Former Open champion Cam Smith will be the first of the nine-strong Australian contingent onto the tee box at Royal Portrush with the 2022 winner hoping his return to the event sparks a return to form.
The 31-year-old Queenslander goes out just before 7am local time Thursday (15:57 AEST), the third group on the course, and the status of his playing partners - amateur Cayman Islander Justin Hastings and unheralded Englishman Marco Penge, underlines his fall from grace.
Smith, who switched to the LIV Golf circuit not long after winning at St Andrew's, has missed cuts at this year's Masters, US Open and US PGA and is now outside the world's top 200.
