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Gold Coast-based professional Deyen Lawson is eyeing off a first-round bye in Sunday’s match play section after backing up his course record 64 on Thursday with a 2-under 70 to maintain a two-shot lead at the Gippsland Super 6 on Friday morning.
Challengers came and went as the morning round on day two delivered equal measure of red numbers and stumbles.
Starting the second round two shots back of Lawson, Dimi Papadatos rose to a share of the lead at 10-under on the back of his fifth birdie of the day but struck trouble on the par-4 fourth hole, dropping two shots on his way to a 2-under 70 to be two back and outright second, two shots clear of Peter Cooke and Charlie Dann.
Cooke moved into a strong position until a double-bogey at the par-4 18th turned a second consecutive 68 into a 70 for a 6-under total at the halfway mark while Queenslander Dann got to 9-under before a run of three consecutive bogeys from the sixth hole led to a second straight round of 3-under 69 to sit four back.
In trickier wind conditions than he experienced during the first round, Lawson was pleased to again finish under par despite not matching the quality of ball-striking on display on day one.
“I wasn’t playing great but I managed to get a score and give myself some chances,” Lawson said post-round.
“Even if I’d rolled a few more putts in I could have gone a bit lower not hitting it great so that was a good sign.
“The top eight are exempt through the first round of the match play so I’d say that’s the goal that everyone’s looking at.
“At the same time, I’m trying to have a mindset of no matter what tournament it is, what round it is or how I’m going, just hit each shot as good as I can and not thinking about any outside influences.
“When you’re walking around you can think about stuff like that but if your routine and your process is really good it’s just another shot.
“It’s almost impossible to not think about some things but the better I can do it the easier it will get.”
The most significant move of the morning however came from an unlikely source, 18-year-old local amateur Levi Sclater.
Winner of the Tasmanian Junior Masters 12 months ago, Sclater received an invitation into the tournament after finishing as the leading qualifier at the Gippsland Super 6 Amateur event at Warragul Country Club in late December.
Following up an opening round of 1-under 71 with a 3-under 69 to sit in a tie for ninth, Sclater is well placed to be one of the 24 players who qualify for Sunday’s match play section having achieved his initial goal of making the two-round cut.
“I wanted to make the first cut for sure but I just thought I’d see how I go,” said Sclater, who dropped shots at both 17 and 18 to close out his round.
“If I’m going all right then the goal is now to make the second cut.
“I was a bit nervous on the 10th hole – my first hole – in the first round but once I got going and made a couple of birdies it was pretty good.
“Today was the same. I was less nervous on the first hole today. It took me a few holes and then I made three birdies in a row and that kick-started me for the day.”
As the afternoon groups begin their second rounds the cut-line is sitting at even par, prominent players such as Geoff Ogilvy (E), David McKenzie (E), Jake Higginbottom (+1) and Daniel Fox (+1) in need of good rounds to progress through to the third round.
They dropped three shots between them on their final hole but Victorian pair Ben Eccles and Marcus Fraser share the lead midway through the opening round of the Gippsland Super 6 at Yallourn Golf Club.
The first ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia event since the NT PGA Championship in October, a stellar list of Australian golfers flooded the leaderboard in the morning wave but it seemed no one would keep pace with Eccles until disaster struck late.
Six birdies and an eagle had given Eccles a handy two-shot buffer from Fraser and Peter Wilson until a double-bogey six on the par-4 ninth gave lunch a bitter taste.
Starting from the 10th tee, Eccles made the turn in 2-under and then caught fire, rattling off three birdies in succession from the par-5 first and establishing a two-shot gap to the rest of the field with an eagle at the par-5 fifth hole.
He looked certain to set an imposing target for the afternoon groups until a wayward tee shot and lost ball turned a two-shot advantage into a share of the lead at 5-under 67.
“I hit one really bad shot for the day and it was on that tee box. The rest of the day was really good,” said Eccles, who gained his Asian Tour card at the start of 2020.
“I snap-hooked a driver into the rubbish on the left and made a par with the second ball.
