Australian PGA: Cameron Smith wants showdown with Adam Scott
Cameron Smith has quickly turned his attentions to his Australian PGA title defence after his Presidents Cup disappointment and hopes he can go ‘ding-dong’ with his idol, Adam Scott, on the final day.
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Cameron Smith’s dream script for his three-peat quest at the Australian PGA is to go head-to-head against childhood idol Adam Scott in Sunday’s final pairing at Royal Pines.
Tournament organisers and holiday crowds for the “Christmas PGA” are salivating at just that prospect because super Sunday duels have created folklore on the Gold Coast.
When Scott won his 2013 PGA trophy, his 67 in a Sunday shootout against American playing partner Rickie Fowler (68) was riveting viewing for the biggest galleries seen at the course.
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Likewise, Smith relished his winning duel against close mate Marc Leishman a year ago when he came from two shots behind to win by the same margin when they were paired.
“I’ve never really gone ding-dong with Scotty for a big trophy and it would be awesome to do so with my idol when I was growing up,” Smith said.
“I remember how much fun it was with a good mate like Leish in the final pairing a year ago and it would be the same with Scotty.
“Obviously, there are 150 other golfers who all want the same thing I do, so I’ve got to play my arse off this week (to win).”
Not even Greg Norman in his pomp won three Australian PGAs in a row, which is what Smith is bidding to do to become the first golfer to achieve the feat since Dan Soutar swung with hickory shafts to win in 1905-06-07.
Smith is just hungry for more top Australian titles, filling the Joe Kirkwood Cup to the brim with XXXX Gold again, and enjoying the home state support.
“I don’t think I’m particularly suited to the course but this is probably my favourite week of the year with the relaxed feel and family and friends around,” he said.
That chemistry has proven a winner on top of his deadly work with a wedge in his hands to set up regular birdies or chip smartly from the many greenside run-off areas to save par.
Smith and Western Australia’s rising European Tour star Jason Scrivener on Tuesday tested their wedge game to a novel target roped on to the outfield 105m away from their grandstand tee block at Metricon Stadium.
The co-promotion for both the PGA and the venue for Friday night’s Big Bash game has worked some instant magic because Smith will wind down from his second round as part of the crowd for that Brisbane Heat-Melbourne Stars game.
Smith admitted he had to get his energy back after an “exciting yet stressful week” at the Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne, but the benefits of finding his game to take down American hot shot Justin Thomas on Sunday are a more weighty positive.
Scott ($6.50) is the tournament favourite over Smith ($7) with Ladbrokes but Scrivener ($13) is the Aussie golfer worldwide with the most striking recent form line.
Last month, he followed a quality third at the rich Nedbank Challenge in South Africa with a tie for 10th at the European Tour finale in Dubai where he finished ahead of Justin Rose, Paul Casey, British Open champion Shane Lowry, and Louis Oosthuizen.
He turned spectator to follow Tiger Woods during a practice round at the Presidents Cup last week and it fired up his own ambitions to win a spot on the Internationals team.
“It was definitely motivating to be around the Presidents Cup vibe, watch Tiger and feel that making the team in 2021 can be a definite goal of mine with some of the good strides I’m taking in my game,” Scrivener said.
Round One draw Thursday, Qld times
(Tee off from 1st hole)
6:00 Michael Hendry, Nicolai Hojgaard, Steven Jeffress
6:10 Anthony Quayle, Hugo Leon, David McKenzie
6:20 Deyen Lawson, Brad Kennedy, Marcus Armitage
6:30 Nick Voke, David Smail, David Bransdon
6:40 Nick Flanagan, Daniel Hillier, Dale Whitnell
6:50 Josh Geary, Peter O’Malley, Peter Fowler
7:00 Tom Power Horan, Damien Perrier, Ryan Chisnall
7:10 Travis Smyth, Damien Jordan, Brad Burns
7:20 Romain Wattel, Mark Brown, Maverick Antcliff
7:30 Daniel Young, Kade McBride, Christopher Wood
7:40 Jesper Sandborg, Harry Bateman, Gavin Fairfax
7:50 Ashley Hall, Rick Kulacz, Minkyu Kim
8:00 Fraser MacLachlan, Daniel Pearce, Jordan Mullaney
11:00 Adam Scott, Min Woo Lee, Stewart Cink
11:10 Johannes Veerman, John Senden, Wade Ormsby
11:20 Jake McLeod, Jason Scrivener, Calum Hill
11:30 Greg Chalmers, Steven Bowditch, Rod Pampling
11:40 Marcus Fraser, Richard Green, Terry Pilkadaris
11:50 Robert Allenby, Jack Wilson, Denzel Ieremia
12:00 Daniel Nisbet, Jeongwoo Ham, Dave Coupland
12:10 Matthew Millar, Blake Windred, Robin Petersson,
12:20 Pedro Figueiredo, Campbell Rawson, Andrew Martin
12:30 Clement Sordet, Matt Jager, Blake Proverbs
12:40 James Marchesani, Andrew Campbell, Jamie Arnold
12:50 Janne Kaske, Peter Wilson, Scott Strange
13:00 Antonio Murdaca, Taylor Macdonald, Shae Wools-Cobb
(Tee off from 10th tee)
6:00 Cameron Champ, Cameron Smith, Ryan Fox
6:10 Smylie Kaufman, David Micheluzzi, Nick Cullen
6:20 Nick O’Hern, Lucas Herbert, Peter Lonard
6:30 Cameron Davis, Matthew Griffin, David Howell
6:40 Peter Senior, Andrew Dodt, Zach Murray
6:50 Chen Zihao, Cameron John, Sam Brazel
7:00 Simon Hawkes, Alejandro Canizares, Hyung Seok Seo
7:10 Ben Eccles, Aaron Cockerill, Gareth Paddison
7:20 Cory Crawford, Brett Rumford, James Nitties
7:30 Yuan Yechun, Hurly Long, Michael Wright
7:40 Chase Hanna, Stephen Allan, Brett Rankin
7:50 Jake Higginbottom, Aron Zemmer, Lincoln Tighe
8:00 Samuel Eaves, Justin Warren, Tim Stewart
11:00 Jason Norris, Rhein Gibson, Dimitrios Papadatos
11:10 Jarryd Felton, Callan O’Reilly, Jack Senior
11:20 Harrison Endycott, Mikumu Horikawa, Sebastian Rodriguez
11:30 Adam Bland, Sami Valimaki, Daniel Gale
11:40 Toby Tree, Blake Collyer, Aaron Pike
11:50 Darren Beck, Bryce Easton, Peter Cooke
12:00 Dylan Perry, Ross McGowan, Michael Long
12:10 Matthew Stieger, Louis De Jager, Brady Watt
12:20 Gary Stal, Max McCardle, Aaron Townsend
12:30 Daniel Gavins, Scott Laycock, Braden Becker
12:40 Michael Sim, Vernon Sexton-Finck, Adam Burdett
12:50 Andrew Evans, James Anstiss, Brody Martin
13:00 Troy Moses, Nathan Green, Dale Brandt-Richards
Originally published as Australian PGA: Cameron Smith wants showdown with Adam Scott