The lighthearted taunts of a few old school friends proved to be the biggest hurdle Cameron Smith ripped off Friday to approach Royal Queensland in Australia’s PGA nepotism.
Playing partners Adam Scott (72) and Ryan Fox (74) battled in the marquee, as Smith shot 65 to nine, just one shot behind tournament leader Jason Scrivener, who added 67 to his first-round 65.
With Kiwi star Fox missing the sale, Scott, who sits at four in the overall standings, has weekend work ahead of him if he wants to lift the Kirkwood Cup for the third time.
«I’m really going to have to turn the lights off this weekend and play well, which I know I can do,» Scott said.
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Smith, who combined 18th with Scrivener to ensure he was in the final group on Saturday, will also be hard to stop as he «can play well» and is also bidding for a third Australian PGA title.
«I knew the (ranked 18th) hit would probably put me in the last group, so it’s a good group,» said the British Open champion.
«I love playing in these last bands.»
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Friday might have been even better if he hadn’t had three hits for Smith and bogey the 17th day, the «party hole» with some of his old school friends.
«They were yelling at me at 17, so I was giggling a little to myself,» she said.
“I’m sure they were f*cking me about missing that second hit too… (but) there was a really good energy there.
«Golf should be more like this. That’s what we need.»
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While Smith will dominate the weekend headlines, Scrivener cannot be taken lightly as he tries to end a five-year drought.
The 33-year-old Perth-born player, whose only professional win was the November 2017 NSW Open, warned opponents that he was improving over the weekend.
“(Thursday) I was pretty stress free and hit the ball really well from tee to green,” Scrivener said.
“It was a bit more lively today. I got away with a few things and scrapped it well.
«I’m going to do what I did the last two days. You have to be pretty patient there; pick your places to be aggressive, and be pretty conservative at other times.
«I’ll stick to the same plan.»
Two players — Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura (68, 66) and Victoria’s Cameron John (69, 65) — are two under-eight shots down.
Five players – including Polish star Adrian Meronk, who reached 67 to 68 in the second round on Thursday – are in a good position with seven points into the weekend.
Meanwhile, Jed Morgan’s tournament defense ended after missing the cutoff with a two-round, two-over total of 144.
Lucas Herbert will also not play for the weekend after pulling out with a back injury in the second round. His injury is not expected to get him out of next week’s Australian Open.
FIRST ROUND
Hopes for the Australian PGA Sunday match between Cam Smith and Adam Scott are on target after the star couple opened the tournament with impressive rounds at Royal Queensland.
2013 Masters winner Scott was the first clubhouse leader with a score of 66 (-5), while reigning British Open champion Smith was two shots behind after a first-round 68.
In the afternoon, however, Scott was overtaken by fellow Australians Min Woo Lee, Jason Scrivener and John Lyras, who led the six-under tournament after a spectacular 65 rounds.
“It was great,” Lee said.
“(It) was very solid. There was a mistake, it was a bad ride in (hole) 10, but other than that it was a very solid day in terms of approach and apart from the tee, and it was a very good day on the turf, so if I can do that for the next one it will be very nice in a few days.”
Having previously kicked off a marquee group that included New Zealand star Ryan Fox (one over 72) at 6 a.m. Queensland time, Scott and Smith were pleasantly surprised to see thousands of fans who didn’t let the early start stop them from seeing it. . heroes live in action.
“It was great,” said Scott /.
“It was incredibly early, but people were flocking to the golf course as we walked down the tee, and that’s what they had to do.
“It’s great to see everyone come out. It’s exciting to have Cam come home to play the rest of his year.
«We had a strong group. He played great in ‘Foxy’.»
Scott described himself as the band’s «third wheel», but was the star of the show with a tour that included seven birdies and two bogeys on Thursday.
«Conditions couldn’t be better and you want to take advantage of this morning tour,» he said.
«Overall it was a solid game that was better than me today.»
Smith started slowly. Kicking off on the 10th, it was one overdue after nine holes, before catching three birds over his last nine holes.
«I definitely felt a little tired this morning – the brain was a bit foggy,» said world #3.
«I was having a really hard time concentrating and shooting there… but it came in around the back nine and finished well.
«I did what I had to do. ‘Scotty’ was playing really well. He somehow becomes the ‘old man’ so it can be difficult to chase him over the weekend.
Joining Scott at five-six was Brad Kennedy. Anthony Quayle, Peter Cooke and South Korea’s Jeung-hun Wang were behind the foursome, followed by Queenslander Maverick Antcliff, China’s Yan Wei Liu, Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune, France’s Pierre Pineau and New Zealand’s Denzel Ieremia.
«I don’t really like the golf course – it just doesn’t suit me,» said Antcliff, with an eagle in the 545 par-five seventh place.
“It’s still in great shape, but I’ve been playing well for a while. I just can’t express it that well.
«I studied hard so I wasn’t really surprised.»
Playing in the group behind Scott and Smith, reigning tournament champion Jed Morgan opened the championship defense with an under-70.
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