“I didn’t hit many really close today, I holed some putts that I didn’t expect to hole and I built on it.
“Then I got to the fifth and hit two really, really nice shots into there and made the eagle and I was 7-under and thinking, This is really nice.
“I hit 2-iron off the tee up the hill which left me 212 metres to the flag and I hit 4-iron to 6-8 feet. That was probably the best shot I hit all day. That was really nice that one.”
Fraser too found trouble on the 328-metre ninth hole when he was unable to find his first tee shot but made birdie with his second ball to also open with a 67.
“I thought was perfect when I hit it and then got up there and couldn’t find it,” Fraser said of his final hole misfortune.
“I hit another one that was about two yards to the right of the first one and it was in the first cut of rough, hit it on and made the putt.
“I don’t know what happened to the first one but it was gone.”
Having recently begun the PGA Bridging program at Peninsula Kingswood Golf Club, Fraser’s preparation has consisted predominantly of helping to improve the games of others rather than sharpening his own.
“It was a bit of the unknown really,” Fraser said of his return to tournament golf.
“I played the pro-ams last week to try and have a hit-out before playing some four-rounders but before that I hadn’t really done a hell of a lot.
“There hasn’t been too much of my golf, I’ve been teaching some other people how to do it.
“I chipped in for eagle at the fifth but apart from that it was all pretty steady.”
Peter Wilson is tied for fourth at 4-under thanks in no small part to an eagle on his very first hole while defending champion Tom Power Horan is one of 11 players currently in a tie for seventh at 3-under par, left to lament some untidy bogeys and missed opportunities in his round of 69 that featured seven birdies, four bogeys and seven pars.
“I made some poor bogeys. I played quite well the front nine and then a couple of soft bogeys,” Power Horan explained.
“I feel like I should have been a few better to be honest but I’ll take it.
“It’s nice to play well because it gives you confidence but to be honest it’s a little bit annoying. If it was two shots better it makes the next two rounds a little bit easier.
“I don’t think I quite capitalised on how well I played.”
The inaugural event in 2019 was heavily disrupted by rain and Power Horan says they have been presented with a much different test this time around in warm conditions.
“It’s much, much firmer and the wind direction is the total opposite,” said Power Horan, who won in 54 holes of stroke play in November 2019.
“Some of the holes that were the tougher ones last time are probably the easier holes and vice versa.
“It makes it a good challenge but it’s definitely there to be had. It wouldn’t surprise me to see someone shoot a really good score.
“If you drive the ball well there’s plenty of opportunities.”
The early leaders are already under fire from the afternoon groups with newly minted Sydney professional Nathan Barbieri racing to 5-under through his opening six holes with fellow Sydneysider Dimi Papadatos also quick out of the blocks, 4-under through 5.
Follow live scores from the Gippsland Super 6 at pga.org.au.
Round one of the Gippsland Super 6 is underway at Yallourn Golf Club with first groups teeing off at 7:30am AEDT.
Reigning champion Tom Power Horan tees off alongside Rick Kulacz and James Marchesani at 7:50am in cool morning conditions with temperatures expected to reach a height of 31 degrees by 3pm.
Japan Tour regular Matthew Griffin will begin his first round of tournament golf since early 2020 alongside Michael Hendry of New Zealand and 2020 Queensland Open champion Anthony Quayle at 8am from the 10th tee.
The marquee group of Marcus Fraser, Geoff Ogilvy and former Essendon and St Kilda footballer Brendon Goddard will tee off at 8:10am from the 10th.
Keep an eye on these groups when play tees off at the #GippslandSuper6 tomorrow 👀⛳️
— #GippslandSuper6 (@PGAofAustralia) January 20, 2021
Round 1 tee times 👉 https://t.co/Vr3OZ3MbmD#PGATA #PGAProud pic.twitter.com/b0zi9kGs3W
View tee times for round one at pga.org.au.
View live scores from the Gippsland Super 6 at pga.org.au.
