As Marc Leishman rightly basks in the glory of his FedEx Cup playoff victory Queensland’s Cameron Smith will take much from 2017 as his season officially comes to a close.

Two late bogeys at Conway Farms saw Smith slip outside the top 10 where he had resided much of the week but despite not clawing his way into the TOUR Championship it has been another year of accomplishment for the 24-year-old.

This time last year Smith was playing the Web.com Finals series after failing to retain his PGA Tour playing rights but he is now a TOUR winner who came within a whisker of finishing among the top 30 earners for the year.

At every level of his career Smith has exceeded expectations and 2017 will count as a continuation of that pattern.

Smith entered the week with a mathematical chance of getting into the top 30 but despite playing some inspired golf over the four days climbing more than 25 places proved a bridge too far.

His T12 result was more than commendable and he will be a force to be reckoned with on home soil this summer as he will return to Australia with plenty of confidence.

Leishman’s victory, which now puts him among the favourites to win the FedEx Cup and its $10 million bonus, has been building for several weeks and the motivation of losing the Sunday lead over the final nine holes two weeks ago proved ideal motivation for the Victorian.

His game stood up under severe pressure all week but particularly Sunday when some of the best in the world, fellow Australian Jason Day included, threw everything they had at him.

Leishman had been threatening a performance such as this for much of the year and wit the chance to become the first Australian to claim the FedEx Cup in its 10 year history will head to Atlanta high on motivation.

For Day the week was another step forward in a year that has been a case of two steps forward and one back.

After announcing he had ended his caddying relationship with Col Swatton, though will continue to work with him as coach, the former World Number One seemed rejuvenated.

Opening rounds of 64-65 had him resembling the player who won at this course in 2015 and while he faltered at a crucial moment Sunday having made a dangerous charge he will fancy his chances next week at East Lake Golf Club.

Not being among the top five on the FedEx Cup table makes it a tall order to win the overall trophy but after going winless since the 2016 PLAYERS Championship he will be motivated to end the year on a high note and among the favourites to win the year’s final tournament.