{"id":803664,"date":"2026-07-16T09:39:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T09:39:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/803664\/"},"modified":"2026-07-16T09:39:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T09:39:17","slug":"travis-smyth-how-the-australian-golfers-life-changing-year-led-to-a-practice-round-with-scottie-scheffler-at-the-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/803664\/","title":{"rendered":"Travis Smyth: How the Australian golfer\u2019s life-changing year led to a practice round with Scottie Scheffler at The Open"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Tom<\/p>\n

July 16, 2026 \u2014 11:41am<\/p>\n

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Sydneysider Travis Smyth is living the dream as he embarks on his second Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in England, but life is about to get even better.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, the long-haired golfer who hails from Shellharbour on the NSW South Coast was called up by one of the game\u2019s biggest stars, Bryson DeChambeau, to play for his Crushers GC team at a LIV Golf event in South Korea.<\/p>\n

\"AustralianAustralian golfer Travis Smyth during a practice round at Royal Birkdale ahead of this week\u2019s Open Championship in England. Getty Images<\/p>\n

Things got better on Wednesday when the world No.145 found himself alongside the top-ranked Scottie Scheffler during a practice round in front of a huge gallery, with fans scrambling for a glimpse of the defending champion.<\/p>\n

Smyth is also poised to earn a call-up to the all-Australian Ripper GC team for upcoming LIV Golf events, joining Cam Smith and Lucas Herbert after an injury to fellow Australian Elvis Smylie.<\/p>\n

After the Open, Smyth will make his way to JCB Golf & Country Club to compete at LIV Golf UK.<\/p>\n

Throw in victories at the ISPS Handa Japan-Australasia Championship in Auckland and another title in Japan earlier this year, sealed with a 25-foot eagle putt on the final hole, and it has been a \u201clife-changing year\u201d for the 31-year-old who will be among seven Australians teeing up this week.<\/p>\n

\"AustralianAustralian golfer Travis Smyth (right) with world No.1 Scottie Scheffler (second from right) ahead of the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.Instagram<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like the player that I am now, I saw myself getting here well before this. The way it\u2019s come in the last five months is pretty surreal,\u201d said Smyth, who hit a hole in one at the 2023 Open at Royal Liverpool. \u201cI just pinch myself all the time. I\u2019m just over the moon with the progress.\u201d<\/p>\n

If Smyth never becomes one of the game\u2019s superstars, he will always have the memory of walking nine holes alongside Scheffler and watching golf\u2019s dominant force prepare for a major. The world No.1 completed his final hit-out before the Open, flanked by an entourage of coaches and family, including two-year-old son Bennett.<\/p>\n

At one point, Scheffler asked his son for a read on the 15th green. The putt missed, prompting a laugh from the two-time Masters champion.<\/p>\n

Smyth, who is based in Sydney and practises at the St Michael\u2019s Golf Club, chatted regularly with Scheffler throughout their round before the pair shared the 18th fairway with hundreds of spectators from behind the ropes following the American.<\/p>\n

\"ScottieScottie Scheffler with his son Bennett during a practice round ahead of the Open Championship. Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Australian asked Scheffler questions and studied his game at close quarters, which is built off a booming drive and magnificent approach shots.<\/p>\n

Smyth has been called up as a reserve on a number of occasions for LIV Golf and missed the cut at the PGA Championship this year.<\/p>\n

But his opportunity with DeChambeau\u2019s Crushers GC paid immediate dividends when Smyth finished eighth as his team claimed victory at LIV Golf Korea.<\/p>\n

Smyth, however, admits he still wonders what the future holds for LIV Golf as uncertainty continues to surround the circuit.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt plays on my mind in that I hope it sticks around,\u201d Smyth said. \u201cI feel quite optimistic that every time I do go as a reserve, I\u2019m going to get in. I\u2019m happy to be part of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year has been constantly travelling back to Sydney, unpack the bags, pack the bags and go again. It\u2019s just been non-stop and pretty nuts. But the body feels pretty good, probably the best it ever has. I love this lifestyle and I wouldn\u2019t ask for anything else.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d say 100 per cent I am where I am today because of the mental stuff that I\u2019ve been working on.<\/p>\n

Australian round one tee times (AEST)<\/p>\n

Thursday<\/p>\n

5.47pm \u2014 Michael Thorbjornsen, Kota Kaneko, Travis Smyth6.25pm \u2014 Ben Griffin, Hideki Matsuyama, Min Woo Lee6.47pm \u2014 Justin Thomas, Alex Noren, Jason Day9.14pm \u2014 Cameron Smith, Keith Mitchell, Stuart Gregan11.09pm \u2014 Bud Cauley, Jayden Schaper, Lucas Herbert11.31pm \u2014 Chris Gotterup, Sam Burns, Adam Scott<\/p>\n

Friday<\/p>\n

12.59am \u2014 Cameron John, Austen Truslow, Sam Bairstow<\/p>\n

\u201cI also love St Michael\u2019s. The afternoons there are magical. It\u2019s my office.\u201d<\/p>\n

Glorious weather is forecast for The Open Championship, but one of the biggest talking points has been Royal Birkdale itself, with unusually dry, firm conditions expected to dramatically change how the course plays.<\/p>\n

Australia\u2019s Lucas Herbert said this week he may not take the driver out with him because of the amount of run available off the tee.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Scottie<\/a><\/p>\n

There are several lengthy par fours – including a daunting 465-metre par final hole – but the thick links rough is expected to heavily punish anyone who strays from the fairway.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never honestly played a tournament this baked out, so I don\u2019t really know what to expect but I\u2019m excited for the challenge,\u201d Smyth said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a unique thing that we don\u2019t get to play on very often.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"TomTom Decent<\/a> is the chief sports writer for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"July 16, 2026 \u2014 11:41am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":803665,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[64,63,755,85],"class_list":["post-803664","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\/803664","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=803664"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/803664\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/803665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=803664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=803664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=803664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}