Rising star Cameron Smith is coming to grips with treating golf as a job following his decision to go professional.

The 19-year-old Queenslander made the switch in July following a superb amateur career where he won several events including the Australian Amateur Championship, Australian Junior Championship, Australian Stroke Play Championship and a number of state titles.

Since becoming a pro, Smith has featured in a couple of events on the Web.com tour and is set to compete in the US PGA Tour’s qualifying school at the end of the year.

Before that will be his first appearance as a pro in Australia this weekend at the 2013 Queensland Open at the Brookwater Golf and Country Club.

“It hasn’t really changed at all,” Smith told AAP about life as a professional.

“It’s just it’s my job now. I’ve got to see it like one. Early mornings and all that.”

Smith’s qualifying school commitments, which could earn him a full-time spot on the Web.com Tour, will limit him to just two tournament appearances in Australia before heading back to the US.

A successful performance at the qualifying school tournament in December will take Smith a step closer to his ultimate goal of earning a playing card for the US PGA Tour and following in the footsteps of stars such as Adam Scott and Greg Norman.

Before that though is putting in a good display at Brookwater against a strong field in the Queensland Open starting on Thursday.

Peter O’Malley, Stephen Leaney and Andre Stolz are just some of the players who will line-up with Smith in the field and he’s expecting a tight tournament.

“All the guys are back from Asia obviously because they’re on their break,” he said.

“It’s a really good field and should put in for an interesting weekend.

“The greens are firm. It’s going to be tough out there. Especially with the small greens out here as well.”