe, perhaps. I still feel like there's a lot of pressure on myself and the team to perform well this week. Like we've all said, it's our biggest week of the year. To have the home crowd behind you, you kind of don't want to let them down.

Perhaps it's a little bit different this year, but I don't think it really changes what we're thinking about and what we want to achieve on Sunday.

Q. How special would it be to make it two in a row if you managed to win here in Adelaide but also to do it on home soil?

ELVIS SMYLIE: Yeah, it would be incredibly special. I think the important thing for me personally and I think from the team's perspective is just not get too complacent with what we achieved last week, which was something significant.

I think we now want to look forward and look for the next mountain to climb, and I think the next mountain is climbing Adelaide, and achieving the team win at home would be incredibly special. I think we've got a really good shot. We're all in great form, and the course is in great condition, and we're all feeling really confident.

Q. Elvis was once the recipient of your scholarship. How does it feel playing alongside each other?

CAM SMITH: Yeah, it's great. When Elvis first came over for my scholarship, this whole idea of team golf and playing on an Australian team wasn't even really a thought. It's all happened really quickly, and to think that a couple years ago I was going to have a recipient in the team, winning, is pretty special.

Look, I don't think I would have thought it would happen that quick. But it has, and it's great. It's awesome.

Q. Elvis, 20 months ago you had never won a golf tournament as a professional. You've changed coaches and you're defining yourself as a pro golfer. Rookie year now, you've won across three tours; the world is at your feet. Is it a bit of a pinch-yourself moment where you are sitting now?

ELVIS SMYLIE: Yeah, definitely. I still remember coming on the pod and chatting to you straight after the WA Open.

Q. The week before actually.

ELVIS SMYLIE: Oh, it was the week before, I'm sorry.

Yeah, I think it hasn't taken just me to get here. Obviously I've mentioned this several times, but it does take a good team of people around you. I'm very fortunate to have those people. That all starts with my parents.

They know what it's like playing professional sport at a high level and achieving great things. Having them be with me every step of the way has been really special.

That experience last year in Europe really served me in great stead. I felt like I really became a worldly golfer. You're always competing in different environments and conditions, and that's something that I've really thrived on, and I'm really looking forward to this year. You're traveling around so many different countries and climates, and doing it with these guys is going to be really special.

Q. You've jumped 60 spots in the world ranking, as well. Coming across to LIV Golf was a bit of a risk. How cool is that, first event you've just jumped right in the top 100?

ELVIS SMYLIE: Yeah, it's incredibly special. My goal -- I have goals that I want to achieve from a ranking point of view, and I'm continuing to progress in the direction that I want to and play my way into majors, which is something that I'm very passionate about doing.

Q. Just wondering what your future this year is looking like outside the 14 events here, I assume the Aussie Open, PGA and as many events as you can qualify for, maybe DP World Tour, Asian Tour? Do you have any events outside this LIV league?

ELVIS SMYLIE: Yeah, I still have commitments to play on the DP World Tour, which I'm very happy about. Like I said, last year was such a huge learning curve of having that opportunity of playing so many different tournaments worldwide, and that tour is still very competitive, and I feel like playing on that tour is still going to put me in really good stead in order to continue to get better. There's a couple International Series events that I'll play, and then ultimately going home -- well, coming home at the end of the year and playing the Australian PGA and the Australian Open.

Q. What sort of assurances did you have before you signed with LIV? Do you have to pay fines, or was there any sort of stuff like that around going back and playing these DP World Tour events from here?

ELVIS SMYLIE: Yeah, I think the one thing that I will say is what a great job Scott O'Neil has done with being able to have negotiations with the DP World Tour and coming up with a solution for us LIV players that still want to continue playing on the DP World Tour.

I've been given that opportunity, and I'm excited to continue playing on that Tour.

Q. How does it work? You just can play, or are there restrictions? Can your mates here just go back and play the odd DP World Tour events?

ELVIS SMYLIE: There's protocols to go through, and there's steps that LIV is still going through with the DP World Tour, but we're really confident that we're able to move in a positive direction.

Q. Can I just ask you about, you talk about how big this week is and almost Sunday you say how draining it is. What are you doing differently this time around, and I guess what lessons have you learned from all the outside influences to perform on course? Has much changed from the first couple years you were here?

CAM SMITH: The first couple years we were here, we actually come off a break after the Masters. We all kind of showed up really fresh and probably didn't realize how much it took out of us until last year.

