Cameron Smith and Min Woo Lee had their best ever finishes at the US Open with their top 5 results reflected in performances by some rookie Aussies elsewhere on the international scene.
Smith (67) and Min Woo (67) produced two of the low rounds of the final round of the 123rd US Open at the LA Country Club, but it wasn’t enough to prevent a breakthrough win by American Wyndham Clark (70), who also dashed the hopes of fans of Rickie Fowler and Rory McIlroy; hoping for a long anticipated maiden Major for the former and for the end of a 9 year Major drought for the latter.
Smith insists he is a better player than the one who became a major champion 11 months ago at the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews.
He left California more confident he can successfully defend The Open Championship at Royal Liverpool in a month’s time.
A birdie at the short par-4 sixth gave Smith a brief moment of belief that he could come from seven strokes back to win a second major on Sunday’s final round, his 3-under 67 enough to earn outright fourth.
That surpassed his tie for fourth in his championship debut in 2015, the last time two Australians finished top five at the US Open (Adam Scott also T4).
Bogeys at seven and nine may have ended his championship aspirations but Smith played the daunting back nine in 3-under par before proclaiming he is playing better than a year ago when he won not only The Open but THE PLAYERS Championship and a third Australian PGA.
“It feels right there,” Smith said when asked to compare his play from a year ago.
“If anything, I think the driver feels better than what it did last year, and the irons and the short game, I think they’re right there.
“I think I’m a better player than what I was last year.
“I feel like the game has been trending in the right direction. This is kind of a big tick of the box.”
A first top-10 in a major is also a major tick in the box for Min Woo Lee.
Like Smith, Lee closed with a 3-under 67 to earn a share of fifth alongside Tommy Fleetwood (63) and Round 3 co-leader Rickie Fowler (75).
Top-25 in three majors dating back to the 2022 Masters, Lee said the key to closing out one of the best weeks of his career was a release of the pressure that he applied going into Round 3.
“Yesterday I just put too much pressure on myself and was actually pretty nervous in a way,” Lee revealed.
“My practice was so good that I kind of put a little bit of pressure on myself, and today’s was a little different. The pre-round was a little sketchy and not the best, and then you just go out there with a good mindset.
“Played amazing today, bogey-free. I don’t have many bogey-free rounds ever so it’s nice to do it at a major.
“Lots of grit on that last round, but lots of good stuff, too. Played really good, and I’m really happy.”
New Zealand’s Ryan Fox was the only other Australasian player to qualify for the weekend, closing with a 4-over 74 and a tie for 43rd.
US Open
LA Country Club (North Cse), Los Angeles, California
1 Wyndham Clark 64-67-69-70—270 $US3.6m
4 Cameron Smith 69-67-71-67—274 $990,867
T5 Min Woo Lee 69-65-74-67—275 $825,297
T43 Ryan Fox (NZ) 68-74-69-74—285 $72,689
MC Lucas Herbert 70-75—145
MC Cam Davis 72-79—151
MC Adam Scott 73-72—145
MC Jason Day 73-76—149
MC Karl Vilips (a) 74-75—149
Australian winners of the US Open
David Graham (1981, Merion)
Geoff Ogilvy (2006, Winged Foot)
McKinney, Hong log top-5 finishes: Aussie on Tour Roundup
Rookies Connor McKinney and Jason Hong have recorded their best result on an international tour with top-five finishes on the Challenge Tour and PGA TOUR Canada respectively.
Making his fifth start of the season in Europe, McKinney (pictured) was inside the top five at the Kaskada Golf Challenge after starting the tournament with a round of 6-under 65 at the Kaskada Golf Resort in the Czech Republic.
He fell back slightly with rounds of 71-73 before climbing into a tie for fifth with a final round of 3-under 68, making birdies at 11, 14 and 17 to match his best finish as a professional, a tie for fifth at the 2021 WA PGA Championship in Kalgoorlie.
Hong went one better in what was his first start since turning professional.
Hailing from Concord Golf Club in Sydney’s west, Hong has been a college standout at both Purdue and Lipscomb University and earned his PGA TOUR Canada card by winning qualifying in Arizona in April.
He captained the New South Wales team to a share of victory at the 2016 Interstate Teams Matches and had a chance to win on his professional debut late in the final round of the Royal Beach Victoria Open.
Birdies at seven, eight, 11 and 12 brought the 24-year-old to within two of the lead but dropped shots at 13, 14 and 17 saw him finish six strokes back in a tie for fourth.
Hong had a share of the lead through three rounds at Uplands Golf Club but was 1-over through six holes of a final round of even-par 70 to drop off the pace set by eventual champion Etienne Papineau (64).
Minjee Lee warmed up for the second women’s major of the year next week with a tie for 13th at the Meijer LPGA Classic in Michigan as Anthony Quayle continued his strong form in Japan with a tie for 12th at the Hana Bank Invitational.
Results
LPGA Tour
Meijer LPGA Classic
Blythefield Country Club, Belmont, Michigan
1 Leona Maguire 69-65-69-64—267 $US375,000
T13 Minjee Lee 68-67-72-68—275 $37,829
T20 Grace Kim 71-71-70-65—277 $25,108
T50 Hannah Green 71-69-74-68—282 $8,448
T66 Stephanie Kyriacou 69-73-71-74—287 $5,359
MC Lydia Ko (NZ) 72-72—144
MC Su Oh 75-73—148
Ladies European Tour
Amundi German Masters
Golf & Country Club Seddiner See, Berlin
1 Kristyna Napoleaova 68-66-69-71—274 €45,000
T22 Momoka Kobori (NZ) 76-72-69-68—285 €4,140
T22 Kirsten Rudgeley 73-71-70-71—285 €4,140
MC Whitney Hillier 75-76—151
MC Hanee Song 76-77—153
MC Wenyung Keh 78-78—156
Japan Golf Tour
Hana Bank Invitational
Chiba Isumi Golf Club, Chiba
1 Ji Ho Yang 66-70-69-67—272 ¥18,327,272
T12 Anthony Quayle70-69-71-69—279 ¥1,308,566
T26 Won Joon Lee 69-72-71-69—281 ¥733,090
MC Jun Seok Lee 71-76—147
MC Brendan Jones 73-75—148
Challenge Tour
Kaskada Challenge
Kaskade Resort, Brno, Czech Republic
1 Lorenzo Scalise 64-68-70-70—272 €42,400
T5 Connor McKinney 65-71-73-68—277 €10,776.67
T36 Ryan Ruffels 73-70-71-71—285 €1,643
Korn Ferry Tour
Wichita Open
Crestview Country Club, Wichita
1 Ricky Castillo 67-62-66-66—261 $US180,000
T61 Dimi Papadatos 69-64-70-68—271 $4,040
T72 Grant Booth 67-66-71-70—274 $3,830
T76 Louis Dobbelaar67-68-71-69—275 $3,770
MC Brett Drewitt 68-69—137
MC Rhein Gibson 70-71—141
PGA Tour Canada
Royal Beach Victoria Open
Uplands GC, Victoria, British Columbia
1 Étienne Papineau 64-65-69-64—262
T4 Jason Hong 67-64-67-70—268
MC Jack Trent 73-68—141
MC Cory Crawford 70-72—142
STORY: Compiled from live, and original articles by Tony Webeck | Australian Golf Medie Team