The World No.4, looking to set out as he had done last year with victory in his first event, simply couldn't get going at the Royal Greens course in King Abdullah Economic City in Thursday's opening round. He is languishing near the rear of the field after a three-over-par 73.

It left The Open Champion a distant 10 shots behind first-round pacesetter Mexican Abraham Ancer, who is seven under after his sparkling, bogey-free opening 63.

Smith had been looking to kick-start his year as he had in 2022 when winning the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii first up. That proved a launchpad for his stellar year that featured victory in the Players' Championship before the crowning glory of his victory at the 150th Open at St. Andrews.

Instead of a strong start, though, the 29-year-old seemed to have carried on from where he left off at the end of last year when finishing joint-47th in the Australian Open.

This time, he found himself languishing in joint-88th place among the 126 starters after the first day.

He was also only tied for 11th among the 14-strong Australian contingent in the Asian Tour's flagship event, with the first prize of $US1 million ($A1.4 million) already looking beyond his reach.

Smith's superior short game saved him from an even higher score on day one. PHOTO: Getty Images.

Smith finished fourth in last year's equivalent event but on a day when birdies proved plentiful, with 37 players finishing under par, he missed out, struggling with his driver to miss nine of 14 fairways.

In a field featuring 12 major winners and some of LIV Golf's biggest luminaries, Ancer was one shot clear of Colombian Sebastian Munoz (64) while Spain's Sergio Garcia, South African Louis Oosthuizen and Cameron Young, the runner-up behind Smith at St. Andrews, all shot 65s.

As Smith faltered in the $US5 million ($A7.0 million) event, four other Australians did their best to lead the way.

Andrew Dodt, Lucas Herbert, fresh from his third-place finish in the Dubai Desert Classic, Marc Leishman and his veteran LIV colleague Matt Jones, were all on two under among a host of players tied for 18th place.

American Dustin Johnson, one of the event favourites and two-time winner, had to withdraw before the round after "tweaking his back" in the lead up to the first round.

–Ian Chadband