Last year we flew from Riyadh, same as we did this weekend, and just felt like we didn't have time to prepare and sleep and do all the necessary steps to be prepared for Thursday or Friday.

We learned a bit off last year. Like I said, the commitments have probably got a little bit less, so we can spend more time on the golf course and more time kind of getting over the jet lag. There's kind of certain things you need to do to get over that within three or four days. You want to be stepping up on Thursday ready to go. You don't want to be sleepy or tired or feel like you need a coffee halfway through a round.

That was definitely the case last year, and I feel like especially yesterday we did a really good job of managing that. We didn't have any commitments yesterday, and a lot of time in the sun, a bit of time in the gym and cold plunges and stuff trying to get ready.

I can only speak for myself, but I already feel like I've done a better job this year than I have in previous years.

Q. Elvis, winning last week, you said you wanted to prove yourself on the tour. Has it taken the pressure off, or has it actually put more pressure on to perform, if you understand that?

ELVIS SMYLIE: Yeah, not necessarily thinking of it as less pressure or more pressure. I think the one thing that I've appreciated that I continued to see throughout last week is I felt like I've gained the respect of each player on the tour, which is something that means quite a lot to me. Going into a new environment, you don't really know what to expect, so you want to feel like you're well-respected by your competitors, and that's something that meant a lot to me.

In terms of what I want to feel moving forward, I think just trying to -- I feel like I can learn a lot from these guys up here, and I'm in an environment to do that.

Q. Cam, this event has become the gold standard for LIV. How important is it to sort of keep that going forward when it goes to Kooyonga in North Adelaide, and could you comment on going to four days as well, if that could affect the overall quality of the event?

CAM SMITH: I don't think it's going to affect the quality of the event moving venues. I think Adelaide is a town that embraces big sporting events. I was down here for The Ashes over the summer, and it was cool. It was almost like the same type of vibe as we get this week around town.

I think this is the gold standard, as do many of my peers out here. But we're doing stuff this week that just keeps moving the needle with LIV and doing stuff this week that we won't do in the next few weeks to try and make this a better event. Better for our spectators and fans and everyone that comes out.

Q. Are you concerned that the other LIV events around the world aren't to the standard or the quality in terms of the show that's put on here compared to other places around the world?

CAM SMITH: No, I think they're all held to the same standard. I think this town just embraces sporting events, really. I think that's what the difference is.

We're going to South Africa this year, which is going to be amazing. I feel like that'll have a similar type of vibe. Even our event in Detroit, our Team Championship last year and our individual championship last year in Indy had a similar type of vibe to what we get here.

We're moving in the right direction, I would say, around the world, but this is still the gold standard.

Q. Marc, you mentioned how impeccable the course looks. Can you go into more detail as to what you noticed in that practice round you had earlier?

MARC LEISHMAN: I think just the coverages of grasses is perfect. Years past it's been really, really good, but I think it's just a little thicker this year, greener. The greens are healthy enough that they'll be able to get them really, really firm later in the week and they won't die.

I think, yeah, they've just done a great job with preparations, and what that does is they're able to push it a little bit harder during the tournament, which makes it more difficult, and I think the better players come to the top when that's the case.

Q. Generally when a rookie joins a team, there could be an element of hazing or giving the rookie a bit of stick. After last week, does Elvis get a pass, or are you still going to consider him a rookie?

CAM SMITH: He's still copping all the shit. All of it.

Q. You mentioned how this week you're quite busy outside of golf, as well, with activations and everything. Obviously Saturday is Valentine's Day. Does anyone have any social plans for Saturday?

CAM SMITH: Elvis does. (Laughter.)

ELVIS SMYLIE: I don't have any plans. I did receive a really nice gift this morning, though, from a particular individual here, so...

Anyway, yeah, it is -- I don't know. We'll see what happens. Let's just play good and we'll see what the week brings.

Q. Going back to the hazing question, just curious, can you give us at least one example what the hazing involves?

CAM SMITH: That question there is going to help us a lot. That's just given us a lot of fuel, so thank you very much.

ELVIS SMYLIE: You're really throwing me under the bus, but thank you.

LUCAS HERBERT: I'll throw, there's one happening in the caddies. It's a slow burn at the moment, so I can't actually reveal what's happened. But there's a small one there that's going on that might reveal itself at some stage.

Q. Marc, you may have the best stroke average on the Watering Hole --

ELVIS SMYLIE: And he birdied it again today.

