Cameron Smith at centre of worrying scenes as Tiger Woods arrives at Masters

Cameron Smith will look to turn his 2023 season around when the Masters begins on Thursday at Augusta, after finishing 10 shots adrift of winner Brooks Koepka at the LIV Golf-Orlando tournament. The 2022 Open Championship winner had a weekend to forget at Orange County National, as the likes of Tiger Woods arrived at Augusta on Sunday.

The 29-year-old has enjoyed a string of top-10 finishes at the Masters in previous years, but his 26th-place finish in Florida ahead of one of the year's biggest tournaments hasn't been worthy of a vote of confidence. He fired a final round of 70, undoing five birdies with two bogeys and two double-bogeys in a less than convincing display.

HUGE: Bubba Watson's revelation about Jason Day ahead of Masters

HUGE NEWS: Nick Faldo 'coming out of retirement' for Masters

One of 18 players from the LIV circuit to be renewing hostilities with their PGA Tour rivals this week, Smith will be desperate to rediscover the form that guided him to victory at the Open Championship last year. Much has been made of the ongoing tension between the two golf entities, however Smith has been keen to downplay these issues ahead of the Masters.

The lead-up to the to Masters has also been coloured by suggestions that form among LIV players will not be as strong compared to PGA Tour counterparts, owing to the fact they have less rounds and tournaments scheduled overall. In the lead-up to the LIV event in Florida Smith had dismissed such talk - but needs a more convincing display in Augusta to back it up.

"There's a lot of chatter going around about 'these guys don't play real golf anymore'. And I think it's B.S. to be honest," Smith said last week. "And we just want to show people that."

However a distant finish behind Koepka, who claimed a one-shot victory over Colombia's Sebastian Munoz in Florida, was not the response he was looking for. Despite that, Smith told the Sydney Morning Herald he remained confident after a hectic end to 2022.

“Last year was a really big year and that break (at home over summer) could not have come at a better time,” Smith said. “I’m not a very stressed or anxious person and I feel like those levels were at an all-time high in November and December. I think I needed to do that for myself.

“I had such a good time in Australia with family and friends it was almost hard to come back to reality. The last couple of months have been really good, and I’ve been focusing on the body a lot.”

Tiger Woods arrives at Masters as Cameron Smith looks for answers

Meanwhile, Woods looks all but assured of playing at the Masters after arriving at Augusta on Sunday and hitting the course for a practice round. News outlets in Augusta, Georgia, spotted Woods practicing at the course on Sunday afternoon.

The last time Woods played a tournament was the PGA Tour's Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles in February, where he made the cut. There, the 15-time major champion said he aimed to play all four major championships this season after withdrawing before the end of the 2022 PGA Championship and missing the US Open due to his health and fatigue.

"My goal each and every year from here going forward is to play in all the majors," Woods said in February. "I'm not gonna play too much more than that. My body and my leg and my back just won't allow me to play much more than that anymore. ... That's gonna be my schedule going forward because of all the limitations I have."

Woods placed 47th in the Masters last year, having last won in 2019. Only Jack Nicklaus has won more green jackets, with six.

Woods is expected to play short practice rounds on Monday and Tuesday, when the course will be fully open to media. The Masters begins on Thursday, with Scottie Scheffler the defending champion.

With AAP

Sign up to our newsletter and score the biggest sport stories of the week.