Adam Scott will commence 2021 desperate to make up for lost time after a schedule decimated by the coronavirus pandemic and his own two-week COVID-19 quarantine turned last year from one of great promise to one of lost opportunities.
Scott returns to the Plantation Course at the Kapalua Resort on the island of Maui in Hawaii for the first time since 2014, his victory at the Genesis Invitational last February securing his spot alongside fellow Aussies Cameron Smith (Sony Open) and Marc Leishman (Farmers Insurance Open).
The two-shot win at Riviera Country Club almost a year ago was Scott’s first PGA TOUR start for 2020 and signalled a strong intent to contend for a second green jacket at The Masters.
The suspension of the season due to COVID-19, an extended stint at home in Australia, the reshuffled schedule of Majors and FedEx Cup playoff events and his own run-in with COVID-19 threw Scott off kilter, failing to finish inside the top 20 in any of the eight events he played following the resumption.
If turning 40 last July wasn’t enough of a reminder that time is of the essence, Scott enters 2021 determined to maximise the time he has to work on his game in the current climate and adapt better to the situation every player currently finds themselves in.
“I have to figure out a way to get it done,” said Scott, a runner up in this event in 2007 behind Vijay Singh.
“Even under these difficult circumstances, if I’m going to come out and play I want to come out and contend and not just make up numbers. Otherwise, I would rather not play.
“If I’m out here playing, I want to make the most of it. Who knows, my time is becoming less and less, that’s for sure, so I would like to contend a little more and win a little more before my time’s up.
“You kind of have to have a plan, but not everything is up to me, determined by me. Things are changing. Even just getting here, the parameters changed like three times in the weeks leading up to coming to Hawaii.
“So I have to be a bit flexible, but I think you’ve just really got to be on top of things at all times so nothing falls off the pace in any area of your game or in what you need to do to be at the top because there might not be that opportunity to work to get it back.
“I’m trying to just stay on top of everything and also be a little flexible with my attitude, not get annoyed when things are a bit more difficult and just take it for what it is. Getting time to see my coach outside of a TOUR event, and training and treatment and things like that.
“If you’re not based in the same place at the moment, it’s very, very difficult to actually get together. The UK’s just locked down again. My coach lives there. I know other guys have that too, but it is challenging. So just trying to manage things a little bit better.
“I played OK at the end of last year, but not up to the standard I want to play if I’m out here doing it.
“Trying to do a little bit better job of that from this point on.”
Unlikely to return to Australia until the end of the year, Scott is eyeing off both The Players Championship and The Masters as early targets to add to a world-class resume that boasts 31 tournament wins including the 2013 Masters, 2003 Players and two World Golf Championship titles.
The highest-ranked Australian currently at No.21 in the world, Scott didn’t rule out making space in his schedule for a tilt at a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, providing they can go ahead as planned a week after his 41st birthday on July 23.
“I would consider playing,” admitted Scott, who declined the opportunity to play in Rio de Janiero in 2016.
“It’s still not my priority for the year, that’s for sure, but I wouldn’t rule it out.
“You can never really say never, but it will certainly be something I’ll look at.
“Who knows where we are in the summertime.”
As for his return to Hawaii that comes with an added bonus of time to indulge his passion for surfing, Scott conceded that there are few better ways to start the year.
“It has been an event I’ve loved coming to for so many years. But then for a while it was a tricky one to get back to,” said Scott.
“Every time I missed it I regretted it but it was off the back of playing in Australia and being the first week of the year made it a very short holiday season for me.
“Once I won in Genesis it was definitely a priority for me to put this event on the schedule.
“It’s a great way to start the year. Even under these circumstances it’s nice to be here. And for me, at this moment, I need to kind of start putting some good results on the board and get my FedEx Cup campaign going a bit.”
Round 1 tee times (AEDT)
PGA TOUR
Sentry Tournament of Champions
Kapalua Resort (Plantation Course), Maui, Hawaii
7am Adam Scott, Jason Kokrak
7.20am Marc Leishman, Billy Horschel
7.50am Cameron Smith, Kevin Kisner
Defending champion: Justin Thomas
Past Aussie champions: Steve Elkington (1992, 1995), Stuart Appleby (2004, 2005, 2006), Geoff Ogilvy (2009, 2010)
Top Aussie prediction: Marc Leishman
TV times: Live 10am-2pm Friday, Saturday and Sunday; Live 8am-12pm Monday on Fox Sports 503.
