Cameron Smith Struggles in His Homeland and Misses the Cut
Cameron Smith, the three-time Australian PGA champion, had a disappointing performance in his homeland, recording a 75 (+4) and missing the cut for the seventh consecutive time. The local player began his Friday round on the projected cut line, two under par, and had early birdie opportunities, but on two occasions his ball stayed on the edge of the hole. After falling below the line with a bogey on the 11th hole, a struggling Smith watched his par putts slip away on the 13th and 14th holes, in lamentable scenes at the Royal Queensland Golf Club. He made an eight-foot birdie on the 17th hole, offering a glimmer of hope, but then missed the 18th green and three-putted for a double bogey that sealed his fate. Finished with two over par, far from the top of the leaderboard, headed by Brett Rankin, Kazuma Kobori, Wenyi Ding and Anthony Quayle, who were at nine under par. Rankin, with seven under par after 18 holes, took the lead at the club with nine under par, despite a double bogey on his penultimate hole. Later joined by the 2023 champion, Min Woo Lee, who managed six birdies before a bogey on the final hole that left him one stroke behind. Cameron Davis, Daniel Hillier, Marc Leishman and Marco Penge (seven under par) are within striking distance on a very crowded leaderboard, while Ryan Fox lost three strokes at the end to finish at five under par. Adam Scott (six under par) lurks thanks to a long birdie putt on the 17th hole. Defending champion Elvis Smylie (two under par) recovered to make the cut, but European players Joaquín Niemann (par) and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (five over par) struggled. Smith suffered one of his worst days as a professional, missing the cut at the Royal Queensland in 2023, and broke down in tears after scoring a 78 (+7) on Friday. But he returned last year to finish as runner-up, and then lost a playoff at the Saudi International shortly after. That form abandoned him, the former world number 2 and winner of the 2022 Open Championship was the only player who didn’t make the cut in this year’s four majors. Then, he failed to stand out in his next two tournaments and will arrive in Melbourne for next week’s Australian Open with a winless streak approaching two and a half years. Lee, a fellow player who achieved his first victory on the US PGA Tour this year, was immune to the debacle, as he regularly added strokes, and Davis showed no signs of rust in his first tournament since his early exit from the PGA Tour in August. Leishman got excited earlier, with a chip for eagle from the bunker on the seventh hole, then took the driver from the fairway to set up a birdie in an exciting three-hole sequence to end his round. The former Greg Normal Medal winner, 42, has never won a major Australian title, but vowed to remain bold in his pursuit of one.“Play the way you would play at home, not with careless shots, but with fun shots and facing the pins in different ways. I’m fighting all the time and trying to take it… to get to many of the pins that some people can’t.”We are golfers and entertainers, and I really enjoy entertaining, whether it’s a drive off the tee or a cool, spinny bunker shot.
Leishman
