Australian Open: Cameron Davis claims victory with clinical display

Respected elder Jason Day failed rather miserably to hold off the fearless and youthful marauders.

Cameron Davis celebrates his win at the Australian Open in Sydney yesterday. Picture: Getty Images

Tournament golf is a beautiful thing on a day like this: the blue-skied springtime weather in one of the world’s most picturesque cities; the swarming crowds; the spectators running between manicured tees and greens with maps in their hands as if they’re tourists trying to squeeze everything into one outing; the multi-coloured garments of splendour worn by the athletes; the old-fashioned, multi-layered formalities of the sport itself; the impeccable and ­respectful behaviour inside the ropes; the pursuit of an important trophy by a capable young fella. The whole damn thing is ­wonderful.

The respected elder Jason Day yesterday failed rather miserably to hold off the fearless and youthful marauders led by the 22-year-old Cameron Davis.

The 21-year-old Lucas Herbert and the ginger Meggs-ish 23-year-old Cameron Smith were all in the hunt on a helter-skelter day that was a portent of the phenomenal things to come in Australian golf.

You had to shoot the lights out to win the Stonehaven Cup, the way it should always be, and Davis peeled off a scintillating seven-under-par 64 to get the job done.

He holed his 100m approach to eagle the par-four 12th. He double fist-pumped when he calmly birdied the 18th. Only then, he reckons, did he look at a leaderboard.

LEADERBOARD

He finished on 11-under-par to win the Australian Open by a shot from Jonas Blixt (68) and Matt Jones (68), pocketing $225,000 for his troubles and gaining a dream start at this year’s British Open.

“It’s a little bit numb at the ­moment,” he said. “I just didn’t ­expect to be in this situation.

“I’m surprised. I’m relieved. It’s crazy at the moment. I’ve seen everything on TV, seen guys win this tournament.

“You never think you’re going to be there. You want to get there, but you’ve got no idea what the road is going to be like.

“It’s the biggest tournament I’ve ever played in. I just wanted to make the cut and play all four days and soak up the weekend.

“I’ve always struggled. I kept missing the cut by one. That was really the thing I wanted to get off my back.”

Herbert was sensational on the front nine to blow Day off the park.

The crowd was with him. Love ya, Herby! Go get him! You’d think seeing off the former world No 1 would have been enough but right when Herbert skipped three shots clear of Day, Davis and Smith ­elbowed their way alongside him on the leaderboard. Davis had started the day eight shots off the lead. It was electrifying stuff — and devastating, too, for Herbert when he double-bogeyed the par-four 13th to fall from contention as Blixt and Jones joined the fray.

Cameron Davis splashes out of sand at the 16th yesterday. Picture: AAP

Smith and Day were another shot further back after respective rounds of 68 and 73 as Davis, the world No 1494, celebrated the first win of his fledgling professional career. Herbert’s 73 left him tied for sixth. Davis was on the driving range when Blixt missed the putt that sealed the deal for the biggest Open upset since a teenage Aaron Baddeley won in 1999. He said in disbelief: “It’s all over?”

The Stonehaven Cup was placed in his youthful hands. It was his first top-10 finish as a professional. The first time he’d made the cut at his national championship. He marvelled at his direct entry to the British Open. And the boost to his bank account.

“It’s my first major so I’ve got no idea what to expect,” he said of getting a tee time at Carnoustie next year. “I know it’s going to be huge. I’m going to give it my best shot now that I’ve actually got the opportunity to go and play in it.

“I’m not just going to be happy I’m there. I’m going to try to play my best golf and see where that puts me against the best players in the world.

“I’m going to appreciate the prize money. It’s going to make life a lot easier.”

Davis was belting drives on the range, in the expectation of a playoff, when a friend whispered the sweet nothing that he had won.

“I was just over there with my caddie and a few other guys,” he said. “I was just trying to stay loose. I just got my driver out and started getting ready to go. If they said ‘right, you’re going down playoff holes’, I was ready for that.

“I was not prepared to be told that I had won. I was just doing my own thing and then someone came over and told me and told me it was all over.”