It doesn’t take a lot to throw a golfer off his groove.
Simply ask Cameron Smith, who, by 9 holes throughout Friday’s second spherical on the Australian Open, sat at 11-under par total. He was squarely within the combine, jockeying with fellow Australian Lucas Herbert for the pole place.
However Smith made a multitude of issues on the again 9, carding a 5-over 41, a stretch that included three bogeys on the tenth, twelfth, and fifteenth holes and a double-bogey on the par-4 sixteenth. This stumble got here after officers put Smith’s group on the clock for gradual play.
“We acquired on the clock there and it didn’t seem to be we have been taking part in that gradual, and it felt like we have been simply speeding,” Smith mentioned per The Related Press.
“Made some actually poor decisions mentally, I feel, led to a couple bogeys. You, form of, get on that practice in that wind and it’s not a great place to be in.”
The stiff wind that picked up throughout the Sand Belt didn’t assist issues both, as loads of gamers struggled because the day wore on. However the anxiousness of being on the clock made issues worse for Smith.
He completed his day at 6-under par and is now eight pictures again of Herbert, who now owns a commanding four-shot lead by 36 holes.
But, Smith is not any stranger to staging robust comebacks. Look no additional than the 2022 Open Championship at St. Andrews, the place Smith authored one of many best remaining rounds in championship historical past. He started Sunday’s remaining spherical dealing with a four-shot deficit and went on to make eight birdies and shoot 64, thus stealing the Claret Jug away from the likes of Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland. Smith relied closely on his putter that day to assert his first main championship.
Maybe an analogous surge will transpire on his house soil this week.
Herbert, who performs with Smith on the identical LIV Golf workforce, expects him to just do that.
“I’m anticipating [Smith] to make a run,” Herbert mentioned.
“I can’t shoot 72-72 this weekend and anticipate to win this golf match. There’s a variety of work nonetheless to be accomplished.”
Realizing Smith’s caliber as a world-class participant, all of Australia—and {the golfing} world, for that matter—should agree with Herbert’s evaluation. However one other slow-play warning may forestall him from doing simply that. Time will solely inform, nevertheless.
Jack Milko is a golf workers author for SB Nation’s Taking part in By way of. You’ll want to try @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You possibly can comply with him on Twitter @jack_milko as properly.
