Australian Open golf: Young guns like Cameron Davis showing no fear

It’s been a while since Australians had a tall, blonde countryman to cheer on as he strode the fairways of the world.

Cameron Davis on the 12th hole during the Australian Open pro-am at Royal Sydney yesterday. Picture: Brett Costello

It’s been a while since Australians had a tall, blonde countryman to cheer on as he strode the fairways of the world. So meet Cameron Davis.

At 21, Davis is in the vanguard of what is widely regarded as a golden generation coming through Australia’s amateur ranks.

Davis made the switch to the professional game just last month after combining with 20-year-old US Amateur champion Curtis Luck and Harrison Endycott, also 20, to become the first Australian team in 20 years to win the Eisen-hower Trophy, the world amateur teams title, by a stunning 19 shots.

Davis also won the individual title at that tournament and has made a bright start to his professional career, finishing tied for 15th in his first US PGA Tour event, in Mexico last weekend, and pocketing a cool $130,000 which will go a long way to funding his first year as a pro.

He then rushed straight to the airport to catch a flight to Sydney in time to play yesterday’s pro-am at Royal Sydney and tee up today in his first Australian Open as a professional. Such are the travel demands of an aspiring pro but Davis was feeling no pain after the thrill of last weekend.

He said competing well in his first US Tour event had given him a shot of confidence for this week. “It was great just to have the opportunity to see everyone playing, but to play some good golf myself and see how that stacked up against all the other guys ... it was really cool to see that I can compete with them, and if I play my best golf I might even be able to get further up the leaderboard next time.’’

Davis also took the chance to study those he hopes to emulate in the coming years and has a clear idea of where he needs to improve if he is to be competitive.

“They are very patient, they just pick their way around the golf course really well,’’ he said. “They just minimise their mistakes and make the most of their opportunities by holing a lot of those mid-length putts, where I felt like I wasn’t making quite as many.

“That was the main difference between me and the guys who were doing really well, which is kind of cool because it’s nice to know that I was hitting the ball as well as they were.

“I just have to work on tightening up everything just a little bit more. I feel like if everything is on then I’d be a chance.’’

Davis believes that he and his contemporaries can contend at Royal Sydney.

“There are probably 10 amateurs out there who are playing good enough golf to win this kind of event if it’s their week, and hopefully it’s my week,’’ he said.

Luck, Endycott and Queensland Open winner Brett Coletta have all taken inspiration not only from Aaron Baddeley’s win as an amateur on this course in 1999 but from Davis’s Mexico performance.

“It gives us hope, definitely, that we can go out there and do it,’’ Coletta said. “We’ve all had stellar years, so we’re not short of confidence out there. We’re all very determined to do well.’’

Luck identified fearlessness as a weapon the young players can use this week. “If we’re playing good, we can definitely compete at this level,’’ he said. “Something that probably favours the amateurs a little bit is that we all seem to be a little bit fearless, you could say.”

Luck, who won against the pros at the WA Open this year but doesn’t intend to turn professional until after next year’s Masters tournament, said the lesson he had learned this year was that “your best golf isn’t required to win ... it’s not about playing great golf, it’s about playing good golf.’’