Q. 3-under 67, so 3-under on the back side today, much more difficult. What did you find after the turn?
CAM SMITH: I don't think I found anything. I think it was probably just less mistakes. There was a couple of really good scrambling holes in there, as well. Definitely left a few shots out there, especially on that front nine.
Got a bit unlucky there on 14, the par-5. A little bit annoying.
But all in all, if you had given me 3-under at the start of the day, I think I would have taken it.
Q. Ultimately came up a bit short, but what will you take away from this week?
CAM SMITH: For me, I feel like the game has been trending in the right direction. This is kind of a big tick of the box, I think. Obviously a world-class field, world-class venue, and it got really tough on the weekend, as well.
So the game is feeling really good, and just probably a little bit of confidence.
Q. It looks like at worst you'll equal your best finish at the U.S Open potentially. How satisfying a week has it been for you to perform in a major that hasn't been your sort of favorite the last few years?
CAM SMITH: Yeah, I didn't really know what to expect coming into the week. I had heard lots of good things about the golf course.
Like I said at the start of the week, the U.S. Open typically hasn't been a happy hunting ground for me. Probably due to lack of driver accuracy, especially the first couple of days. Really hit that driver in the fairway and give myself a lot of opportunities.
I feel like if I had to reflect, those first two days for me is where the putts just didn't quite drop, and definitely should have been a little bit further up the leaderboard.
Q. How close does your game feel to being back to maybe last year's form?
CAM SMITH: Yeah, it feels right there. If anything, I think the driver feels better than what it did last year, and the irons and the short game, I think they're right there. I think I'm a better player than what I was last year.
Q. Was there ever a point today that you thought, well, if I could just make one more big push, I could apply some pressure, or was it just a little bit too late?
CAM SMITH: After I made my birdie on 6 I felt like I was right in it. I felt like I had to at least get to probably 7- or 8-under, and then bogeyed the two par-3s to finish the front nine, which was really frustrating.
Yeah, just played the back nine just really solid. Like I said, there was a couple of good up-and-downs there to kind of keep the momentum going, but I don't think I would have done too much different on that back nine. It was really solid.
Q. You've got two starts before defending the Open title. What is the process you're going to go through the next few weeks? Anything in particular you want to work on?
CAM SMITH: Yeah, we have a week off now before we get to Spain, so I'll probably just hang out, really not do much practice. It's going to be kind of a busy part of the year here for us the next kind of seven or eight weeks. Just lay low and get to Spain and just focus on that driver again.
I think for me, that's the difference to winning the golf tournaments and not winning. Just keep that driver on a string.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports