He’s an amateur working in a Pymble pro shop. On Thursday, he tees off with Cameron Smith

Life comes at you fast.

Six years ago, Declan O’Donovan played golf properly for the first time. On Thursday, the 21-year-old will walk out to the first tee at the NSW Open with one of his heroes, Cameron Smith.

Six years after his first proper swing, 21-year-old Declan O’Donovan steps onto the NSW Open’s first tee this Thursday, facing his hero Cameron Smith and an eager crowd, with $800,000 on the line. Credit: NSW Golf

The reigning NSW amateur champion spent the end of last year working in his local pro shop at the Avondale Golf Club in Pymble to help fund his goal of becoming a professional golfer, and is still trying to process being in the same playing group with one of the biggest names in the sport at the Murray Downs Golf & Country Club.

“I’m definitely already excited,” O’Donovan told this masthead. “I think regardless of the nerves, I’ll be playing in front of a lot of people, and I’ll be playing with some great players. I think nerves will always be there, but I’m not too worried about those.

“I think I’m just going to be focusing on smiling the whole time. I think regardless of if I focus on it [playing with Smith] or not, I’ll be smiling even if I’m not thinking about it.

“I’ve got a British Open winner, literally five feet from me and even better, I get to talk to him and watch him in person. I’m definitely very excited to watch him, but I’m also excited for the chance to try and beat him.”

Declan O’Donovan in actionCredit: NSW Golf

Growing up, O’Donovan dabbled with soccer, tennis and rugby, but after hitting his first tee shot at 15 at Lane Cove, it began a “straight addiction” to the sport that has grown into a potential career. O’Donovan, from Roseville, remains an amateur and is on the long road to qualifying as a PGA Tour professional, a status that was only open to 215 of the world’s best golfers last year, according to Golf Monthly.

Smith, who won the British Open in 2022, has become one of the world’s best-paid golfers since his move to LIV Golf in a reported $140m deal, and is the arguably biggest name to headline the NSW Open since Greg Norman won the event in 1983, 1986 and 1988.

Smith has decided to play in the NSW Open as part of his wish to give back to Australian golf, playing in the Queensland PGA Championship two weeks ago, and entering the Australian PGA and Australian Open.

O’Donovan began the journey to Murray Downs from Sydney on Tuesday, opting for a flight to Melbourne and a three-and-a-half-hour drive rather than the nine-hour haul in the car from his home. The trip has given him plenty of time to think about some of the conversation topics with Smith when they are walking across the course.

Greg Norman winning the NSW Open in 1986 with wife Laura and daughter Morgan Leigh.Credit: Fairfax

“I’ve actually been trying to think of some questions. I kind of have two approaches, whether I should just talk to him about any normal stuff that I talk to any other person about, and just see how he’s going outside of golf, I’m sure he’d love to talk about something other than golf,” O’Donovan said.

“But then it’s not every day you get to have the chance to have conversations with a guy like this, so I wouldn’t mind talking to him about what his dreams and aspirations are now, like he’s already pretty much at the top of the food chain. But it’d be nice to see what he’s still passionate about and what he still wants to achieve.”

Murray Downs is a golf club rooted in its local community near the Victorian border and the town of Swan Hill, with members of every age and background. It is possible to play 18 holes at the idyllic venue for $60, but the arrival of a golfing superstar has closed the clubhouse and initiated intense preparations by an army of 154 local volunteers who put up their hands to do whatever was needed.

There are already 4500 tickets downloaded for the event which will be near to capacity with all accommodation options in the local area almost filled. Greg Roberts is chief executive of the course and when he heard Smith was headlining the event, he had to explain it to his daughter.

“We have this family WhatsApp group, and I told them that Cameron was coming to play. This is really huge news, and my youngest daughter goes, ‘Oh congrats, Dad’ … then about two hours later, she rings me up and she says, ‘Dad, I don’t really know who this person is. Can you give context?’

“And so I said to her, ’It would be like getting Adele to come and do a Sunday session music thing in our beer garden. She goes, ‘Oh my god, that’s amazing’. For golfers, it just doesn’t get any bigger than this.”

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