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Australian Open contender Cameron Smith is dreaming of a triumphant comeback win from a highly-publicised “crappy year” having salvaged a place in the last group at Royal Melbourne, where a star-studded leaderboard teases a final round for the ages.
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An out-of-sorts Rory McIlroy was unable to get himself in contention on day three in Melbourne but the leaderboard shows PGA Tour winners, major champions, LIV golfers and home heroes Smith, Adam Scott, Min Woo Lee and Lucas Herbert all within six shots.
Smith sank a 25-metre eagle putt from off the green at the par-5 14th while five other birdies and two bogeys, including one at the 18th, combined for a 66 that put the Queenslander two shots off the pace.
“I definitely didn’t have my best stuff today; but I still managed to get a score out of it and worked my way around the course nicely,” Smith said.
Denmark’s Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen seized a two-shot lead with a birdie at the last doubling his advantage after a 66 took him to 14-under-par. Smith, multiple PGA Tour winner Si Woo Kim (65) and LIV golfer Carlos Ortiz (66) were sharing second at 12-under.
LIV golfer Josele Ballester was 11-under, while Lee, 2009 Australian Open champion Scott and New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier were 10-under. Lucas Herbert and fellow LIV golfer Caleb Surratt were eight under and six back, while Masters champion McIlroy’s 68 left him at five-under.
By nature of the order in which they finished the round, 2017 Players champion Kim and Smith will be in the final group at 11.50am AEDT with pacesetter Neergaard-Petersen.
It is Smith’s best chance at at Australian Open victory in eight years. Not since a solo fourth at the 2017 Australian Open has Smith had a genuine bid to lift his first Stonehaven Cup. Aside from a second career major, the Stonehaven Cup is the trophy Smith wants the most having lost in a playoff to Jordan Spieth at Royal Sydney in 2016.
“It’s just nice to be in contention; it’s been a while since I’ve had this feeling so I’m looking forward to (Sunday),” Smith said. “I love that it’s at Royal Melbourne for the Australian Open. I couldn’t think of a better place to be back in form.”
A victory would also be a storybook ending to 2025 after a prolonged slump. Before Melbourne, Smith had missed the cut in all seven tournaments with Official World Golf Ranking points this year outside LIV – including the four majors and last week’s Australian PGA Championship.
“25 out of 10 (motivation levels),” Smith said when asked what a win would mean in the context of his poor stretch, which includes going winless worldwide since August 2023 at LIV Golf Bedminster.
Smith has been criticised on social media by users pointing out his stretch of missed cuts and so-so form on LIV golf. Many have pointed out that only three years ago, Smith rose to world No.2 on the back of winning a maiden major at the Open Championship at St Andrews, a Players Championship title, one other PGA Tour event as well as a LIV Golf victory and a third Australian PGA crown.
“I just feel like it’s been a bit of a crappy year,” he said of 2025.
Asked if it would silence the critics, Smith answered, “It would shut a few people up, but that’s not that that’s really the goal,” the 31-year-old said. “The goal is to go out there and play well. The motivation for myself is to play well under these conditions.”
Smith credited putting in one-percenters as he looks to grind his way back to world-class form.
“I’ve just done a lot of things right [this week]; not just on the golf course with some shots, but the preparation, even going out there and putting for an extra 10 minutes in the morning when it doesn’t feel so good,” Smith said. “I’ve just seemed to get back into some good habits this week. Not that it’s really the answer, but it’s nice to see it pay off this quickly.
So, how can he pull off a career-defining win? Smith says forgetting about the leaderboard or his own form and using his imagination to step up to each shot that the Alister MacKenzie-designed Royal Melbourne demands.
“I think you’ve just got to play the golf course; I know it sounds very cliche, but there are some golf courses where you can just get out there and hit it at the pin all day to try to shoot eight or nine-under but it’s not this place,” he said. “If you play the right shots, hopefully you can get yourself into position to win the last few holes.”
Let’s hope so. It would be appointment viewing.
