By Evin Priest – US PGA Tour editor
Cameron Smith has spent the past 12 months quietly cementing his status as the next big thing in Australian golf.
The softly spoken 24-year-old from Brisbane notched his maiden US PGA Tour victory at the Zurich Classic in May last year, and added to his professional trophy cabinet at the Australian PGA Championship in December.
But if you want to know a little more about the world No.39, here are five observations I’ve picked up from covering his efforts on the US PGA Tour.
- He’s been one of the most consistent Australians on tour: After last week’s Masters, Smith cracked the world’s top 40 golfers for the first time in his career. His rise up the rankings is a byproduct of seventh months’ worth of impressive play stretching back to the BMW Championship in September. After a tie for fifth at the recent WGC-Match Play, which got him into the Masters, Smith also finished in share of fifth at Augusta. He now has 11 top-20s in his past 14 starts worldwide.
- He hits it longer than you think: Although not a big bloke, at 5-foot-11 and 78 kilograms, Smith is well above average on the US PGA Tour for driving distance. He gets it out there 297.5 yards on average, which is good enough to rank 74th on tour.
- He’s soon to begin his first title defence on the US PGA Tour: Smith partnered with Swede Jonas Blixt to win the Zurich Classic – a revitalised teams event – in New Orleans last year. The pair took American duo Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown to extra holes and defeated them for Smith’s breakthrough win on the US PGA Tour. In two weeks, he’ll head back to TPC Louisiana as a defending champion for the first time in the US.
- He’s a rev-head: Smith lives and breathes cars – fast ones to be specific. At the WGC-Match Play in Austin, Smith took a break from crushing big guns Hideki Matsuyama, Patrick Cantlay and Tyrrell Hatton in the head-to-head format to hit the F1 race track where he and Thai golf star Kiradech Aphibarnrat enjoyed hot laps on the Circuit of the Americas.
- He’s a top bloke: Smith has never forgotten his roots, having forged his path from Queensland’s Wantima Country Club to golf’s biggest stage. His family and a few childhood mates travel over from Brisbane a few times a year to cheer Smith on from outside the ropes and he’s had the same coach – Grant Field – since he was an early teenager. Smith treats everyone with respect and always gives plenty of time to the fans, especially the kids.
