Cameron Smith’s brilliant rise in golf powered by heightened intent but also cold beers

As Smith contemplates whether to putt or chip, one fan tells his friend: “I’m backing him to sink this. He has the best short game on tour.”

Smith’s pitching wedge lobs the ball onto the green. It takes two hops forward, stops momentarily from the back spin, before rolling precisely into the centre of the hole.

A few holes later, Smith outdoes himself by holing an eagle from 80 yards. The crowd roars. Smith nods and retrieves his ball from the cup.

This is why Smith is now one of the best players on the PGA Tour. Why he turns heads every time he’s on a golf course. As he showed in Toronto, there is always some magic around the corner.

But what has been the secret to Smith going from No.40 to the No.6 in 18 months?

“I have been more competitive with my practising at home. Just trying to make each shot mean something. I have always been a process type of guy and I have just changed my attitude towards that process,” Smith tells CodeSports.

“Beforehand I would just sit out there whacking balls, telling myself I’ve done a good job. But all I’ve really done is hit 50 balls with no intent. I had to change that up, so I now hit different shots on the range, try to hit different yardages on the range.

“Give myself different scenarios, then rate myself with each shot. For now, it seems to be working.”

Observe Smith on the practice range and you can see that desire to improve. It comes through with pretty much everything he does.

He aims at a mark or flag and attempts to land the ball closer with each shot. After a few attempts, he tries it with a slightly different trajectory or alternative shot shape.

If Smith is unhappy with his swing, he gets his close friend, Jack Wilkosz, to hit record. Intermittently, he will look back at the video on the phone and proceed with target practice.

Smith believes that one of the secrets to his success is knowing his swing inside out. While many tour players’ coaches are readily available, Smith’s (Grant Field) is based back in Australia.

“I send a few videos a week to [the coach] to ensure we stay on top of a couple of things in my swing that I get lazy with sometimes. I can figure those things out myself but it is always nice to have another set of eyes and making sure I’m on the right track.”

Yet Smith has never been an over-analyser, even after a bad round. “I will never get found out for over-analysing. Our game is so precise and fiddly that generally seeing more putts drop in at the start of the round is really the difference for me.”

“I’ve always been a decent putter. During Covid, I bought a putting mat called Wellputt and laid it out in my office at home. I spent around 10-15 minutes on it per day and I wasn’t thinking about the other side of the game. To be honest, it is simple as when I see the putt falling in at the start of the round, it generally means it’s going to be good day.”

Smith’s ability to control his emotions is a strength and perhaps adds to his allure. Whether it is sinking a long putt or duffing a chip, his body language largely remains the same.

“I’ve definitely sent a few clubs in my life as a kid but I’ve grown out of it now. I’ve realised with my experience that acting like that isn’t really good for anything and you generally play worse golf because of it [emotion]. A bit of experience.”

Asked how he shrugged off the disappointment of a six-over-par opening round at the Canadian Open, he says: “Had a quick chat with the caddie in the car and we felt it was just the putts that didn’t fall in. After that, had a couple of quiet beers last night to erase the pain and back out next morning.

“It can piss off the trainer sometimes (having a beer mid-tournament). To be honest, it is just the person I am, that is how I’ve been brought up and that’s how I am. Just keep it simple.”

Simplicity clearly works for him: he shot a five-under second round. Ultimately though, it wasn’t his week and he finished even-par, as Rory McIlroy defended the title (19-under) leading into the US Open at Brookline’s The Country Club.

With each outing, Smith‘s fan club keeps growing. There are more ’Cam Smith’ retro shirts in the crowd and more ‘Go Cam’ chants. Smith makes a conscious effort to oblige each fan with a selfie or an autograph.

Despite the presence of world No.1 Scottie Scheffler, PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas and big-hitter Tony Finau at the Canadian Open, Smith trailed only McIlroy as the most sought-after player.

Cam Smith is winning them all over, one shot at a time. Now for winning a major, having done the next best thing by claiming The Players Championship title in March.