They may have been left in the wake of the coronation of the Tiger Woods comeback but Aussie trio Cameron Smith, Jason Day and Marc Leishman had plenty of cause for celebration at the conclusion of the Tour Championship.

Qualifying for the 30-man field at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta is reward in itself for an outstanding season on the PGA TOUR, the cash bonus for final FedEx Cup finishing position a nice way to head into a well-earned rest.

Despite some mid-season struggles Smith’s impressive surge during the playoffs saw him finish as the highest ranked Australian in the FedEx Cup for 2019, his position of 12th bringing with it a bonus cheque for $US290,000 on top of the $172,800 he earned for his 20th place finish in the Tour Championship.

Starting the week 10th in the FedEx Cup, Smith had five bogeys on the front nine during his second round as he posted a 3-over 73, bouncing back over the weekend with rounds of 69 and 68.

Day was the best of the Aussie contingent in the Tour Championship and finished in a flurry on Sunday, registering four birdies over the final six holes to finish 18th and 16th in the FedEx Cup to pick up $180,000 and $245,000 respectively for a grand total of $425,000.

Our only winner on the PGA TOUR this year, Day said at the start of the week that he considers his two-win season a disappointing one but can now look forward to the arrival of his third child in November and an even bigger and better 2019.

Although he didn’t add to his tally of PGA TOUR wins this year it was again another very successful year for Leishman who was twice runner-up and recorded six top-10s.

Heading into the Tour Championship in 29th position on the FedEx Cup made the Victorian an unlikely contender for the $10 million bonus ultimately won by Justin Rose and a difficult start to the tournament where he was 2-over through the first nine holes halted any thoughts of a charge.

Leishman showed more positive signs with rounds of 69 and 68 before a 1-over par final round of 70 saw him end the week in a tie for 21st and 29th in the FedEx Cup, a combined cash reward of $343,800.

Two Aussies teed it up in the inaugural Sanford International on the Champions Tour this week, Peter Lonard and David McKenzie both finishing tied for 39th as Steve Stricker won by four shots.

Along with Stricker, McKenzie was one of four players tied for the lead after an opening round of 63 but a second round of 77 brought him back to the pack, he and Lonard both posting rounds of 70 on Sunday.

A tee shot on the 72nd hole of the Dell Technologies Championship that rolled two inches too far brought Cameron Smith’s chance at a first individual PGA Tour title to an end as he pushed champion Bryson DeChambeau to the very end, the American claiming rare back-to-back victories.

After making birdies at the 15th and 16th holes of his final round, Smith drew to within one shot of DeChambeau and headed to the 18th needing an eagle to draw level at 16-under par.

But a booming 320-yard drive that rolled through the fairway and butted up against the second cut of rough made his approach to the 530-yard par 5 closing hole an awkward one, the 25-year-old Queenslander taking 7-iron from 208 yards.

His shot came up well short of the green and landed in the hazard, leaving him a 75-yard pitch for his fourth shot after taking a penalty drop.

He subsequently missed the 11-foot putt for par to drop a shot and fall into outright third, three shots behind DeChambeau and one behind Englishman Justin Rose.

Although he tossed his ball away in disgust at the way he finished the top-three finish – his best result since the CJ Cup @ Nine Bridges last October – saw him move up a further eight places in the FedEx Cup standings to eighth, the highest of the four Aussies still vying to qualify for the top 30 and the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club.

Jason Day enters this week’s BMW Championship 10th in the FedEx Cup after missing the cut at TPC Boston while defending champion Marc Leishman will need to mount to strong title defence at Aronimink Golf Club to secure his place in the field for the Tour Championship.

A final round of even-par 71 saw Leishman finish the Dell Technologies Championship in a tie for 21st to move up two places to 22nd in the FedEx Cup, his highlight an extraordinary 56-foot putt on the par-3 16th that fell into the centre of the cup.

Adam Scott will need to tap into the momentum created by a final round of 66 at TPC Boston if he hopes to be in the field at East Lake, the Queenslander dropping eight places to now sit 48th following a tie for 49th finish.

After back-to-back top-five finishes, Scott lost ground to the field in the third round when he dropped five shots in the space of six holes on the back nine including three three-putts.

New Zealand’s one and only FedEx Cup Playoffs qualifier, Danny Lee, was unable to move into the top 70 heading to the BMW Championship, a final round of 67 only enough to move him up one spot after starting the week 98th in the rankings.

