Cameron Smith can stick with it ingesting after his wildly profitable 2022 season petered out to an anticlimactic conclusion in Melbourne.
Smith will miss the Australian Opens contentious second minimize after failing to make up sufficient floor throughout a third-round one-under-par 69 at Victoria Golf Membership on Saturday.
Regardless of carding his finest spherical of the week, the world No.3 was nonetheless languishing in a share for 52nd spot when he signed his scorecard with solely the highest 30 gamers and ties securing a Sunday tee slot.
He was nonetheless three photographs beneath the second minimize line and no probability to progress.
Breaking with greater than a century of Australian Open custom, the double minimize was launched this 12 months to liberate sufficient fairway area for a last spherical that includes women and men for the primary time.
The 2022 Australian Open is the primary dual-gender nationwide championship on the earth.
However the radical innovation has come on the expense of the brand new Pied Piper of Australian fairways, with Smith simply the highest-profile casualty.
Not that he was overly upset.
Because it was, Smith mentioned he needed to straighten up on the Moonee Valley races on Friday evening after studying he had miraculously made the midway minimize after believing he had missed it.
I wasnt actually anticipating it, he mentioned.
I used to be fairly fast to the pub and I used to be in all probability a couple of too many beers deep after which realised we had an early tee time so I received again on the waters and was a superb boy for the remainder of the evening.
The one hundred and fiftieth British Open champion made an early cost on Saturday, selecting up two birdies on his outward 9 to achieve the flip at even par.
However a bogey on the par-4 third gap, his twelfth of the day after beginning on the tenth, proved the start of the tip.
Regardless of hearty and vocal assist from the massive gallery following his each shot, Smith was unable to purchase one other birdie down the stretch.
I assumed I had it in me right this moment and hit numerous good golf photographs however could not actually capitalise, he mentioned.
I hit good putts too however they werent getting in. It simply wasnt my week.
I assumed it could take three or 4 below and the technique did not change in any respect – simply exit and play some actually good golf and I assumed I performed strong sufficient.
Simply not sufficient putts went in.
Smith is not going to formally be minimize till the completion of Saturdays third spherical.
However he has no probability of including a fifth victory of the 12 months to his successes on the PGA Tours Sentry Match of Champions, the Gamers Championship, the Open at St Andrews and final weeks Australian PGA.
