By Peter Owen

WHEN Cameron Smith putted out for a par on the 17th green at Royal Queensland on the final day of the Australian PGA, his three-stroke lead assuredly enough for victory, the raucous crowd on that party hole begged him to toss his ball into the stands, just like almost every player had done throughout the long day.

Instead, he slipped the ball into the right pocket of his slacks, quietly waited until his playing partners had completed their work, then purposefully strode through the crowd to the 18th tee, not a glimpse of a smile on his face.

Standing in that gallery was Smith’s long-time coach Grant Field who, minutes earlier, had turned to a friend and whispered, “I’ll bet he doesn’t throw the ball to the crowd. Not that he doesn’t want to join in the fun … he just knows the job isn’t over.”

The crowd would have to wait another 20 minutes, until Smith had blasted his ball from a greenside bunker to within a metre of the hole and then methodically holed the putt to claim the title, for their hero to break into a grin and celebrate a wonderful victory.

Field has been guiding Smith’s development as a golfer since they first met at a junior clinic on the Sunshine Coast nearly 20 years ago, Smith then a fresh-faced 10-year-old with an uncanny touch around the green and an ambition to become a champion.

“Lots of kids have similar dreams,” Field said, “but not too many have the combination of skill and commitment to become a touring professional, to become a winner, and then to become a champion.

“He’s stepped up at every level.”

Cam Smith punches the air after winning his third Australian PGA Champiosnhip. Photo: Golf Australia.

Field speaks of Smith’s utter professionalism, his diligence and his commitment to the process of being successful at the highest level of golf.

“He was the first player on the range at 6am on Monday,” Field said. “And during the rain delay on the final day he spent the time in the locker room with his trainer, working on keeping his body ready. No other player was doing that – just Cam.”

Field spoke, too, about the additional obligations Smith faced as a major winner, a returning champion and being the virtual face of the tournament.

“Take the golf out of it and consider what he had to take on during the week,” he said. “Nobody had a tenth of his workload, and I know the effort it took. He was very tired.”

Smith recorded his third Australian PGA Championship after a final round that took just over seven hours and included two suspensions of play because of lightning and rain. After being tied for the lead after 11 holes, he broke away from his challengers for a three-stroke victory, courtesy of precise iron play and nerveless putting.

For the record, he shot rounds of 68-65-69-68 for a 72-hole total of 14-under-par 270. Western Australian Jason Scrivener (65-67-74-67) and Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune (67-70-71-65) shared second place on 273.

Smith’s win – his third PGA title after successes at Royal Pines on the Gold Coast in 2017 and 2018 – places him alongside Peter Senior, Robert Allenby, Peter Lonard, Bill Dunk, Kel Nagle, Ossie Pickworth and Norman von Nida as the only players with at least three Australian PGA championships.

But few would argue that his successes throughout the world in 2022 have elevated him to a level that not even those legends of Australian golf could claim.

He began the year by shooting 34-under par to win the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii. He followed up with an emphatic win in the US Players Championship, an event considered by many to be the fifth major.

Then came his magnificent victory over Rory McIlroy in the Open at St Andrews, and his first LIV tournament victory in Chicago. And now the Australian PGA. It is an astonishing stretch of consistent excellence that gives Smith legitimate claims to being considered the world’s best golfer. 

Certainly the thousands of people who crowded the fairways, tee boxes and greens during the four days at Royal Queensland, and cheered every shot, were evidence of the 29-year-old’s extraordinary popularity.

“He’s very relatable,” Field said. “You look at him and feel like he could be a mate – somebody you’d be happy to have a beer with. At the same time he’s one of the best golfers on the planet.”

And Field is convinced he’s going to get even better.

“There’s plenty of improvement in him,” he said. “He’s getting more professional in everything he does and he still has a great desire to achieve more – to win more majors.

“He’s not close to being done.” 

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