MELBOURNE, Australia – On the eve of the Presidents Cup, Cameron Smith was asked about the state of his relationship with Patrick Reed after Smith didn’t mince words in calling Reed “a cheat” for his rules infraction at the Hero World Challenge last week.
“I think there is a little bit of tension there. I’ve looked at Patrick a couple times but he hasn’t looked back,” Smith said. “I think our friendship, I guess, is not quite there anymore.”
Things got a bit chippy between the two on Friday when Smith, who sat out the first session of the Presidents Cup, was supporting teammates Hideki Matsuyama and C.T. Pan in their Four-ball match against Reed-Webb Simpson.
After Reed canned a birdie putt at the fifth green, he walked off the green and brushed shoulders with Smith. One witness described it as a “love tap” to Golf Digest Australia’s Brad Clifton. When asked after Saturday’s round whether it was done playfully or with a bit of venom, Smith said, “I’m not really sure what it was about to be honest. I mean, I haven’t said anything wrong.”
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At the Australian Open last week in Sydney, Smith said he didn’t have sympathy for anyone that cheats.
“If you make a mistake once, maybe you can understand, but to give like a bit of a bulls–t response like the camera angle, I mean, that’s pretty up there,” Smith told reporters. “I know Pat pretty good and he’s always been nice to me, so I don’t want to say anything bad about him. But for anyone that is cheating the rules, I’m not up for that.”
Smith stopped short of adding anymore fuel to fire in the war of words.
“I just don’t want to really talk about it anymore. I think it’s all said and done. I’ve said my bit. He’s said his bit. Let’s just get on with our job and try and play the Presidents Cup.”
Small sample size but nearly every Australian this reporter has talked to is hoping that Captains Els and Woods let them settle their differences in a Sunday singles match.
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