Anthony Quayle has added his name to an impressive honour roll, walking away with the Geoff King Motors North Coast Open by four shots.
The Queenslander carded a 3-under-par 67 to go with his open round course record 63 at Coffs Harbour Golf Club for a two-round total of 10-under.
Victorian Deyen Lawson finished in outright second place at 6-under, while Marcus Fraser and Matthew Millar shared third place a further shot back at 5-under.
After starting the final round with a share of the lead alongside Lawson, the tournament soon became an open affair when Quayle made a double on the third to gift Lawson an early lead.
It didn’t take long for the Queenslander to recover, and birdies on the par-five 6th and par-three 8th, were enough for the eventual champ to turn for home with his lead intact.
With the skies threatening to open up at any time and birdies hard to come by, it appeared the Coffs Harbour course was going to get the better of the field.
It was Quayle’s day, however, and when he turned for home, the fireworks began.
Birdies on the 11 and 13th stretched his lead to four, and when Quayle rifled his second shot to the par-five 14th, a nine iron from 157 metres to four feet, the lead was six, and the tournament was as good as over.
A bogey on the 16th was soon erased with a birdie on the next, and with a comfortable five-shot lead walking up the last, Quayle’s second bogey of the day meant the finish was all academic in the end.
“I felt really good going into today and into this event to be honest,” Quayle said after the win.
“I played pretty nice really. I made a double on our third, and I didn’t hole a lot of putts early, but got hot midway through the round, and started to hole a lot.
“Apart from the double I think I played pretty flawless golf.”
While Quayle was thrilled with the win, his second in 2020, he added he was just glad to be back playing competition golf again, adding that the forced break from competition had helped him re-assess some of life’s priorities.
“The break (COVID) has given me a new outlook on how I approach the game,” he said.
“I’ve played since I was seven, and I don’t think I have ever had longer than a three-week break since.
“It’s your life, and over this stretch here I’ve gained a little bit of perspective that while golf is important, it’s not everything.”
“It’s allowed me to be a little more fatalistic. If it goes my way, it goes my way. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t.”
Although new to the schedule in 2020, the North Coast Open has an honour roll which includes the names some of the greats of the game, including Gary Player, Kel Nagle, Norman Von Nida, Bruce Crampton and Bill Dunk.
Quayle was thrilled to know his name would be alongside theirs.
“This is cool, Very cool,” he smiled.
“You grow up watching those guys, seeing what they do, and think it is almost unattainable.
“Then to be able to see my name on the same trophy as them is pretty special.”
For their efforts, Canberra’s Matthew Millar, Queensland’s Kade Mc Bride and Ballina’s Jay Mackenzie have secured their place in the field for the $400,000 NSW Open at Concord Golf Club from 25th -28th March 2021.
View the final North Coast Open leaderboard at pga.org.au.
Images: David Teases, GolfNSW
Deyen Lawson and reigning Queensland Open champion Anthony Quayle share the lead after the opening round of the Geoff King Motors North Coast Open at Coffs Harbour Golf Club.
Playing in the same group, the duo carded matching 7-under-par 63’s in conditions perfect for scoring. They lead by two from New South Wales Justin Warren at 5-under with Queensland’s Christopher Wood and another NSW- based player, Andrew Evans in a tie for fourth at 4-under.
Quayle was on fire early, turning in three under par. A hole-out eagle on the 2nd, (his 11th) saw him vault to 5-under and out to a handy two-shot lead. Birdies on the 6th and the 9th (his last hole) were enough to ensure lunch was going to be a pleasant experience.
Quayle was a satisfied man with his opening round, although he admitted he was still a little bit sore after completing the Cancer Council’s Longest Day Challenge on Tuesday.
