AUGUSTA – There are easier routes to the top of the Masters leaderboard.
Where is the fun in that?
Cameron Smith finds himself with a share of the lead at 9 under par after the suspended second round Friday. He finds himself along side major winners Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson and fellow international Abraham Ancer after all completed their second rounds before darkness suspended play.
It what Smith called a “scrappy” round, the Australian had more circles at the end on his scorecard than a high school geometry lesson. Smith finished his round with an eagle at No. 15 and birdies at Nos. 16, 17 and 18. That’s 5 under over the final four holes. You really can’t finish off a round of golf much better than that. Oh, and it was the finishing stretch of a 26-hole day.
“Hung in there, and the reward was there at the end,” Smith said.
Smith was only 10 holes into his first round when play was suspended by darkness Thursday. He finished his first round with a 5-under 67, good for a tie for sixth, Friday morning after a 7:30 restart. He went out back out on the course just after 10 a.m. to start his second round.
Smith would get to 7 under with birdies at Nos. 2 and 4. He gave it all back, and one more, with bogeys at Nos. 7, 9 and 10. After a birdie at No. 13 and a bogey at No. 14, he stood at 4 under.
Then the fun began.
Smith hit a 7-wood from 247 yards to a foot from the cup and tapped in for eagle on the par-5 15th.
He hit a 7-iron to six feet and made the putt for a birdie on the par-3 16th.
He hit a pitching wedge from 140 yards to 25 feet from the cup and made the long putt for birdie on the par-4 17th.
He hit a 7-iron from 169 yards to 15 feet from the cup and made that putt for birdie on the par-14 18th.
And just like that, you are 9 under par and atop the leaderboard.
“I was saying to (his caddie) Bussey after the bogey on 14, let’s just get it back to 7,” Smith said. “We got to 7 early in the round, and it’s kind of weird finishing lower than you were at one point. So yeah, we had 15 and 16 obviously with the pin down on the bottom 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.”
That might be a tad modest.
The 27-year-old Smith, ranked 45th in the world, won the Sony Open earlier this year, his second PGA Tour victory. He defeated Thomas, 2-and-1, in singles at the Presidents Cup in December. That will help going into the weekend.
“Obviously, there’s a lot of boys still out there trying to work some magic, so we’ll see,” Smith said after finishing his round early Friday afternoon. “I’m sure we’re not going to be too far off the lead. 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.”
While playing in only his fourth Masters, Smith has made the cut each time finishing tied for 55th, tied for fifth and tied for 51st. He entered with more rounds over par (six) than rounds under par (five). Not anymore.
Even with limited experience at the Masters, Smith has fond memories of the tournament. He recalled being in school when Adam Scott became the first – and still only – Australian to win after his playoff victory in 2013.
“I actually remember it like it was yesterday,” Smith said. "I was at QAS, which is the Queensland Academy of Sports. We were in the gym. It was early in the morning. The whole golf team was in there, and we all quit our gym session and watched the last three or four holes and obviously the playoff.
“It was cool coming here only two or three years after that and hitting the same shots he did, and obviously the putt on 10 and the putt on 18 that he made. It just makes you want to be here, seeing how special it was for him, too.”
Smith is in position, for the time being, for a celebration of his own.
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