Maui – 28-year-old Aussie Cameron Smith blitzed the Plantation Course at kapalua for his fourth PGA TOUR win with a record-shattering performance at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, finishing at 34-under with rounds of 65-64-64-65. World No. 1 Jon Rahm, who seemed to answer Smith shot for shot, was forced to settle for second place after Smith’s Sunday 65 edged his valiant 66. Another Aussie, Matt Jones made it interesting – tying the previously set course record of 61 (by Rahm and Justin Thomas).
Smith knew afterward, taking down World No.1 was quite an accomplishment.
“It was intense,” Smith said. “Jonny and I played well the whole day. We had Matty in the group in front lighting it up as well. So, yeah, unreal round, something I’ll never forget for sure. Rahm’s the best golfer in the world and there’s many reasons why he is. He flushes it and it seems like he drains every putt he looks at, so it was nice to overcome that and kind of give some punches back. I just played really solid the whole week. Obviously being a leader is not easy. Restless sleeps. I feel like I spent a lot of time looking at the ceiling in bed this week. I haven’t done that before. It was nice to kind of see where my game’s at against some of the best players in the world. I’ve been working hard and it’s paid off early in the season.”
Cam Smith moves to 10th in the Official World Golf Ranking after the win, and to 3rd in the FedExCup.
“It took me a while to get into the top 20, so it’s really cool. That was one of my goals this year, to get into the top 10. It’s nice that that’s done and dusted. Hopefully, I can keep cruising up those world rankings.”