In 2017, Brisbane native Cameron Smith captured his first PGA TOUR victory at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where he and Swedish teammate Jonas Blixt outlasted Kevin Kisner and Scott Brown in a four-hole playoff. The 24-year-old, who already has five top-10 finishes this season, is back in New Orleans this week with Blix to defend his title. But before he takes on the TPC Louisiana course, Smith sat down to discuss team golf, his relationship with Blixt, and how life has changed since his breakthrough win.

How are things different for you now, one year after your first PGA TOUR win at the Zurich Classic with Jonas?

Cameron Smith: The things that have changed have probably just been the security in my job and the freedom to be out there on the course. (It lets me) play a little bit more aggressively when I need to and try to win some golf tournaments, rather than be out there just trying to earn some points and keep going to the next week. Definitely a lot better strategy, but also a lot different.

An Australian and a Swede got together to win the first PGA TOUR team event in 30-plus years. How did your pairing come about in 2017?

CS: When I first moved over here, I basically knew no one other than my caddie, Sam (Pinfold). Sam had a room at Jonas’ place in Jacksonville (Florida). I stayed there a few weeks and got to know Jonas really well. He took me under his arm a little bit out there in Jacksonville and took me out to practice and play at TPC (Sawgrass). I ended up moving there, not because of Jonas, but all the people I knew there in Jacksonville, all nice people.

How does your strategy change playing a team event versus playing an individual event?

CS: Not too much changed. We tried to stay out of our hair as much as we could last year. In fact, if Jonas felt comfortable with a putt or if he wanted me in there, we just tried to stay out of each other’s way. That works out. I don’t think too much is different. Obviously, the rhythm is different with foursomes and with four-ball. Foursomes tends to take forever and four-ball is hitting every second shot. So, very different.

Is there one memory from last year’s win that is significant to you, one that has stayed with you longer than any of the others?

CS: That story about Jonas saying he wanted me to tap in for my first victory on the PGA TOUR when Kisner still had a chip to half with them, and then ended up holing it. Now it’s funny, but at the time it wasn’t.

In individual golf, the only person you may be letting down is yourself if you’re not playing well. What does it feel like playing with a partner, and is the pressure different knowing a teammate is relying on you?

CS: I don’t think so. Jonas and I have a really good relationship, and we know we’re humans and we make errors and mistakes. We don’t expect it, but we’re out there and we can only do what we can do. I think we both strive under pressure. We both play really well under pressure. Having that teammate there, like you’re saying, and not trying to let down another guy is different.

New Orleans is one of America’s great cities. Will you and Jonas do things this week away from the golf course such as eating out together, or is it all golf?

CS: It was Jonas’ birthday last night so we went out, had a nice dinner and a glass of wine or two. Other than that, we will probably hang out a little bit more this week just because we are partners, but everything will remain pretty much the same.

In less than 30 words, how would you sum up Jonas’ golf game?

CS: He just works his (butt) off, whether it be on the golf course or on the range when he’s practicing. Just a grinder.

You and Jonas both played in the RBC Heritage recently. But before that, you hadn’t played in the same tournament since the Genesis Open. Did you play a practice round together at Hilton Head or in any of the weeks leading up to this week, and how often have you hung out or spoken with each other?

CS: We did play a practice round together at Hilton Head. I didn’t realize that we hadn’t played in the same tournament. That’s weird. We try and get our one or two practice rounds in every week and then probably one or two dinners, but we communicate pretty often, whether it be a text after a round or a call after a round.

In just his second Masters appearance Cameron Smith confirmed his status as a future contender at the year’s first Major with a stunning performance to finish T5.

Smith upstaged more fancied countrymen Adam Scott, Jason Day and Marc Leishman with a steady opening three rounds before lighting up the back-9 Sunday to storm into the top-10.

Playing alongside World Number 1 Dustin Johnson on Sunday, Smith was far from overwhelmed and outplayed the 2016 U.S. Open winner by three shots with a superb 66.

It was an excellent week for the Australian contingent with all four making the cut but Smith’s performance stood out.

Marc Leishman entered the weekend just two shots off the pace before fading over the final two days while Jason Day and Adam Scott never really found their mojo.

Smith stole the show among the Australians, his week highlighted by a run of four straight birdies from the 12^th to 15^th holes on Sunday and capped by a fifth at the difficult 17^th.

He was close to a better result after a makeable eagle putt at the 15^th narrowly slid past the hole and another for birdie at the last did the same.

After a laser like iron to less than 10 feet at the second of the back-9 par-5’s Smith just missed the putt, though his par at the following hole almost made up for the disappointment.

Missing the par-3 16th short right, he pitched across the bunker and up the bank, almost emulating the famed Tiger Woods chip in from 2005 as his ball came to rest just inches from the hole.

