THE PLAYERS: Cameron Smith is simply made for the big moment

Cameron Smith added his name to a growing list of Australians to have won the PGA’s flagship event on Sunday at the Players Championship. An extraordinary final round by Smith produced the nation’s 5th winner of the event with the largest prize purse in the game.

It was by far the biggest win of the young Aussie’s career thus far, though he is certainly no stranger to some of the biggest moments. Smith who is a two-time winner of the Australian PGA Championship secured his first PGA Tour win in the United States back in 2017 at the Zurich Classic alongside playing partner Jonas Blixt as part of the increasingly popular team event on the PGA’s annual schedule.

The 2022 Players Champion would go on to record a few more top 5 finishes in 2017, but perhaps the moment when he really announced his arrival onto the golfing scene came in 2018. A 6th place showing at the Genesis Open was followed by a somewhat surprising 5th place finish at the 2018 Masters just a couple of months later. It would not be the first time that the Australian would find success at Augusta National.

The Brisbane native further cemented his name on the golfing scene with a memorable showing at the Presidents Cup in late 2019 when he went toe to toe with American Justin Thomas in the Sunday singles session, his impressive performance led to the win over Thomas by a 2&1 margin.

That grit and determination to get over the line was on full display on Sunday at the Players Championship. Cameron shot out of the gate with four consecutive birdies to take the outright lead and it appeared as though it would all be plain sailing for the stylish Smith, who has become famous for his mullet-Esque hairstyle.

He would add another birdie on the par 4, 6th hole, before running into trouble across his last three holes on the front nine. The reliable putter started to come unglued for Cameron as he missed a four-footer for par on the 7th, the result was his first bogey of the round and the first of three consecutive bogeys. An errant shot from the tee-box on the par 3, 8th hole, would lead to another dropped shot and it was this inaccuracy off the tee that would again cost him on the par 5, 9th.

It took real resolve to turn things around as he headed to the back nine with his lead at the top of the leaderboard completely gone. There are some people that have that ‘it’ factor, that step up in the big moments and seemingly thrive in the moment. Cameron Smith has proven that he possesses that special something.

It would have been very easy to come unraveled following a string of three consecutive bogeys on a difficult golf course, but the Australian was determined to not let that happen. As if he hit the refresh button he started his back nine as if it was an exact replica of how he began his final round.

Another four consecutive birdies and some clutch par saves had positioned him nicely as he headed for the final three holes with the lead once again. The par 5, 16th, proved to be a challenge as once again an errant tee-shot looked like it would cost him, but it was in this exact moment that he showed that cool, calm, and collected mentality. Cameron Smith decided to pitch back into the fairway with his second shot, an outcome that left him with a long approach for this third. The ensuing third shot was sent into the heart of the green and he saved his par after nearly seeing his long birdie putt find the bottom of the cup.

Cameron Smith headed to the iconic 17th at the Players Championship with the weight of the World on his shoulders.

Having just watched playing partner Sam Burns deliver his shot from the tee-box into the water surrounding the famous island green, Smith stepped up to hit one of the shots of the tournament. The pin was tucked in the far right corner of the green so the sensible play was to just land it anywhere on the green under the circumstances.

Playing it safe was not something that Cameron Smith had in mind, however, as he took on the flagstick and landed it safely on the green just outside of four feet from the hole. It would set up an eventual birdie putt that gave him a three-shot lead at the time, and would prove to be the difference when all was said and done.

The Players Champion would save bogey on the closing 18th, a result that was good enough for the win after Lahiri failed to find a birdie on the closing hole.

This was not the first time that Cameron Smith showed up in the big moment and it certainly won’t be the last. He will no doubt have learned a great deal from experiences at the Presidents Cup, the Masters, and from his win at the Sentry Tournament Of Champions earlier this year when he outdueled Jon Rahm for the victory.

There are some people that are just made for the big moment and you can count the 2022 Players Champion amongst that group, he certainly has that ‘It’ factor.