“I pulled up a little bit sore and sorry,” he confided. “I had reasonably low expectations, but the course is great, and I had good playing partners, so yeah, I finished nicely.”
Regardless of his thoughts on his chances, Quayle was glad to be in a share of the lead.
“No matter where you play or what you play in, and we haven’t had much to play in this year, it always feels nice to be in the lead or roundabouts,” he said.
“It gets the juices flowing a bit and gives you a chance to compete; hole a putt under pressure or when you need to.”
Lawson, playing alongside Quayle, wasn’t to be outdone. The European Tour member turned for home at 2-under just a shot back of Quayle.
After an untimely bogey on the second (his 11th) where Quayle made eagle, Lawson dropped to four behind. He quickly corrected the ship, however, with four straight birdies beginning at the next to get back to within a shot of the lead.
Birdies on the 8th (his 17th) and a remarkable hole-out from the sand on the last for another birdie were good enough to ensure the Gold Coast-based Victorian’s name was alongside Quayle’s on top of the leaderboard.
“Very happy with the round,” Lawson smiled. “Nine birdies, two bogeys, but I try not to remember them.
“Obviously I haven’t played a lot of competitive golf, but I’ve been doing lots of practice in the last couple of months and my game feels pretty good.”
“Anthony was going really low midway through the round, so I had to do something to keep up. He pushed me along.”
If Lawson had any concerns about rust creeping into his game with the lack of competition due to COVID, his grandstand finish certainly dispelled it.
“I hit a good shot into the 8th, I thought the putt was short, but it got there,” he added.
“Then on the last, I come up short in the bunker. I’ve been working hard on my bunker shots and was fortunate to hole it; a good way to finish.”
Twenty-nine players are at par or better after the opening round on the impressive Coffs Harbour layout.
With the weather predicted to be wet for tomorrow’s final round, officials have opted for a single, two-tee start with competitors playing in groups of four. Play will begin at 7.55 am with the leading group to tee of at 10.20 am.
View the full North Coast Open leaderboard at pga.org.au.
Images: David Tease, Golf NSW
Our Aussie women flooded the pointy end of the LPGA leaderboard in Texas in their final outing before the year’s final major.
Our Aussies in the field struggled at the penultimate PGA TOUR stop for 2020, with only Marc Leishman and Cam Smith featuring in next week’s 24-man teams event in Florida.
Newly-anointed Ladies European Tour Rookie of the Year Steph Kyriacou returned home to Australia and missed the season-ending event in Spain, but our leading women in the US did us proud.
Five of our LPGA regulars cracked the top 25 in Texas with Metropolitan GC’s Su Oh leading the way.
The Victorian notched her best result on the women’s top circuit since February thanks to four birdies in her final 12 holes.
Oh is one of six Australians in the field for this week’s US Women’s Open alongside Minjee Lee, Hannah Green, Sarah Jane Smith, Katherine Kirk and amateur Gabi Ruffels.
So for finding form at the perfect time, we congratulate our newest #AussieOfTheWeek Su Oh!
LPGA TOUR
Volunteers of America Classic
Old American Golf Club, Texas
Won by Angela Stanford (USA) at -7 by two shots
T11 – Su Oh, E, 73-70-72-69
T19 – Minjee Lee, +2, 75-70-71-70
T19 – Sarah Kemp, +2, 75-69-70-72
24 – Hannah Green, +3, 75-67-72-73
T25 – Katherine Kirk, +4, 74-76-67-71
T48 – Sarah Jane Smith, +8, 78-72-68-74
PGA TOUR
Mayakoba Golf Classic
El Camaleon Golf Club, Mexico
Won by Viktor Hovland (NOR) at -20 by one shot
MC – Aaron Baddeley, E, 72-70
MC – Rhein Gibson, +8, 77-73
MC – Marc Leishman, +9, 74-77
WD – Cameron Percy, E, 72-68
EUROPEAN TOUR
South African Open
Gary Player CC, South Africa
Won by Christiaan Bezuidenhout (RSA) at -18 by five shots
T40 – Austin Bautista, +2, 71-72-74-73
Golf in Dubai Championship
Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai, UAE
MC – Scott Hend, +2, 75-71
Revelling in the success of fellow Aussies early in the year remains Scott Hend’s highlight but it is the disruption to the careers of young Australian professionals that the veteran fears will be the lasting impact of 2020.
