The $1 coin that unites Cam Smith and his Kiwi caddie

Cam Smith’s caddie is a little-known Kiwi by the name of Sam Pinfold. Here he is now, standing alone by the white picket fence at Kingston Heath.

Cameron Smith with his caddie Sam Pinfold at Kingston Heath Golf Club on Tuesday ahead of the Australian Open Picture: Getty Images

Cam Smith likes caddies. Adores their rough-and-tumble dispositions. He hosted a swarm of them at his joint in Florida for a Loopers Appreciation Night while he was winning this year’s Players Championship, filling their bellies with pizza and cleansing ales and admitting he occasionally felt more of a kinship with down-to-earth bagmen than vainglorious rival players.

And yet we know so little about Smith’s own right-hand man. A New Zealander by the name of Sam Pinfold was the rather invisible soul by The Open champion’s side through his dream run at St Andrews this year; he was the rather invisible soul by Smith’s side for the Australian PGA Championship victory on Sunday; he was the rather invisible soul by Smith’s side for an ocean of celebratory beers at Brisbane’s Breakfast Creek Hotel on Sunday night; he was the rather invisible soul by Smith’s side when they rubbed their weary, bloodshot eyes at Kingston Heath Golf Club on Tuesday and set their sights on the Australian Open.

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Here’s Pinfold now, standing alone behind the white picket fence near the tenth tee at this beautiful club. Nobody bothers him because few know who he is. He’s a man of few words but here’s a lovely little revelation. He says Smith acknowledges their Australia-NZ alliance by marking his ball with an $1 coin commemorating the 100-year anniversary of ANZAC Day. “We’ve collected three or four of them by now,” Pinfold says. “It’s a pretty nice thing for him to do. He’s Australian, I’m from New Zealand, and I guess it’s his way of showing that partnership. I appreciate it.”

The coins were released in 2015. They say, “100 YEARS OF ANZAC. THE SPIRIT LIVES ON.” Smith has told Australian Golf Digest: “This coin serves as my ball marker. It’s representative of the Australian/New Zealand Army Corps. My caddie is from New Zealand, and I’m Australian, so I feel this coin symbolises our connection.”

Smith and his $1 coin will contest the Australian Open in his final event of a phenomenal year. Ditching the establishment to join LIV Golf has done nothing to harm his popularity. Crowds at Royal Queensland last week were a throwback to the days of Greg Norman packing them 20-deep and it will be no different in Melbourne. Smith’s ranked world No. 3 despite being ineligible for points since jumping ship but on results this year, he has the right to consider himself the real wWorld No.1.

“It’s hard to say. I know in myself that I’m right up there,” he says. “I’m still third on the list somehow, but as time goes on I think those rankings become more and more irrelevant, especially with not getting world ranking points in those LIV events. It’s a bit of a shame, but it is what it is. I’ve kind of had to deal with that for the last three or four months. I feel like I’m playing some really, really solid golf and yeah, it (no rankings points) is a bit of a pain in the bum.”

St Andrews this year was memorable for two things. Smith’s stunning victory and the heckling of players aligned to LIV. He was yet to sign on the dotted line and feared his defection for $150 million would make him the villain of Australian golf. He had umpteen sleepless nights before committing to the rebel league – and then his appearance at Royal Queensland proved he had nothing to worry about anyway.

“It’s all been positive down here,” Smith says. “I haven’t copped too much. The keyboard warriors are really the only ones to worry about, to be honest. Everyone down here loves it. They genuinely just want to see some good golf. This year’s been good, it’s been really good. I haven’t really had time to reflect … but I think over the next month or so it will really sink in. I’ve always been a process kind of person and I just love ticking boxes on a day-to-day basis. How everything’s kind of turned out this year has been pretty incredible.”

Smith’s victory speech was more emotional at Royal Queensland than St Andrews because his grandmother Carol had walked all four rounds following two bouts of chemotherapy. “She’s not down here this week,” he said on Tuesday. “I think she was a bit knackered. She came into a cafe in Brisbane, we ran into each other just before I left on Monday. I was having a feed, a big greasy breakfast, what I needed to get me through the day, and she ran in and had a coffee. She was a little bit tired but she’ll have this week to rest up and I’m sure she’ll be watching on TV.”

Smith confirmed Karrie Webb’s story that she beat him head-to-head before the British Open, “Yeah, yeah,” he grinned. “I went down to do some practice in South Florida. I didn’t even know Karrie was a member there. We ran into each other and yeah, she beat me. I don’t know what to say. Hopefully she doesn’t beat me off the stick this week. I think she had a home course advantage down there, so I’m blaming that.”

The Open champion was in chipper spirits for a bloke nursing a sore head just a day ago. The little ANZAC saw only one downside to the Australian Open compared to the Australian PGA. No party hole. “I really enjoy those kinds of holes,” he said. “I think last week, I don’t know how many beers they sold in there, but there was a few rowdy people there on Saturday and Sunday. I think everyone really enjoys it. It kind of gives golf a little bit of difference. I suppose it’s kind of known as this uptight sport but when you get people out there enjoying it like that, they get more golf clubs in their hands and that’s what we all want.”