It’s unlikely the Murray Downs Golf and Country Club has ever seen a crowd like this before.

Murray Downs – the tiny town in south-western New South Wales – has a population of just 274 people.

It’s nestled near the Victorian border and is about a four-hour drive in different directions to Wagga Wagga and to Melbourne.

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But this week it is host to one of Australia’s top-earning athletes – LIV Golf superstar and 2022 British Open winner Cameron Smith.

The 31-year-old Queenslander is taking on the NSW Open and was joined in round one by fellow LIV player Lucas Herbert.

The pair put on a show as a crowd of hundreds followed them around the course – Smith shot a bogey-less 7-under 64 to lead by one shot and Herbert shot 6-under.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, is travel Australia,” Smith said.

“I haven’t been down here before, so there’s lots of things I love about this week.”

Smith is back Down Under and playing several events – for considerably less prize money than the tens of millions he typically earns on the LIV tour.

He finished third in the Queensland PGA last week, and next week heads back to Brisbane to contest the Australian PGA Championship. He then heads to Melbourne to contest the Australian Open.

In Murray Downs, he is hoping to get a trophy in his luggage to kickstart the summer.

“It’s a little bit tricky out there today,” Smith said after his first round.

“I thought I’d do a really good job of just hitting lots of fairways and giving myself plenty of opportunities. That’s what you need to do around here.

“There’s plenty of wedges and the greens were nice this morning. Obviously being one of the first ones there to take advantage of that was pretty nice.”

Smith will be joined at the two Aussie majors by the likes of Min Woo Lee and Jason Day among a host of international stars.