[Photo: Getty Images]
For the first time in what feels like forever, Cameron Smith looked like himself again on golf’s biggest stage.
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After enduring a miserable run of six consecutive missed cuts in majors, the Aussie superstar gave himself every chance to chalk up major victory No.2 at the 2026 PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club, producing back-to-back rounds of 68 over the weekend to get within one shot of the lead before settling for a T-7 finish – his best major result since 2022.
Ultimately, Aaron Rai surged clear on Sunday with a clinical final-round masterclass to become the first English-born player in more than a century to lift the Wanamaker Trophy.
Smith’s performance marked a significant turning point for the Ripper GC skipper, whose form had become one of the most scrutinised talking points in world golf since his move to LIV Golf in 2022. Critics were quick to blame the Saudi-backed circuit for his slide in the majors, but Smith has consistently pushed back on that narrative, insisting his struggles had far more to do with confidence and swing issues than schedule or perceived competition level.
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And after looking far more like the player who once lifted the claret jug, the 32-year-old finally appears to have found answers.
“It feels great to play nice,” Smith said post-round. “You don’t work hard to play crap, and it’s frustrating, and the last couple of years have been frustrating. I feel like I’ve been putting in the work and not really getting anything out of it.
“Even out there today, under the pressure I felt like I was able to trust it already. So lots of positive signs.”
The timing of the resurgence is hardly coincidental. At the beginning of the week, Smith revealed he had made one of the toughest decisions of his career – parting ways with lifelong coach Grant Field to begin working with renowned instructor Claude Harmon III. It represented the end of a 23-year partnership that dated back to Smith’s childhood in Brisbane.
“I made a swing coach switch a couple weeks ago, now to Claude, and we’ve just managed to clean up a few things that were perhaps a little bit off. I feel like I’ve got a lot more confidence in my swing,” Smith said.
The Queenslander certainly looked sharper with his irons, more committed over the ball and, perhaps most importantly, mentally free again. For a player whose reputation was built on delivering in the majors, the drought had clearly weighed heavily.
“Yeah. I mean, I feel like I’ve thrived in major championships my whole career,” Smith added. “I feel like I’ve been able to play my best golf in major championships, and that kind of fell off. And like I mentioned before, I don’t think it was from a lack of hard work. I just think you lose a little bit of confidence in your swing and maybe in your brain, and it can all happen so quickly.
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“That’s why I needed a fresh voice in the head, kind of almost a restart. It feels good so far.”
There have also been major life changes away from the course. Smith became a father for the first time last year, another adjustment during a turbulent stretch that saw his once automatic major performances suddenly disappear. But at Aronimink, the swagger returned. The trademark putting touch resurfaced. The creativity around the greens was back. And under Sunday pressure, Smith looked comfortable again – a dangerous sign for the rest of the world heading towards the US Open and Open Championship.
Smith’s most revealing line of all may have come when discussing the emotional toll of moving on from Field. “I mean, just belief that I’m doing the right thing. That’s really it,” Smith said when asked what he’ll take away from this week’s performance.
“It was a hard call to make, (parting ways with Field). I had been seeing Grant since I was 9 years old. So I’d been with him for 23 years, and probably one of the most difficult phone calls I’ve ever had to make.
“It’s still kind of lingering, but I feel like I’ve made the right call, and I can see it in my golf and just my strike of the ball, and seeing some different shots. It’s been nice.”
For months, questions had swirled around whether Smith would ever return to being a genuine factor in the majors again. At Aronimink, he provided the most encouraging answer yet.