Smart golf over the first three rounds gave Smith the freedom to produce his best in the final round, scores of 71-72-70 seeing him to Sunday at 3-under and just outside the top-10.

Smith negotiated the front-9 in the final round at even par but put the icing on a special week with his back-9 fireworks.

“I felt as though I struck it really good all day and probably left a few out there on the front to be honest. And then saw a really good putt go in on 10 and I just needed to see one go in the hole from a bit of distance and I sort of carried that on,” said Smith.

“That was pretty exciting for me. I hit three really good shots into the last three holes to only get one birdie out of it. I just stuck to my guns and stayed aggressive and kept kind of pulling it off. To do that late on Sunday was pretty cool.”

While this week certainly ranks high on his career highlights and has earned him a place at Augusta National again next year, Smith still rates his win at the 2017 Australian PGA Championship as his greatest achievement to date.

“I think my win down in Australia was the most satisfying for me because I had the family there,” said Smith.

“Top-10 at the Masters [is great]. I’ve had a couple of good finishes in Majors, but The Masters is the big hype and to finish up there was awesome.

“It definitely secures a spot for next year and that’s a big bonus. I’m getting used to the course and the tricks around here, which is nice. I can’t wait to get back.”

Leishman also finished in the top-10 though will feel he let one slip after his opening two rounds had him just two off the pace.

The laid-back Victorian played well on Saturday but couldn’t buy a putt in a 1-over 73 that dropped him eight shots behind playing partner Patrick Reed.

The disappointment continued on the front-9 on Sunday but after falling to 3-over for the day through 11 holes, Leishman finally got some putts to drop notching up five birdies in the last seven holes adding up to a final round 70 and a ninth place finish.

Jason Day leaves Augusta with mixed feelings after playing well in patches but not showing enough consistency to be any higher than T20.

His final round back-9 was symptomatic of his week where he worked hard to get to 3-under for the day through 15 holes before giving back two shots at 16 and 17 for an ultimately disappointing 71.

Adam Scott got off to a poor start with an opening 75 and while he improved every day admitted he never really had his best stuff all week.

He finished with scores of 73-70-71 to be 1-over par for the 72 holes and T32, not the result he wanted though he said after his final round he would take some positives for the rest of the season.

“It wasn’t really my week but there was some good stuff out there on the weekend,” said Scott.

“Something to take away and hopefully get some momentum going here on Tour pretty soon.”

A 72^nd hole birdie saved an even par final round for Cameron Smith who will be pleased overall with his week at the Sony Open in Hawaii.

Smith has been in consistently good form since the beginning of the wraparound season last November and for the first three days at Waialae that strong play continued.

The Australian PGA champion headed to the final round in eighth position and was among the genuine contenders but couldn’t find his A game and eventually slipped to a T18 result.

While he won’t be pleased with his final round there is much to be positive about for Smith, who has lifted both the quality and consistency of his best play and is inside the top-20 on the FedEx Cup early in the season.

One of seven Australasians in the field it was Smith and fellow 2017 PGA TOUR winner Marc Leishman who led the charge over the opening 36 holes as they were joined in making the weekend field by Matt Jones and Monday qualifier Steve Allan.

Greg Chalmers, Aaron Baddeley and New Zealand’s Danny Lee all missed the final two rounds after the cut fell at 1-under the card.

Leishman and Smith in particular were among the contenders heading to the weekend, the Queenslander inside the top-10 with two rounds to play and Leishman a stroke further back and T17.

However as he had done the week previously, Leishman let his chance slip with an over par third round and fell from inside the top-20 to a share of 50^th and out of the running.

A final round of 2-under did little to improve his standing and he eventually finished T47.

For Sydney’s Matt Jones it was another mid-field result in his fifth event since earning back status through the Web.com Finals at the end of last year.

The 2015 Australian Open winner recorded two missed cuts, a T43 and a T50 prior to Christmas and was T39 this week after posting an 8-under total.

The decent form sees him outside the top-150 in the early stages of the FedEx Cup though with the season now back in full swing he will be looking to pick up some momentum in the coming weeks.

For Allan it was a top effort to make the cut after surviving the qualifying process but after opening with rounds of 68 and 70 he stumbled to a 72 Saturday which dropped him to the tail end of the field.

A final round 69 saw him finish T69 at 1-under for the 72 holes.

Queensland Cameron Smith has won the 2017 Australian PGA Championship

Smith shot rounds of 68, 67, 67, 68 to finish on 18-under the card, along with New South Welshman Jordan Zunic to force a playoff.

The pair played the 18th twice, on the second trip, Zunic made bogey and Smith made par to win the last event on the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour Australasia calendar.

The event is co-sanctioned by the European Tour.

