Cameron Smith runs out of steam at Australian Open
Smith in action this morning – photo Australian Golf Media
The hopes Cameron Smith held of winning a first Australian Open have appear on the brink after a second round of 73 to go with his opening 71 has him at 2 over par to sit one outside the cutline in a share of 77th place as the afternoon field gets into its round on day two at both Kingston Heath and Victoria Golf Clubs.
With breezes slightly stronger for the afternoon field, scores are expected to be higher but probably not enough for him to come back from where stands now to inside the top 60 who will make it to the weekend.
Smith, who played in the near perfect morning conditions at the Kingston Heath Golf Club, was not about to blame anyone or anything but himself for his poor showing, but there is little doubt that the impact of what was a huge week for him in Brisbane last week, where he wanted to so much to please family and friends and respond to the many requests for his time, has taken its toll.
He conquered that hurdle but it looks as if the impact of his brilliant third PGA Championship win has cost him a chance of that Australian Open which now seems to be the title he wants most, perhaps aside from the Masters.
“All day, kind of similar to yesterday,” said Smith referring to his play. “Just couldn’t quite hit the ball out of the middle of the club face for some reason or another. I think the mind was a little bit foggy, obviously a little bit tired as well, last week being such a big week. Yeah, it’s still there mate, but yeah, just pretty disappointing.
“I think I had a lot of adrenaline going last week, especially out on the golf course. I think the crowds were awesome out there. I obviously had friends and family there, so I wanted to play well for them. I think it’s just kind of all hit me at once and just got a little bit tired. I need to play better than that even when I am tired. That was pretty rubbish out there today. It’s probably the easiest this place is going to get.”
Despite his decision to switch to LIV Golf where the reduced schedule should mean less golf, Smith has played a lot more golf than he imagined this year.
“I can’t wait for a sleep. I’ve played a lot more golf than I thought I would have at the start of the year, so I’m looking forward to four or five weeks off here and just kind of mentally reset I think. The brain’s been going pretty hard the last few months, so yeah, it would be a good time to sit down on a beach somewhere and have a few margaritas.
“Yes, fishing (too). I’m sure I’ll spend a fair bit of time in the gym and stuff looking after my body.”
Smith knows his chances of creeping back into the weekend field are now very minimal.
“Yeah, I’m crossing my fingers. If it stays like this, I don’t think I’m going to be playing on the weekend. Is it at even or 1-over or something? Yeah, even. I don’t think it’s going to go two shots, unless this wind really blows up, but we’ll just wait and see.”
Irrespective of what the next few hours hold for the 29 year old, 2022 has been a breakthrough year for Smith in so many ways.
The Tournament of Champions, The Players Championship, The Open Championship and the Australian PGA Championship along with a victory on the LIV Golf Tour has left Smith with arguably the best record of any golfer in 2022 and although not officially the world number two at least, many think he is that at least.
He now has the chance and time to reflect on what has been an amazing year, from a golfing perspective, a personal angle and of course from a financial standpoint.
Whether the golfing world allows him to play all majors in 2023 remains to be seen, but it might just be that he can continue to plunder the riches of professional golf anyway.
