The day was shaping up to be a showdown between Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland. But with the Norwegian struggling to gain traction, it was Cameron Smith who made a run from deep to seize the solo lead.
And what a run it was. After a par on the ninth hole, one of the easiest holes on the entire course, the Aussie got out his buzzsaw and birdied his next five holes. It was a truly astonishing run of golf, precisely at the moment he needed it most.
It started with a good drive just short of the 10th green. Facing a pin tucked on top of a large slope short, he cuddled a little chip to short range.
On the par-3 11th, Smith had to work a little harder. After hitting his first shot to 16 feet, he rolled his next into the centerof the cup to get to within one, before Rory birdied to extend his lead back to two.
But when a putter as good as Cameron Smith gets hot, things don’t cool down easily. After a two-putt birdie on 12, Smith left himself 18 feet for birdie on 13 — and knocked it in, of course.
And then he birdied the next, after knocking it long of the par-5 14th in two, he chipped up to five feet. That put an end to his streak of birdies, but it was enough to vault him into the lead as he navigated the final stretch.
