Cameron Smith can keep it up consuming after his wildly profitable 2022 season petered out to an anticlimactic conclusion in Melbourne.
Smith missed the Australian Open’s contentious second lower after failing to make up sufficient floor throughout a third-round one-under-par 69 at Victoria Golf Membership on Saturday.
Regardless of carding his greatest spherical of the week, the world No.3 nonetheless wound up joint forty seventh with solely the highest 30 gamers and ties securing a Sunday tee slot.
Breaking with greater than a century of Australian Open custom, the double lower was launched this 12 months to unencumber sufficient fairway house for a remaining spherical that includes women and men for the primary time.
The 2022 Australian Open is the primary dual-gender nationwide championship on the planet.
However the radical innovation has come on the expense of the brand new Pied Piper of Australian fairways, with Smith simply the highest-profile casualty.
Not that he was overly upset.
Because it was, Smith mentioned he needed to straighten up on the Moonee Valley races on Friday night time after studying he had miraculously made the midway lower after believing he’d missed it.
“I wasn’t actually anticipating it,” he mentioned.
“I used to be fairly fast to the pub and I used to be in all probability a number of too many beers deep after which realised we had an early tee time so I obtained again on the waters and was a superb boy for the remainder of the night time.”
The a hundred and fiftieth British Open champion made an early cost on Saturday, selecting up two birdies on his outward 9 to succeed in the flip at even par.
However a bogey on the par-4 third gap, his twelfth of the day after beginning on the tenth, proved the start of the top.
Regardless of hearty and vocal assist from the large gallery following his each shot, Smith was unable to purchase one other birdie down the stretch.
“I assumed I had it in me right now and hit plenty of good golf pictures however could not actually capitalise,” he mentioned.
“I hit good putts too however they weren’t getting in. It simply wasn’t my week.
“I assumed it could take three or 4 beneath and the technique did not change in any respect – simply exit and play some actually good golf and I assumed I performed strong sufficient.
“Simply not sufficient putts went in.”
Regardless of falling brief, Smith was trying ahead to some well-earned fishing again house in Queensland and celebrating an unbelievable five-win 12 months.
In addition to his momentous triumph at St Andrews, the 29-year-old gained the PGA Tour’s Sentry Match of Champions, the Gamers Championship, LIV Chicago and final week’s Australian PGA.
