Cameron Smith says he's stacked on the muscle required to compete with the big bombers at Augusta National, after making a solid start in his return to the Masters.
In his first competitive round at the famed course since his debut two years ago, Smith carded a one-under-par 71 to sit five shots off the pace set by first-round leader Jordan Spieth.
Having earned qualification to the first major of 2018 via the final rankings cut-off two weeks ago, world No.45 Smith said he was playing a completely different game this time round Augusta.
"Probably 20 metres," Smith said when asked how much longer he is with the driver compared to 2016.
"And 20 metres is a lot; I was hitting seven irons where I was probably hitting a four iron last time.
"I can attack a little bit more and be aggressive."
The 24-year-old Brisbane native noticed a spike in the atmosphere with four-time champion Tiger Woods in the field this week at Augusta.
"I was a little nervous at the start; there were more people around today," Smith said.
"Obviously, the roars and the cheers were so much louder because we had Tiger a few groups ahead, which was an experience.
"The biggest goal for the past couple of years was to make my way back to the Masters."
Smith hit just six of Augusta's 14 generous fairways on Thursday and urged himself to tighten up the driver or get left behind.
"I struggled with the driver today so to finish under par was great," he said.
"My chipping and putting was good all day so I know if I give myself some decent chances at birdie I can make the putts and climb up this leaderboard."
