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Cameron Smith had one hell of a year for himself on the links, as the Australian golfer kicked off 2022 by setting a PGA Tour record with a score of 34-under over 72 holes at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January, racked up a victory at The Players Championship in March, and won the first major of his career by securing the Claret Jug at the 2022 British Open after conquering The Old Course in July.
That impressive glow-up was predictably dimmed by Smith’s decision to become one of the many PGA Tour players who opted to defect to LIV Golf over the course of the year. However, it’s safe to assume he was more than willing to deal with that backlash (and lose the parking spot that was previously reserved for him at TPC Sawgrass) in exchange for the $100 million he reportedly received to make the leap.
Smith opted to wind down his 2022 campaign by heading back to his native country, and the man who celebrated his triumph at St. Andrews by filling the iconic trophy with beer also appeared to enjoy himself while hitting the town in Brisbane after winning the Australian PGA Championship for the third time in five years last month.
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The Aussie had the chance to finish his year on a high note when he participated in the Australian Open at Victoria Golf Club last week. However, he was apparently fairly certain he’d failed to make the cut after he posted an even par over the course of his first two rounds.
According to The Golf Channel, Smith had accepted that fate by the time he headed to a bar in Melbourne to throw back some drinks. Unfortunately for him, it was there that he learned he’d actually earned the right to tee off on Saturday, although the one-under 69 he shot wasn’t enough to qualify for Sunday’s round (the tournament’s fairly unique rules feature a second cut line that winnows down the field to 30 on the final day).
Smith had plenty of time to sober up after realizing he hadn’t been eliminated, but he admitted he hadn’t done himself many favors when he addressed what went down after he was officially knocked out of contention, saying:
“I wasn’t really expecting it.
I was pretty quick to the pub and I was probably a few too many beers deep and then realized we had an early tee time, so I got back on the waters and was a good boy for the rest of the night.