Cameron Smith Struggles at Home and Misses the Cut
Cameron Smith, three-time Australian PGA champion, has had another disappointing performance at home, missing the cut for the seventh consecutive time. Smith, who began Friday’s round at two under par, had early birdie opportunities, but his luck was not on his side, leaving his ball on the edge of the hole on two occasions. After falling below the cut line with a bogey on the 11th hole, Smith watched his par putts slip away on the 13th and 14th holes, in what was a complicated day at the Royal Queensland Golf Club. A birdie on the 17th hole gave him a ray of hope, but a three-putt on the 18th hole sealed his fate, finishing with two over par. The clubhouse leader is Brett Rankin, followed by Kazuma Kobori, Wenyi Ding and Anthony Quayle, all at nine under par. Rankin, with seven under par after 18 holes, took the lead despite a double bogey on his penultimate hole. Min Woo Lee, the 2023 champion, joined the fight, accumulating six birdies before a bogey on the last hole that left him one stroke behind the leader. Cameron Davis, Daniel Hillier, Marc Leishman, and Marco Penge, all at seven under par, are near the top of the leaderboard. Ryan Fox, on the other hand, struggled and finished at five under par. Adam Scott (six under par) lurks thanks to a long birdie putt on the 17th. Elvis Smylie, the defending champion, managed to make the cut, while Joaquín Niemann and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen struggled. Smith, who had a bad day at Royal Queensland in 2023, disappointed again. The form of the former world number 2 and winner of the 2022 Open Championship has not been the best, being the only player to miss the cut in all four majors this year. Smith will arrive at next week’s Australian Open in Melbourne with a winless streak of almost two and a half years. His playing partner, Lee, who achieved his first victory on the US PGA Tour this year, stayed out of the disaster, regularly scoring points. Davis, for his part, proved to be in good shape in his first tournament since his early exit from the PGA Tour in August. Leishman, on the other hand, achieved an eagle from the bunker on the seventh hole and then a birdie to finish his round.Leishman, 42, has vowed to keep playing boldly in his pursuit of a major Australian title.We are golfers and artists, and I really enjoy entertaining, whether it’s with a driver off the deck or a cool, spinny bunker shot.
Leishman
