{"id":716231,"date":"2026-06-05T05:04:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T05:04:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/716231\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T05:04:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T05:04:11","slug":"its-addictive-travis-smyth-eager-for-more-liv-golf-success-at-andalucia-australian-golf-digest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/716231\/","title":{"rendered":"‘It’s addictive’: Travis Smyth eager for more LIV Golf success at Andalucia \u2013 Australian Golf Digest"},"content":{"rendered":"

[Photo: Mateo Villalba\/LIV Golf]<\/p>\n

Travis Smyth was in Sydney when his phone rang. It was Sunday, he was hungover, and the last thing on his mind was travelling to Busan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought I had three weeks off and I\u2019ve been travelling a lot, playing tons,\u201d Smyth said. \u201cI was just back home having some drinks with some friends. I was only going to do it Friday night, ended up doing it again Saturday night. So, Sunday I was feeling pretty average.\u201d<\/p>\n

CRUSHING IT: Australia\u2019s Travis Smyth enjoys a huge payday<\/a><\/p>\n

The call that came through that morning would change everything. With Paul Casey forced to withdraw from the Crushers GC lineup with a wrist injury, Smyth was asked to be a reserve. He said yes immediately, couldn\u2019t get a flight out until Tuesday, and by Wednesday afternoon was told he was on the team and playing. Four days later, he walked off Asiad Country Club having finished T8 on the individual leaderboard and\u00a0helped deliver the Crushers GC their second consecutive team title in Korea.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one of the most life-changing weeks that I\u2019ve had,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

What made the performance all the more remarkable was the circumstances surrounding it. Smyth arrived in Busan having played just nine holes of practice \u2013 in the rain, in conditions that bore no resemblance to what the week would actually bring. His first round was rocky. But he steadied himself, and by the time the Crushers found themselves in genuine contention, something shifted.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce we got in contention it was like, \u2018I don\u2019t want to be the reason that the Crushers don\u2019t get on this podium or lift a trophy,’\u201d he said. \u201cSo I felt super nervous. But yeah, it just made the whole week even more special. Made me more proud of the way that I played and the way that I carried myself, feeling those nerves that were more than usual and continuing to play well. It was such a good, rewarding feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udea8BREAKING: Travis Smyth is back!<\/p>\n

After filling in for an injured Paul Casey, Travis is running it back with the Crushers this week in Spain pic.twitter.com\/MsoWf2qSVt<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Crushers GC (@Crushers_GC) June 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

That sense of collective responsibility and the weight of not wanting to let teammates down is something Smyth has long identified as one of LIV Golf\u2019s most compelling qualities, and something he felt last week for the first time while actually in contention.<\/p>\n

\u201cI probably cared more about that than my actual individual position,\u201d he admitted.<\/p>\n

Charles Howell III spoke to a similar feeling in the post-round press conference, noting that even a player of his experience still feels the nerves of letting his team down. For Smyth \u2013 the last-minute call-up, the guy who had been partying in Sydney 72 hours earlier \u2013 those nerves ran even deeper. And he channelled them into something special.<\/p>\n

Smyth has won twice in 2026, primarily on the Asian Tour, and has been building towards this kind of performance for some time. One of the most notable developments in his game has been his putting. He gained four strokes on the greens in Korea alone. Smyth is clear that the improvement has nothing to do with mechanics.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not anything technical that I\u2019ve changed. It\u2019s all just my mental approach to it,\u201d he said. \u201cBeing more decisive and committing to lines. It\u2019s more of a little mental switch that\u2019s clicked. Before I would just get over putts and that little voice in your head saying \u2018Don\u2019t go left,\u2019 \u2018Am I aiming high enough,\u2019 \u2018Don\u2019t leave it short\u2019 \u2013 all these don\u2019ts. That story would always override and it really locked me up from being a good putter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, the internal monologue has changed. \u201cI\u2019m just sending this thing down there,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s amazing how many good putts I\u2019ve been able to hole under pressure situations, feeling nervous.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n

Travis Smyth was a key piece of the team victory by Crushers GC at LIV Golf Korea. (Photo by Charles Laberge\/LIV Golf)<\/p>\n

Beyond the putting, there is something broader happening with Smyth\u2019s game that is difficult to quantify but impossible to ignore. He described it simply as playing with more freedom than at any point in his career, a freedom that seems to deepen under pressure rather than evaporate.<\/p>\n

\u201cHas there been moments where I feel like I\u2019ve hit driver better or hit my irons better or chipped and putted better? Yeah, there has been,\u201d he said. \u201cBut as a whole, I feel like I\u2019m playing probably with more freedom than I ever have.\u201d<\/p>\n

He will need all of it\u00a0this week at Valderrama, a course he is seeing for the first time and which made an immediate impression.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s incredible. It\u2019s such a unique course. It\u2019s so tight,\u201d he said. \u201cSome of these par 3s, you could find yourself in the weirdest situations here where you miss a green by like three or four metres and it kicks down a hill and then you\u2019re chipping up to a green with trees and branches everywhere. You\u2019re gonna have to grind for some bogeys out here.\u201d<\/p>\n

MORE: Why isn\u2019t Jon Rahm offering more to help LIV Golf find new investors? Here\u2019s his explanation<\/a><\/p>\n

For a player who described his Korea preparation as \u201cthe polar opposite\u201d of everything he normally does, the prospect of navigating one of the most demanding venues in professional golf with a full week of preparation feels almost luxurious.<\/p>\n

But don\u2019t mistake comfort for complacency. Smyth is fully aware of what is at stake, not just this week, but in the broader context of what a sustained run of form on LIV Golf could mean for his career.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still feel like I have to go out and prove something to myself as well as the whole league,\u201d he said. \u201cAs long as Paul\u2019s injured or whatever, I want the Crushers to feel lucky that I came into the equation. I don\u2019t want to be just the fill-in guy that comes last out of the four players all the time. I want to prove myself. I want to be on this league full-time.\u201d<\/p>\n

That desire is what makes Smyth\u2019s story one of the most compelling on LIV Golf right now. He has had a glimpse of what LIV Golf looks like from the inside, competing alongside the best players in the world at some of the most spectacular venues on the planet, and he wants more.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve felt this little glimpse of what it\u2019s like and yeah, it\u2019s addictive,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Crushers won Korea. Smyth was a significant reason why. This week at Valderrama, he gets another chance to make the case that LIV Golf is where he belongs permanently.<\/p>\n