Cameron Davis raced to the lead in the opening round of the Australian Open
A final hole bogey continued Cameron Smith’s golfing woes as Cameron Davis was feeling the good vibes of returning to the course where he won 2017 Australian Open.
A history of repeat Australian Open winners at the Australian Golf Club could be the magic recipe for Cameron Davis to add to his 2017 success after a stunning start to the tournament in Sydney as Cameron Smith’s struggles continued.
While he opened his campaign with a brilliant nine-under 63 across the road at The Lakes, with the dual-gender event being played across the two layouts, his next three rounds will all be at The Australian where golfing legend Jack Nicklaus won the event three times and more recently Matt Jones won twice.
Davis, the world number 43, took full advantage of perfect early morning conditions to burst out of the blocks, with four birdies and an eagles in his opening nine holes propelling him to six-under.
He added another three birdies on his way to the clubhouse, without a single bogey, to finish alone on top of the leaderboard which left him eight-shots ahead of Smith who closed with a bogey, one of three in a ‘frustrating” one-under par opening round.
“I think it could have been a few less, to be honest. I kind of missed a couple of putts there towards the end of the round when I started to feel all right,” Smith said.
“A little bit frustrating, but it was better.
“I think there’s definitely something to build on there, for sure. I didn’t feel as kind of anxious and uncomfortable I guess.”
Masters champion Adam Scott also battled, a final-hole birdie leaving with an even-par opening round.
Lighting up the course earlyâš¡ï¸@camdavisgolf | #AusOpenGolf | Live scores: https://t.co/1KLVltI0Cvpic.twitter.com/0V4fKZqpdQ
— Australian Open (@AusOpenGolf) November 30, 2023
American Patrick Rodgers, ranked 92 in the world, fell just short of matching Davis, shooting an eight-under 64 to sit second, with West Australian Hayden Hopewell a shot further back as was Scotland’s Connor Syme.
Davis said the familiar surrounds of the Australia gave him a nice feeling, given it’s also so close to home for the PGA Tour winner who plies his trade in the US.
“It’s so fun coming back here, being able to see the places where I hit some shots that were really crucial during that [final] round [in 2017],” Davis said.
“It’s also just a lot of fun because it’s a home game for me. This is as close as I’m ever going to play to home, growing up about 30 minutes north of here. So friends and family are going to be here. It’s a lot of fun. I love coming back home.”
Playing together in front of massive crowds for a Thursday morning, Australian PGA winner Min Woo Lee and superstar Smith, coming off a shock missed cut in Brisbane, traded birdies with nine between them.
Lee finished on five-under, two shots behind Davis, as his hot-form continued with an opening 67.
But for Smith, the troubles which plagued him in Brisbane were present again and he mixed his four birdies with three bogeys, including one on his final hole, as he battled to an even-par round of 71 which included putting his tee shot on his second hold of the day into the water.
Smith only made two birdies total across his two wobbly rounds at Royal Queensland last week and confessed on Wednesday to being short of confidence, and battling a technical issue with his swing.
Wild weather on Wednesday forced organisers into a last-minute rule change for the opening two rounds, adopting a preferred lie local rule for fairways allowing players to
pick up and replace any shots which landed on the fairway.
The rule was enacted so that players can clean their balls, and is often used at the grassroots level but not in the elite game.
AUSTRALIAN OPEN LEADERBOARD
(Australian unless stated)
9-under - Cameron Davis
8-under - Patrick Rodgers (USA)
7-under - Hayden Hopewell, Connor Syme (Sco)
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