Travis Smyth\u2019s red-hot form has earned him a swift return to the LIV Golf stage, with the Australian teeing it up as a Wild Card at this week\u2019s event in Mexico City, just two weeks after his breakthrough victory at International Series Japan.<\/p>\n
The 31-year-old Australian will make his return at Club de Golf Chapultepec today, stepping into the field following Scott Vincent\u2019s move into the HyFlyers GC starting lineup. Vincent, who also earned his place through the International Series Rankings, replaces Phil Mickelson this week, further highlighting the strength of players emerging through the pathway.<\/p>\n
For Smyth, the opportunity is a direct reflection of both form and momentum.<\/p>\n
\u201cWinning the first event of The International Series season has definitely put me in a strong position, and I think that\u2019s a big reason why I\u2019m here this week,\u201d he said. \u201cSo yes, the pathway is working in my favour. I\u2019ve been playing well and it\u2019s great to see that translate into opportunities like this. I\u2019m really excited to keep that momentum going on such a big stage.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019ll be Smyth\u2019s first LIV Golf start since the last weekend in July of 2022 when he finished solo 22nd at LIV Golf Bedminster.<\/p>\n
Asked how his game has changed in the ensuing four years, Smyth replied Wednesday: \u201cTotally different. I used to do some funky stuff with my swing; I was working with a pretty out-there golf coach at the time. My body was really average, and I had some lower back issues at the time. I was pretty much a mess back then.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a much better player now. Super-pumped to see how I stack up against these guys now since I\u2019m in some good form.\u201d<\/p>\n
That form has been undeniable. Smyth arrives in Mexico off the back of two wins in his last three starts, including International Series Japan and the Japan\u2013Australasia Championship.<\/p>\n
He currently leads both The International Series Rankings and the Asian Tour Order of Merit, having also secured the PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit earlier this season.<\/p>\n
Now ranked a career-high 135th in the world, Smyth has already locked in starts at both the PGA Championship and The Open later this year, further evidence of a player hitting his stride.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve felt like I\u2019ve hit it better or played better through stretches before this,\u201d Smyth said. \u201cBut my ability to score and put myself in contention \u2013 mentally I feel like I\u2019ve come up to another level, and it\u2019s allowed me to play a bit better. I\u2019m scoring well and hitting the shots when I need to to stay in contention and also win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Smyth will travel to Singapore next week for the International Series\u2019 Singapore Open presented by The Business Times, as he seeks to maintain his spot atop the rankings. The International Series champion at the end of the season will earn a spot in the 2027 LIV Golf League, one of the reasons he\u2019s prioritizing his schedule around those tournaments.<\/p>\n
It was a scramble, however, to get to Mexico City. After receiving notification Sunday morning in Australia that he had a spot in this week\u2019s field, he had to apply for a visa while dealing with some passport issues after his appearance in Japan. He\u2019s also in the middle of moving to a new house in Australia. He arrived Tuesday ready to check out the high-elevation course.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything\u2019s felt a bit of a rush,\u201d he said, \u201cbut I had a good night\u2019s sleep and today feels nice. Really excited to be part of this again.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Travis Smyth\u2019s red-hot form has earned him a swift return to the LIV Golf stage, with the Australian…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":621497,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[64,63,755,85],"class_list":["post-621496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-golf","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=621496"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/621496\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/621497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=621496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=621496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=621496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}