Q.  Just couldn’t get it going today, Cam?  Birdie, bogey, birdie, bogey, couldn’t seem to get hot?

CAMERON SMITH:  Yeah, I played really good today actually.  I didn’t really ‑‑ I didn’t really miss a shot until the drive on 17.  Just couldn’t get anything going.  I hit a few good shots.  I birdied the first and then hit a really good shot into the second and it just dribbled over the back of the green and I ended up making bogey.  That’s probably not the start you want when you’re five back.  Yeah, a bit of a long day in that regard, but lots of positives to take, especially out of today.

Q.  You said yesterday you’re not going to use tiredness as an excuse anymore, but are you proud of the title defence?  Sort of gave it ‑‑ roared into contention on Friday with that 65?

CAMERON SMITH:  Yeah, yeah, it was a good week, I just wish I, you know, could play that first round again.  That kind of ‑‑ just a bit of a bummer of a start really.  It’s hard to come back from a start like that.  Played some pretty solid golf the rest of the week and couldn’t quite get it done, but yeah, it’s all right.

Q.  What did you hit on the second hole that ran out the left side there?

CAMERON SMITH:  5‑iron.

Q.  Okay.  What’s your plans now, Cam?  What’s your first tournament back after Christmas?

CAMERON SMITH:  Playing the Sony Open in Hawaii, and then it’s a pretty busy stretch for me actually.  From there, probably play four out of six or seven weeks.  Spend a little bit of time at home over in Jackson.  Yeah, just trying ‑‑ that west coast has typically been pretty good to me, so with the golf I’m playing here, as long as I stay on top of my game, I think I should go all right.

Q.  You’re 53rd in the world.  You want to get inside that Top‑50 to get in the Masters?

CAMERON SMITH:  Yeah, that’s going to be the goal.  That’s probably not the long‑term goal, but yeah, I definitely want to be at the Masters.  That’s on everyone’s mind, for sure.

Q.  Seeing maroon following you around today as well, that must have been nice to see. 

CAMERON SMITH:  Yeah, it was good.  I think most of the guys up at Wantima know that I wear maroon on the last day, so yeah, it’s nice for them to come out and support with maroon shirts.

Q.  Tell us about your week.  How was your experience coming back to defend?

CAMERON SMITH:  It’s been a good week.  It’s always a good week down here.  Probably a bit of a long week with the tiredness, but I still had plenty of time with the family and plenty of time to go to the beach and all that stuff.  It’s always a good week.

Q.  Cam, when you look at the way you started at the Australian Open to now, do you think you found a bit of a groove with your game?

CAMERON SMITH:  Yeah.

Q.  You’re just battling the swing a little bit?

CAMERON SMITH:  Yeah, I think I probably ‑‑ I probably could have prepared better for the Aussie Open.  I had, you know, two or three weeks off before then and didn’t really do much practice, so I knew it was going to be a little bit rusty and I just couldn’t quite get my swing working. 

But the last two weeks have been really good.  Last week, hit the ball great, and then this week I hit the ball great again and just couldn’t really get the putts to drop and couldn’t really get any kind of momentum going three out of the four days.