A taste for trophies can become insatiable and Cam Davis is intent on adding to his haul when the PGA Tour’s 2021/2022 season recommences at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii this morning.
One of five Australians in the 38-man field, Davis earned a first invite to the Plantation course at the Kapalua Resort by virtue of his stunning breakthrough win at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit last July.
Winning trophies is not unfamiliar to the 26-year-old from Sydney who now calls Seattle home.
He was the 2015 Australian Amateur champion, stunned some of the biggest names in world golf to shoot 64 on Sunday and win the Stonehaven Cup as 2017 Australian Open champion and six months later received a guitar as reward for winning the Nashville Golf Open on the Korn Ferry Tour.
His first PGA Tour title came in his 71st start and Davis knows that to continue to tick off career goals, collecting trophies is part of the process.
“I would really love to win again and I would love to get to the Tour Championship,” Davis said ahead of his first event for 2022.
“I feel like that’s the big one for me. I got close last year. I feel like that’s a good gauge on how your game is trending. If I can finish higher up, I’ll be happy.
“I’ve got a lot of great new opportunities this year, including this week. I’ve got more Majors to play in. I’ve played in a lot of these tournaments a few times now throughout the years and I’ll be nice to feel a bit more at home getting back there.
“I feel like every year I go around, it’s more opportunities to get more trophies. Let’s see if I can make that happen.”
It has been 12 years since Geoff Ogilvy won the second of his ToC titles at Kapalua, but a strong Aussie presence this week opens the door for a drought-breaking win, two years after the tournament was played without an Australian present for the first time since 1987.
The five wins by Ogilvy (2009-2010) and Stuart Appleby (2004-2006) in the space of seven years made the picturesque season-opener compulsive viewing for Aussie golf fans emerging from their post-Christmas food comas.
As a youngster growing up in Sydney, Davis has many memories of tuning in early in the new year and is now ready to make some of his own in a field reserved only for those who were tournament champions in the year prior.
“I’ve got a whole bunch of memories on what guys have done out here and I hope I can make my own out there,” Davis said prior to his first practice round on Tuesday.
“I can see why the scoring has been low and I guess it’s all been wind dependent. We’ll see what we get this week.
“I’ve had to do something good to get here and I was really proud I was able to get a win on the board.
“I’ve watched this tournament every year and I’m finally here and I can’t wait to see it for myself.
“It’s difficult playing against the best players in the world. This week is the reward for playing well. It’s all been really exciting.”
The four other Aussies in the field this week are Cameron Smith (Zurich Classic of New Orleans), Marc Leishman (Zurich Classic of New Orleans), Matt Jones (Honda Classic) and Lucas Herbert (Butterfield Bermuda Championship).
There is an Aussie flavour in the groupings for the opening round, with Olympic teammates Smith and Leishman paired together while Jones and Herbert have also been drawn in an all-Aussie pairing.