The only Aussie in action on a world tour this week at the European Tour’s Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa, Hend intends to play every event he can before we close the book on one of history’s most challenging years.
The 2016 Olympian needs to string together strong showings this week and next to play his way into the top-70 for the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai but given the uncertainty surrounding tournament entries Hend is leaving nothing to chance.
For many Aussies playing opportunities have been few and far between in 2020 and while the likes of Wade Ormsby, Lucas Herbert, Marc Leishman, Cameron Smith and Adam Scott cashed in early, others have had their careers put on hold.
“I’m really frustrated for the Aussie guys who play on the Asian Tour and I’m frustrated for the Asian Tour players,” said Hend, a 10-time winner on the Asian Tour.
“My biggest concern going back to April was always around how guys just starting their careers were going to be able to survive.
“Not being able to play because of the shutdown has sent some guys into a position where they were already sacrificing to come out and try and start their career. This has probably stopped some from becoming a professional golfer.
“There’s always a point in your career where it’s make or break. You give it up or you keep striving hard to go on and having a whole year with nothing to play is heartbreaking for some guys.
“You may not see some guys back out playing and that’s frustrating to say the least.
“I just hope that we can sort something out with tournaments everywhere because even sponsors are finding it hard to get a dollar together for some of these tournaments.
“I’m quite secure in my job but I worry about these other young Aussie guys and the Asian Tour guys who haven’t got the opportunity to play.
“I just don’t know how it’s going to unfold for those boys.”
Arguably the most travelled golfer for the past decade with 310 events around the globe since 2010, the disruption to the European Tour and virtual cancellation of the Asian Tour since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has made it difficult for Hend to produce his best golf.
The 47-year-old has played in excess of 30 events in each of the past five years but has teed it up in only 18 events to date in 2020.
Towards the end of the European Tour’s UK bubble Hend logged a tie for 11th at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open and was top 10 two weeks later at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, evidence that the more he plays the better the results.
“It’s been tough for me because I haven’t played as many weeks in a row as I want,” said Hend, currently 99th in the Race to Dubai rankings.
“Usually I have a busy playing schedule and that’s how I play my best golf but it’s been very stop-start all year.
“I usually try and stay away from where all the players and caddies stay so that’s been another challenge, being inside the bubble. Having to have dinner at a certain time to conform with all the protocols we had to be able to play.
“All the little things add up after a while.
“Overall it’s been quite a poor year for results for myself but it’s been quite a poor year for a lot of things because of the situation.”
Despite conceding that his family’s inability to travel with him in 2020 has exacerbated the situation, Hend is adamant that any sacrifice is worth the effort, and hopes to end a year like no other with positive momentum to take into 2021.
“It’s always worth it. It doesn’t matter what the requirements are it’s always worth it,” said Hend, who took the opportunity to see the lions and rhinos of Kruger National Park adjacent to the host course earlier this week.
“It’s just how much you can sustain in your own levels of frustration and build-up.
“Some guys can handle it, some guys can’t.
“A good result this week or next week would go a long way to getting in (to the DP World Tour Championship). We’ve just got to sit back and see how many guys have decided they’re not going to come and play. The field is very up in the air.
“It would be lovely to play it but it’s not the be-all and end-all.”
Round 1 tee times (AEDT)
European Tour
Alfred Dunhill Championship
Leopard Creek Country Club, Malelane, South Africa
9.40pm Scott Hend, Steven Brown, Keenan Davidse
Defending champion: Pablo Larrazabal
Past Aussie winners: Adam Scott (2001)
TV schedule: Live 9pm-2am Thursday, Friday; Live 9pm-1.30am Saturday, Sunday on Fox Sports 503.
