Former runner-ups Smith, Jason Day and 2013 winner Adam Scott were playing an impossible game of catch-up when Saturday's third round was abandoned after more than five hours of relentless rain.
"It's a hard tee shot in this stuff, even harder when you can't feel your hands and it's pissing down rain," Smith said as the field tried desperately to plough on in the freezing conditions in Georgia.
"I've played in misty cold but not rainy cold. It was tough to keep everything warm and everything dry. The golf course is just brutal too."
After starting the third round in a tie for sixth at five under, Day remains the best-placed Australian in a share of eighth.
But the former world No.1 is a distant nine shots behind American leader Brooks Koepka after slipping to four under with consecutive bogeys on the fourth and fifth holes.
He briefly climbed to six under with a birdie on the par-5 second but, in reality, Day's chances evaporated with a late collapse on Friday.
He was outright second behind Koepka before leaking four shots in his last four holes after dumping his ball in the water on the 15th and racking up a disastrous double-bogey seven.
While Day, playing in the best of the conditions, blew a golden opportunity to finally win the Masters, Smith was philosophical about having encountered the worst of the weather.
"A little unlucky with the draw - you win some, you lose some," the world No.6 said as he languished in a share of 23rd position at one under through 13 holes of his third round.
Like last year, when he finished third, any faint hopes of Smith staging a fightback were sunk on the 12th when he found the water once again off the tee and recorded a killer double-bogey five.
Smith hit back with a birdie on the 13th but will resume on Sunday a dozen shots adrift of Koepka.
Playing in the same three-ball as Smith, Scott also needs a miracle after slipping back to even par for the championship.
He started the third round at two under following a 74, after opening with a career-best Thursday 68, but four bogeys in the first 11 holes ended his prospects of a rally.
Min Woo Lee and amateur Harrison Crowe both missed the cut.
Lee (75-75) finished at six over and three outside the cut line, with Crowe (75-77) completing his Masters debut at eight over.
Crowe planned to watch the final round as a wide-eyed fan with his family after enjoying a tumultuous debut.
The 21-year-old and his entourage were metres away from the pine trees that crashed on the 17th tee box on Friday when spectators were lucky not to have been killed.
But Crowe said the big takeaway from his maiden Masters was that he could one day contend.
"It was great. It was so much fun," he said.
"Probably the best part is I learned a lot about myself.
"It was good to be out there in front of so many people and I felt like I could hold my own.
"The putter was quite cold but I felt comfortable there and I felt like I belonged."
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