Q. Didn't you do a shoey there at one point?

MARC LEISHMAN: Yeah, I think that was the first year on the Sunday afternoon. Actually that was my last hole of the tournament. Some bloke threw me his shoe -- it was out of someone else's shoe. It was disgusting, actually.

Yeah, I've got a pretty good average there. Did I birdie it every day last year? I can't remember. Yeah, I've had a fair few birdies there.

I don't know, I enjoy the whole vibe of the place. It's nice to be able to get them cheering, and to feel like you're sort of the home team guy or the hometown person, it's pretty cool. Yeah, hopefully I can do the same again this year.

Q. Now that we're a week or so on from the OWGR decision for you guys to get some more world ranking points, how does it sit with you now? Is it satisfactory? And what are your goals for the future now that that decision has been made?

CAM SMITH: Yeah, I think it's a work in progress probably still, but it is nice to have that behind us. That's been a long time coming, so it's nice to get the recognition.

It's so hard out here. I don't think we get the respect of the golfing world that maybe we respect sometimes because of what it is and how we play.

I think it's a work in progress, but it's a step in the right direction, nonetheless. It was good for Elvis last week. He loves it.

Q. Could we get your thoughts, Elvis? You mentioned you do have world ranking goals. I assume that's specifically about reaching top 50 or higher? Could you shed a bit more light on that?

ELVIS SMYLIE: Yeah, definitely top 50 in the world means that you get in all four majors, which I'm very close to achieving, so it's great that we do get recognition, like Cam says. At the end of the day, good golf takes care of itself, and yeah, try and win a few more times.

Ultimately, the Masters is something that's on my mind now. That's a conversation that I can start to have and that is fuel to the fire for me. Let's see what happens these next few weeks.

Q. Lucas, do you guys still hold out the same sort of hopes and hopefully have to get to bypass qualifiers and things like that in the future?

LUCAS HERBERT: I think I went back to the OWGR website last week for the first time in two years. I don't know, I think I got to 40 in the world before LIV started, and that's something that I'm proud of. I don't know what I got to ranking-wise after LIV started because to me, it didn't rank every player in the world, which is what the system is set out to do.

There's all these -- obviously as Elvis says, there's all sorts of criteria for majors and different events and whatnot where world ranking gets you in, but ultimately the goal of the world ranking system, I would assume, would be to rank the best golfers in the world. If they're going to have Cam Smith outside the top 100 in the world, I don't know that that's necessarily a fair system.

Once going to LIV, I think my interest in where I was ranked in the world was pretty low, and to be honest, where anyone else was ranked in the world, given it seemed like the system wasn't maybe doing it the best way it could have.

Q. Cam, to follow up on that, you mentioned perhaps you guys don't get the respect that you guys deserve. Does the change to a four-day format influence respect, do you think, at all?

CAM SMITH: I don't think so. I just think it's just how it's become, unfortunately. Like Elvis last week played some of the best golf I think I've seen, and it's unfortunate that the golfing world doesn't see that how I see it because I see it as that was a great performance and he held off probably one of the best golfers of our generation to win a golf tournament. Yeah, that's just how it is, unfortunately.

I think we're getting places. Yep, it's getting better.

Q. Right after this, the team has an event with Little Rippers. It's an initiative that your team launched with Golf Australia. How important is it to all of you to be supporting the next generation of golfers in Australia?

LUCAS HERBERT: Yeah, I mean, the biggest part of the reason for me joining LIV was the impact it was going to have on Australian golf, being able to get more time to play tournaments back here in Oz. Cam and I -- sorry, and Leish, have been able to play some of the events in Australia we never would have played, whether it be the WA Open, the New South Wales Open, I think the Queensland PGA for Cam. Events that there's no way they would have made it to our schedule in years gone by, just with how busy we are. But it's an opportunity for us to come back home and play in front of our home crowds.

Knowing Cam, I know how much Elvis being a scholarship recipient and now making it to the team and winning last week would mean to him. It's massive for us. We constantly are keeping up with what the junior golfers and amateur golfers through the Australian systems are doing, and LIV has given us a great ability to be able to keep on top of that more and see more of what's happening.

To go to even more of a grass-roots level of these kids out here this afternoon -- we did a clinic at the Australian Open, as well. Getting more kids into golf, getting them interested, definitely for the three of my right, I'm not going to put myself in this category, but having idols to look up to like these three, I just think it's a big part of kids' futures, and golf is such a great vehicle to teach a lot of life lessons.

Feels like we're doing a lot of great things. I hope other people see it the same way. We feel like we're sitting up here doing really good things for the younger generation.