Scorecards rarely tell the best golfing tales – and Cam Smith’s couldn’t possibly do his Masters third round justice.
The Australian will head into the final round tomorrow in joint second place, four strokes behind the imperious Dustin Johnson, whose 16-under total ties Jordan’ Spieth’s record for the lowest 54-hole score at Augusta National.
But that Smith is even in the same conversation is absolutely remarkable given a torrent of statistics that the Queenslander swam so gallantly against today.
The most rudimentary numbers are that Smith played a bogey-free 69 today, with three consecutive birdies from the 13th hole.
As Johnson breezed momentarily six clear of the Aussie with a second 65 in three rounds – another Masters record – it appeared as though Smith’s tilt at a first major championship crown was finished.
The birdies gave him life, but what followed will surely give him a more important commodity – belief.
From a tough lie in the rough with a ball well above his feet right of the 16th green and with almost no real estate with which to work, Smith played a delicate mini-flop that trickled to about 10 feet before a seemingly nerveless downhill par putt fell to maintain his momentum.
He tested that monumentally with a flared drive up 17, so far right that he had to play his second further right up the 15th fairway to give himself room to pitch his third back into play.
But he did so much more, nipping it again to 10 feet and calmly rolling in another par bomb dead centre.
Then a blocked approach to the short-side bunker on the last hole with its back-right pin position threatened to derail him again.
Smith, though, had clearly thrown away the script by this time.
His sand blast inside three feet and yet another par-saving putt kept the dual Australian PGA champ’s scorecard without a blemish, enabling him to stay level with his Presidents Cup teammates Abraham Ancer and Sungjae Im.
That they’re four back is problematic, but from Smith’s perspective, there’s still improvement left in his game while Johnson was nearly perfect today.
Smith hit seven fairways; Johnson hit all 14.
Smith hit 11 greens in regulation; Johnson hit 16 and was on the fringe of another.
And they each had 27 putts – so impressive from the American given Smith was so often scrambling from far closer to the pin.
Johnson said, simply, that he “did everything well”.
“I drove it well, gave myself a lot of chances (and was) really solid all day,” said Johnson, who has a history of blown chances at major championships, but appears in career-best form with three wins this year, including the PGA Tour Championship.
“It’s hard not to think about (wearing the green jacket), but once I get on the first tee tomorrow, I’ll be thinking about that shot and nothing else.”
Smith knows the challenge of running down the world No.1, but he’s braced for it.
“It’s what we dream about really, it’s why we want to play,” said the 27-year-old, who admitted his first 12 holes today – all pars – had been “boring golf”.
“I really just can’t wait for tomorrow … I’ll obviously need a hot start and the back nine has been kind to me all week so hopefully it can be kind one more day.”
The other Australians to make the cut both moved up the leaderboard today, but not far enough to be mentioned in title calculations.
Marc Leishman had four birdies, but gave two bogeys back in his 70 that left him at four under in a share of 26th.
Adam Scott also made his share of birdies, but lost a series of long shots right late in his round and bogeys on the seventh and eighth left him with a 71 and a share of 29th at three under.
Both did enough to move up to a first tee start for the final round, with Scott off at 11.50pm AEDT and Leishman in the next group at 12.01am AEDT.
Smith will be in the second-last group out off the first tee at 1.18am AEDT in a final round that will finish almost four hours before its normal timeslot to accommodate American television coverage of the NFL.
Australian Cameron Smith produced a stellar finish to join a four-way tie at the top of a star-studded leaderboard following the second round of the Masters at Augusta National.
It sounds crazy, but Cam Smith has made two late day two charges to the top of the Masters leaderboard.
Smith started the day a nondescript even par with eight holes to play in a rain-marred round one and promptly caught fire with five birdies from holes 2-9.
But that was just a hint of the crazy ride on which he was about to embark that ended with the Australian in a share of the lead at nine under alongside Mexican Abraham Ancer and Americans Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas.
On another day of hot scoring, a host of players yet to complete their rounds are within reach of that pedestal, most notably world No.2 Jon Rahm and Hideki Matsuyama just one back with several holes remaining for each.
