Cameron Smith produces Aussie golf’s best ever performance
One for the ages
The man rocking the meanest, maddest mullet on the PGA tour has produced the finest display of golf we have ever seen from an Australian golfer abroad.
Cameron Smith stunned the world with a final round from the Gods to take home the 150th version of The Open.
Having to deal with the pressure of a huge crowd, annoying seagulls and a course well exposed to all of mother nature’s elements, Smith held his nerve.
A final-round 64 was enough to hold The Open cup aloft in front of packed a St Andrews Golf Club.
Hitting the fairways is often the easy part for elite golfers, but what sets apart the best from the rest is the short-game and, in particular, putting with accuracy.
Smith was the best putter in the field during this year’s edition of The Open.
With numbers acquired from ‘datagolf’, it is easy to see why he was able to make up shots and reel in Rory McIlroy after trailing him by a handful leading into the last day of play.
His numbers read;
Putting: 1st
Around The Green: 22nd
Approach: 24th
Off The Tee: 34th
Tee to Green: 17th
What added to his impressive putting was his ability to hold par in a tense close to the tournament.
Smith would fire a bogey-free final round, which included five birdies in a row to send St Andrews into a thunderous applause.
His final-round display was etched in the history books as he recorded the lowest ever score of a winner in a final round of the 150-year event.
The final score of 20-under par also eclipses the record of 19-under set by Tiger Woods at the same course and event back in 2000.
The height of the records he has broken are astronomical.
It is not only the performance which had plenty of Aussies glued to their TV screens around Australia, but Smith’s win will have an enormous impact on golf at a grassroots level across the country.
He is young, he is humble but he is a true blue Aussie – something we can all latch onto.
A loveable larrikin with the poise of an elite marksman hovering over a sniper.
His Aussie flair came out from underneath the professional veil.
The first thing he wanted to figure out after winning was to see how many beers he could fit into the cup.
It is that combination of Aussie culture and class with the clubs which endears us to him.
His name is now put along side some of the greatest, if not the greatest, to ever play the game.
Smith is now in that category at only 28 years old.
He also took home the biggest prize pool ever recorded in the event after collecting a cheque worth $3.7 million AUD.
What a performance.
