Hometown hero Cameron Smith pours CHAMPAGNE on course moments after winning third straight Australian PGA Championship in Brisbane: ‘What a great friend’
Cameron Smith celebrated in style after winning his third Australian PGA Championship, chugging down some champagne moments after victory in Brisbane.
The 29-year-old clinched his third straight Australian PGA Championship by three shots after lightning strikes halted play at the Royal Queensland Golf Club.
And shortly after putting the last hole, Smith sipped champagne from a bottle handed to him before he even had time to conduct his first interview.
Cameron Smith celebrated in style after winning the Australian PGA Championship
The world No.3 carded a three-under 68 to finish at 14-under par, Jason Scrivener (11 under) coming from seven shots behind on Saturday to share the lead and threaten a big boilover on Sunday.
But Scrivener stumbled in pursuit of his first title in five years, Open Championship winner Smith obliged to claim a fifth title for 2022 in his first appearance on home soil in three years.
Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune (11 under) is tied for second while England’s John Parry and West Australian favorite Min Woo Lee share fourth at nine under.
‘It’s awesome, man,’ Smith said while speaking to Todd Woodbridge Nine moments after his win.
‘I really didn’t think I had it to be honest. The start of the week was a bit painful, but the game got better and better as the week went on, except for the front nine today.’
Play was suspended twice on Sunday for a total of two hours as electrical storms swept through Brisbane, leaving players and around 10,000 fans scrambling for cover.
The world No3 finished 14-under par, three strokes clear of Jason Scrivener
And Smith admitted the stoppages in play were frustrating.
‘You’ve got to get the mojo and for it to stop not once but twice is quite disappointing,’ he said.
‘But I held on [the lead] and played solid these last eight holes.’
But the storm passed in time to finish in the fading light, avoiding a return on Monday to crown the champion.
The 29-year-old has now won three Australian PGA Championships in a row
The Australian shot a three-under 68 on Sunday, recovering from a difficult front nine
Resuming for the second time, Smith immediately bogeyed the 11th to fall into a tie with Scrivener and Hisatsune.
But he dug deep into his bag of tricks, hitting a wedge from the rough, over a tree and onto the 12th green to make birdie.
He then nailed a six-metre birdie putt at the 13th and sealed the result with another at the 16th to add to his 2017 and 2018 titles, both won at the Gold Coast’s Royal Pines.
Play was suspended twice on Sunday as electrical storms swept through Brisbane
The break lasted a combined two hours, but the storm passed in time to end in the fading light
Scrivener, ahead of Smith, birdied to stay within one shot but then watched his putt on the 17th roll off the green and into the back corner of a raked bunker.
He took a double bogey – his putt rolled to the side before going all the way down – a birdie in the final to pull him level with the in-form Japanese talent.
Smith (68, 65, 69, 68) is the only man to shoot more than two rounds under 70 for the tournament and is the youngest three-time winner of the Kirkwood Cup.