Smith promptly joined the lead with a pair of early birdies as round two began, then frittered many of those gains away with a couple of wayward mid-round drives, doing well to scramble a bogey on the 10th after a huge hook off the tee.
A birdie on the 13th was given back with a three-putt bogey from the front fringe on 14th – and that’s when it all turned for the Queenslander.
The 27-year-old almost holed a 7-wood on the par-five 15th, but kicked in his eagle, before a closing hat-trick of birdies enabled him to rejoin the lead at nine under after an entertaining 68.
His remarkable day featured four bogeys, but no fewer than 11 birdies and an eagle to put himself in pole position to go better than his best finish at Augusta – a fast-finishing T5 in 2018.
“It was a very up‑and‑down round, a little bit scrappy through the middle there,” the Wantima member said.
“It could have definitely got away from me, just with the tiredness and playing 26 holes in a day.
“But I hung in there and the reward was there at the end.”
The second round will be completed tomorrow morning, after which the draw will be made for the third round.
But Smith, with veteran Aussie caddie Matthew “Bussy” Tritton on the bag for the first time this week, is a chance to play with former Australian Open champion Ancer, a good mate after their time on the Presidents Cup team last year.
“I was saying to Bussy after the bogey on (14), let’s just get it back to seven (under),” Smith said of his late heroics.
“We got to seven (under) early in the round and it’s kind of weird finishing lower than you were at one point.
“(On the 15th), I was actually trying to hit it about 20 or 30 feet right (of the pin with my second shot) and the wind kind of caught it a little bit more than I liked and it ended up being good.
“From there, a 7-iron … with the pin down on the bottom (on 16) today, one of the easier pins there and then just hit a nice drive down 17 and 18. Two solid shots in. It wasn’t crazy stuff. It was just really solid and the putts dropped.”
Dual Australian PGA Championship winner Smith, who also has a T4 US Open finish in his young career, said he thrived on the challenge of major championships and wouldn’t be overawed.
“I just like being tested, I guess,” he said.
“I feel like my game is best when I have to think a lot and hit the right shots and it’s an even playing field.
“It’s obviously good to be in contention on a weekend, and I feel like I’ve been there enough where I can have a good crack at it.”
Asked if his big Presidents Cup singles win over former world No.1 Thomas at Royal Melbourne in December would help when the whips were cracking, Smith was equally positive.
“Yeah, I think my best golf is right up there. It’s the stuff in between that gets me.
“Those guys are just so good at getting the most out of their game all the time, and that’s something I need to learn to do.
“But I feel like when I’m playing really good golf, I can be right up there.”
Marc Leishman is best placed of the other Australians, having fought back hard from a double-bogey to begin his second round.
The Victorian took four shots to get down from just off the front fringe on the first and was clearly frustrated by falling to even par overall.
But the five-time PGA Tour event winner knuckled down superbly and had an eagle putt lipped in on the 13th, his name would have been on the main leaderboard, too.
He will resume on day three with a 2.5m birdie putt on the 15th that could take him to five under and right in the mix.
Adam Scott suffered a wicked misfortune earlier in the day as he completed his first round.
The 2013 champion hit his second shot to the par-five 15th in the water, but then watched in sheer dismay as his fourth hit the pin and ran all the way back into the water again en route to a seven that effectively gave three shots to the field.
His second round meandered with only one birdie across the par-fives. But he gave that edge back when a tugged drive on the last hole cost him a bogey in a flat 72 that left him at two under.
Fellow Queenslander Jason Day will resume tomorrow with a 1.5m birdie putt on the second hole that he’ll need to push away from the glut of players at even par who are locked at the projected cut figure.
Day has been unusually erratic through the first two days and he’s already had three bogeys, three birdies and a double-bogey in the first 10 holes of his second round.
A nervy double-bogey on his first hole – the 10th – from Lukas Michel threatened to derail his second round.
But the Victorian amateur rallied hard and traded birdies and bogeys from that point to sit six over in total with three holes remaining in his first Masters experience.
