17 Nov 2020 | Professional golf |
Smith up to No. 27 in rankings
by Martin Blake
Cameron Smith has risen to a world No. 27 ranking after his runner-up finish at the Masters over the weekend.
The Australian is now third-ranked of his countrymen with only No. 15 Adam Scott and Marc Leishman (26) ahead of him. It was a leap of 18 spots from No. 45, although he has previously been as high as 24th in the world, earlier this year soon after he won the Sony Open in Hawaii.
Smith woke yesterday "with a headache" after a gathering with friends at his home in Jacksonville, Florida on Monday night after he and his girlfriend Jordan Ontiveros drove the four hours to their American home immediately after Sunday's conclusion to the tournament, and spoke to his parents and family in Brisbane by phone.
Although he became the first player in Masters history to shoot four rounds in the 60s, Smith was equal-second behind world No. 1 Dustin Johnson in the Masters, five shots adrift.
"We had a few beers around the fire, really nice," Smith told RSN radio in Melbourne today. "I spoke to Mum first. She was going on like I won the tournament! She was pretty happy. I spoke to my Nana, I spoke to the old man, just family and close friends.
"It's a bit rough, to be honest. I felt like I played pretty well obviously. 'DJ' was just too good the way he controlled his ball on the greens and off the tee. Just too good."
Smith said that to improve his status in world golf, he needed to clean up his long game, adding that his work with driver had been "rubbish, to be honest" at Augusta National.
"Definitely the driver and the mid to long irons still need some work, and hopefully we can contend a lot more," he said.
Smith, 27, has twice been in the mix in the Masters in the past three years. He finished inside the top five in 2018.
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