Cam Davis – image Getty Images
Australian Cam Davis has today further confirmed his liking for the Detroit Golf Club by claiming a second Rocket Mortgage Classic and his second PGA Tour title with a narrow one-shot victory over fellow countryman Min Woo Lee, Americans Davis Thompson, Akshay Bathia and England’s Aaron Rai.
Davis, who won this event three years ago, began the final round one shot behind Bathia and Rai. However, there were still many chances with just a few holes to go before Davis got up and down for birdie from just off the green at the par 5 17th to draw level with Lee who had finished 15 minutes earlier and Bhatia who was playing in the group behind.
Needing a par at the last to force a playoff with Davis, Bhatia three putted from 30 feet, the second from 3 feet, leaving Davis as the winner and with a cheque for US$1.65 million.
The win will also move Davis from his current 67th position in the world ranking to just inside the top 40, the highest-ever ranking for the 29-year-old.
Davis was asked what it is about the Detroit Golf Club that has resulted in such success.
“Honestly, I don’t know. The first couple years I played here I missed the cut and felt like this place just wasn’t for me. I love old-school design. Donald Ross golf courses to me visually are very fun, I love the greens, I love the way the fairways meander through the tree lines and I love the shapes of the bunkering.
“For some reason, I’ve never done well on a course like this before and I don’t know what’s changed. Obviously, my game plan worked really well in 2021. I’m a different golfer and it’s a different game plan, the weather was completely different.
“I don’t know, something about having to shape the ball around a bit. You can be in the fairway and still have to bend it around trees, I feel like that’s something I’ve always been more comfortable with. And also the only thing that has to be going well more than anything else is the driver off the tee here and for some reason, yeah, I’ve managed to get the ball in play quite well out here.”
“It was a rollercoaster of emotions at the end there,” said Davis referring to the many permutations on the leaderboard late in the round. “Honestly, I felt like I had done a pretty good job of really not knowing where I stood on the leaderboard. I felt like honestly, especially that back nine, just moment after moment of could have been awesome but just didn’t quite happen, I felt like it just wasn’t going to be my day.
“I was honestly very surprised that I was tied for the lead with the last group coming down 18, I guess I’ve been here before, I needed to go get ready for another playoff.
“When Akshay missed that putt, it’s a combination of shock and feeling bad for him, but at the same time just realizing that the huge burden of trying to win again is off the shoulders. Still in a little bit of shock, it doesn’t really feel real right now.”
Davis paid tribute to the work he has been doing on the mental side of his game and especially the work he has been doing with a hypnotherapist.
“I’m working with a hypnotherapist that I only just started working with, just trying to take a different approach to try and get my head back in the right place. Yeah, I honestly haven’t been a very good place mentally at all for the last six months or so. I felt like all the opportunities have been slipping out of my hands as the year progresses without playing very good golf.
“I had a great week at the Masters and it feels like since then it all had just left me. I felt like a change of direction was definitely needed, something that I was actually going to stick to because I’m definitely someone that will start doing something and if it doesn’t feel like it’s helping straight away, it’s very easy to drop it.
“Sticking with the work that I’m doing with Grace has made a very big impact very quickly. I felt a lot better last week even though the score didn’t show it, and to have it turn into this this week is hard to believe really because I was not in a good place two or three weeks ago.”
Lee who is in his first season on the PGA Tour finished runner-up for the second occasion and is clearly a young man with a big future at this level and beyond. He will regret his final hole bogey which cost him a chance for a playoff with Davis but the week provides further evidence of his immense talent.
Lee will move close to the top 30 in the world ranking, perhaps surpassing his previous best of 31st.
