Major champion Ian Baker-Finch said he understood Smith’s point of view, but he didn’t think they were softening the course up just for the event.

“I think by tomorrow afternoon we will see the greens get fiery,” Baker-Finch told RSN on Thursday morning.

Smith was good enough on Thursday to make the most of the conditions. Having started on the back nine at 7am, Smith hit the lead midway through his round at Victoria Golf Club when he hit six birdies in a row between the 14th and the first holes. He finished his round with two birdies.

“Finally woke up, the coffee worked, and I got on a good roll through the turn,” Smith said.

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“The course is definitely gettable; the greens are soft and there wasn’t much wind out there this morning, a lot of those par fives played quite short.

“Six-under [par] is a really good score, but I’m sure it won’t be leading.”

Japanese amateur Rintaro Nakano, who played Kingston Heath, made a bogey on his last hole to finish with 65 (-7) on the par-72 course while Smith’s LIV Golf teammate Lucas Herbert (-8) was leading midway through the day after shooting 63.

Herbert said it was disappointing how the course was playing but blamed the weather.

Australian PGA champion Elvis Smylie (-1) had a slow start but recovered from being three-over par to finish with 70.

Australia’s Su-Hyun Oh (-6) started the women’s Open well at Kingston Heath to be joint leader with South Korean amateur Hyojin Yang (-6) who played Victorian Golf Club.

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