More to come.

Queenslander Cameron Smith has thrilled a hometown crowd winning the 2017 Australian PGA Championship on the second playoff hole against New South Welshman Jordan Zunic.

Smith shot rounds of 68, 67, 67 and 68 to finish regulation play on 18-under the card alongside Zunic, who began the final round with a three shot lead. The pair were in a head-to-head battle through the 18 holes today, sharing and swapping the lead on multiple occasions.

The Queenslander edged to a one shot lead over Zunic on the 17^th hole but dropped a shot on the 18^th where Zunic made par to force the playoff.

The pair both made par on the first playoff and after Zunic made bogey on the second trip, Smith got to the hole in four shots to etch his name on the Joe Kirkwood Cup.

“That was a bit of a grind out there today. I didn’t quite have my best ball‑striking stuff on the back-9 but managed to get away with some good short game and just holing the putts that I needed to hole,” said Smith.

“I tried to stay aggressive all day. With the lead Jordan had, I thought that I had to stay aggressive, I knew he was playing well.”

The win marks Smith’s first individual win as a Professional, his other coming in the PGA TOUR’s Zurich Classic, a team event he won with Swede Jonas Blixt, who watched on from the side of the 18^th green today.

He said he remembers attending the Australian PGA Championship and has always had winning this tournament as a goal in his career and will play the tournament as long as he’s able to make it back home.

“I remember going out there with dad and mum watching Adam (Scott) and those type of guys up there at Coolum,” added Smith.

“And then it was really one of my goals, I wanted to win one down here, and just being in Queensland makes it a little bit more special.

“This will be on my schedule as long as I have my card and full status in the U.S.; I’ll definitely come back down here and play two or three that are here, for sure.”

Thanks to the Australian PGA Championship’s co-sanctioning with the European Tour, Smith now has exemption on their Tour until the end of 2019, he’s yet to decide if he’ll take up the opportunity but mentioned it’s somewhere he’d like to play Professionally.

“I didn’t even realise that (exemption) was what happened. I might go over there for a few weeks and maybe do a little playing holiday type thing, I’m not sure. It would be nice to get over there and play some, I’m sure,” added Smith who picked up a pay cheque of AU$237,500.

Zunic, who equaled the course record with his round of 64 yesterday was gracious in defeat and is proud of how far his game has come after a run of tough results.

“I didn’t quite hit it as well off the tee today which didn’t give me as many birdie opportunities, and the couple birdie opportunities I had late on the back-9 in regular play I just ran by the edge,” said Zunic.

“So I’m pretty happy with everything this week.  I’ve come a long way from where I was last week and missing a few cuts, so I’m happy about that.”

South Australian Adam Bland finished third at 17-under the card, narrowly missing the second place finish he needed to win the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit title, that honour goes to West Australian Brett Rumford who accumulated AU$313,094 this year mostly thanks to his win at the ISPS HANDA World Super 6 Perth.

Rumford will now receive an invitation to The 147^th Open Championship as well as the WGC – Mexico Championship and the WGC – Bridgestone Invitational.

Finishing in a tie for fourth was Victorian’s David Bransdon and Marc Leishman who both shot 4-under 68 today to be 14-under the card following four rounds.

Greg Norman Medalist Leishman said he left some opportunities out there with his putter.

“I actually played really well. Same sort of story as yesterday with the putter, just had a lot of opportunities and didn’t take them,” said Leishman.

“So disappointed in that respect but bogey‑free 68, I finished fourth, I think. Not exactly what I was after, but still a pretty good week.”

Defending champion Harold Varner III continued his strong form at the Australian PGA Championship with a third top-10 finish in three years, he shot 6-under 66 to finish 12-under the card and outright 6^th.

He said he looks forward to making a return to Queensland and the tournament in the future.

“It’s been a blast; I can’t wait to come back. Just yesterday I had a bad attitude and it showed with the score. So it’s golf, I’ve just got to learn from it,” said Varner.

“I obviously played pretty well here, so I just need to keep my game sharp and come back.”

American Sean Crocker and Victorian Lucas Herbert finished tied for 7^th at 11-under the card with Crocker being awarded the Kel Nagle Plate for the best performing rookie at the Australian PGA Championship.

England’s Nathan Kimsey and South Australian Wade Ormsby rounded out the top-10 on 10-under the card.

The ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia 2018 season will begin at the Rebel Sport Masters to be played at Wainui Golf Club in New Zealand from 11 – 14 January.

For scores please visit pga.org.au.

For the final ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit standings, please click here.

For the 2018 ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia schedule please click here.

Cameron Smith talks with media ahead of the 2017 Emirates Australian Open