LIV Golf is set to launch its new season under lights - with Cameron Smith determined they'll be shining on him and his Aussie champion mates again after his own personal win drought in 2024.
The fourth edition of the lucrative breakaway Saudi-based tour begins on Thursday with its players all having been practising under floodlights as they prepare to tackle the Riydah Golf Course at night.
Leading the way in the Saudi capital will be the Australian quartet of Smith, Lucas Herbert, Marc Leishman and Matt Jones - aka "Ripper GC" - who are defending the team title they won last year.
Their captain Smith, the former British Open and Players' champ, loves the team aspect of LIV Golf.
But he wants to also make sure his own personal campaign in 2025 is a step up from his rare winless season worldwide last year, the first campaign in which he'd gone without an individual triumph since 2020.
"I don't like to put too much pressure on myself," says Smith. "I think I just expect to prepare well and work as hard as I can and be competitive, be there on Sundays and hopefully get a couple of wins.
"This was my first winless season for a while, so it's definitely been in the back of my mind."
Majesticks star and English Ryder Cup hero Ian Poulter has seen enough of Smith to think he'll be challenging for a second major this year.
"I watched him hit a couple of shots yesterday on the range," Poulter said of Smith, who finished equal sixth at last year's Masters.
"He's seriously impressive; a major winner, dedicated, works super hard.
"Albeit his schedule is now slightly different to what it used to be but he's a real force in internatinal golf.
"I'd be surprised to go through 2025 without seeing Cam Smith's name in contention to win a major."
Poulter said the novelty of night golf would take some adjusting.
"It's a 2pm wakeup to be ready for 6pm start," he said.
"So we're only seeing daylight for three hours a day ... it's weird, but do you know what? It works."
Last year Smith's team didn't score points in three of their first five events before they triumphed in the Adelaide play-off.
The South Australia event has been moved from the back half of April into next week, with the Rippers keen to get off to a blistering start.
The quartet got together in January in Florida to get in some practice time together, with Leishman flying in from his Virginia base.
"I think we'll be better prepared for the first few events this year compared to last year," Leishman said. "Adelaide is definitely extra motivation to do that."
LIV Golf has changed its scoring format for the teams this year, with every player's score in every round counting towards the team's total score, as opposed to previous campaigns when only the teams' best three scores were taken in the first two rounds.
The tour's officials were also celebrating the US Open's announcement on Wednesday that the event will offer an exemption to a leading LIV Golf player to compete.
So the top LIV player, who's not otherwise exempt and is in the top three of the standings on May 19, will earn a place in the field at Oakmont from June 12-15.
