The 29-year-old Cameron Smith has just wrapped up his third Australian PGA triumph as he defeated the competition by three strokes. Having four birdies and one bogey in the final round helped him finish on 14 under ahead of Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune and his compatriot, Jason Scrivener.
The Australian managed to defy the odds on several occasions this year, thus cementing one of the best seasons of his career. The World No.3 is certainly determined to take down Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy from the top spots in the official golf rankings. With only 37 events played, Cameron Smith managed to jump 18 places in the rankings in 2022 as he is now closer than ever to becoming World No.1.
Many online bookmakers offer outright bets for the upcoming PGA events in 2023. As mentioned here, Cameron Smith is among the favorites to grab yet another crown for his collection. His remarkable consistency undoubtedly plays a dominant factor when calculating his chances for the upcoming events next year.
2022 – His best year so far
Cameron Smith enjoyed some fantastic performances this season. His consistency throughout the year has been unparalleled which earned him the PGA of American Player of the Year award. The 29-year-old golfer from Brisbane, Queensland, finished off with 96 overall Player of the Year points which put him slightly ahead of the American, Scottie Scheffler.
Cameron Smith wraps up 2022 with three PGA Tour wins as he topped the competition in the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January, at the Players Championship in March, and during the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews, Scotland, in July. His victory at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship was his third win on home soil and his first since 2018 when he clinched the title by 2 strokes over Marc Leishman.
PGA Tour Scoring Record at the Sentry Tournament of Champions
Cameron Smith entered the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua Resort on Maui, Hawaii, as one of the favorites to win it. However, he would have to overcome the competition led by the World No.1 Jon Rahm who has been incredible throughout the previous year.
Smith went on to win the first two rounds which give him three strokes advantage over the Spanish golfer. However, the Third Round of 61, saw Rahm erasing his entire deficit as both players were tied on the top. The Aussie found a way to stay on top of his game as he secured the victory with a round of 65 on the final day.
Both golfers ended up breaking the previous scoring record set by Ernie Els in 2003 as Cam Smith finished off with 34 under par, while Jon Rahm came up one shot shy of that performance. His victory early on in January turned out to be quite crucial as it almost erased Smith’s sour memories from the previous two seasons.
66 in the Final Round at the Players Championship
Two months later, the golfers would meet again at the 2022 Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. After a tough start to the Tournament, Cameron Smith found himself at 4-under-par at the beginning of the Third Round. The 28-year-old Australian eventually picked up his rhythm and bounced back for a tied-6th place before the start of the last round.
His 66-shot performance on the last day was just enough to earn him the victory over Anirban Lahiri from India who came up just short with 12-under-par. Smith’s 13-under-par earned him a staggering $3.6 million from the prize money.
Eight under 64 at St. Andrews, Scotland
The 150th Open Championship was a special PGA Tour event held in July 2022 at St Andrews, Scotland. The anniversary was first scheduled for 2021 but the 2020 event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic which eventually pull it one year back in time.
With fierce competition including Rory McIlroy, Cameron Young, Scottie Scheffler, Viktor Hovland, and the youngest winner at a Players Championship, Kim Si-woo, the task ahead of Cameron Smith seemed quite surreal. He would certainly have to pull something out of his hat to grab his sixth PGA Tour victory.
However, after the Second Round, the solid Aussie led the pack with a score of 131 which was the lowest 36-hole score in the history of the tournament. Unfortunately for him, Saturday turned out to be his kryptonite at St. Andrews as he shot 73, dropping back to four strokes at -12.
The stars aligned perfectly for Cameron Smith on Sunday as he closed out the tournament by snatching the first Open Championship victory of his career by a single stroke over Cameron Young. Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland failed under pressure yet once again in 2022 as both of them finished off with 70+ shots during the Final Round.
