Cameron Smith breaks PGA Tour scoring

10 Jan 2022 14:02

GolfInsider.Asia

Cameron Smith breaks PGA Tour scoring
Cameron Smith breaks PGA Tour scoring

Cameron Smith and Jon Rahm put on the type of birdie barrage at the Sentry Tournament of Champions where it didn’t seem fair that one of them had to lose. In the end, the 28-year-old Aussie answered every birdie by the World No. 1 with one of his own, shooting 8-under 65 in the final round for a one-stroke victory in Hawaii.

“Mate, it was intense,” he said. “Unreal round, something I’ll never forget for sure.”

It was a record-shattering performance as a soft and defenseless Plantation Course at Kapalua took another beating to par. On another glorious windless day, Smith signed for a total of 34-under 258, the most under par in a 72-hole event since 1950. Smith, who won the Sony Open in Hawaii in 2020, also completed the Hawaii double, joining Jim Furyk, Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, Zach Johnson and Justin Thomas as players who have won both Tour stops in Hawaii.

“Hawaii reminds me so much of where I grew up, it’s insane,” he said. “The grass that we hit off, the greens being quite slow and grainy. Yeah, it’s awesome, I love it here.

Smith proved once again that he’s capable of being a big-game hunter and more than just a golfer with a mullet beloved on social media. He previously knocked off Thomas in singles at the 2019 Presidents Cup. This time, he dueled Rahm, the U.S. Open champion and World No. 1, head-to-head over the weekend. In the final round, Smith jumped in front with a birdie at the fourth hole, wedging to 5 feet and going out in 32 to lead by two.

“I think the biggest difference was those first six holes today should have been a little bit better,” said Rahm, who managed just one birdie during that stretch.

He cut the deficit to one with a birdie at 11, but Smith, who loves to fish nearly every day when he is home in Florida, reeled in three birdies in a row starting at No. 13 to match Rahm birdie for birdie.

Rahm, who equaled the Tour record for the most birdies in a 72-hole event with 32, pushed Smith to the finish line, forcing him to make one more birdie from 3 feet, 6 inches at the last hole to clinch his fourth career Tour title.

“There’s many reasons why Jon Rahm’s the best player in the world and I witnessed it over the weekend,” Smith said. “But to be able to hold him off, yeah, it was quite satisfying, I guess.”

Smith made only three bogeys during the tournament and none over the weekend 36. He opened with 65 and followed with a pair of 64s but that was only good enough to share the 54-hole lead with Rahm, who established a tournament 18-hole scoring record on Saturday with a round of 61 (set earlier in the day by Thomas.) The third-round scoring average (67.711) was the lowest in a single round since the event moved to The Plantation Course in 1999.

(By Adam Schupak/GolfWeek)

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