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Keep an eye on Cameron Smith at the Australian Masters

Golfer Cameron Smith is playing at the Classic of New Orleans. (Photo: AAP)
Expert
18th November, 2015
0

Boyish-looking Cameron Smith is my smoky to win the Australian Masters at Huntingdale, starting today.

The 22-year-old Brisbane-born strokemaker has enormous talent as the 20-somethings dominate the end-of-year tournaments.

Smith is drawn over the first 36 holes with compatriot Adam Scott, the 2013 US Masters champion and a two-time Australian Masters champion, and American Bryson DeChambeau (22) who won this year’s NCAA Division 1 championship and the US Amateur.

DeChambeau is only the fifth in history to achieve the double behind Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, and Ryan Moore.

Bracket Smith and DeChambeau with Argentine Emiliano Grillo (22), and Americans Smylie Kaufman (23), Justin Thomas (22), and Peter Malnati (28) with Scot Russell Knox (30), who between them one all of the first five USPGA tournaments of the wrap around 2015-2016 season.

More importantly, all five were first-time winners, which has never happened in USPGA history.

The 20-somethings show up prominently in the early stages of the FedExCup points:

Russell Knox (30) – 876 points
Justin Thomas (22) – 688
Kevin Na (32) – 631
Smylie Kaufman (23) – 607
Jason Bohn (42) – 560
Emiliano Grillo (22) – 534
Graeme McDowell (36) – 500
Kevin Kisner (31) – 388
Peter Malnati (28) – 375

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Throw in Swede Kristoffer Broberg (29), who won last week’s BMW Masters in Shanghai in a play-off with American Patrick Reed (25) for his first European tour win, and the 20-somethings have been having a big say.

They dominate the late stages of the Race to Dubai with a ridiculous number of points:

Rory McIlroy (26) – 3,393,923 points
Danny Willett (28) – 3,392,310
Justin Rose (35) – 2,742,924
Steve Lowry (28) – 2,691,444
Louis Oosthuizen (33) – 2,655,907
Branden Grace (27) – 2,556,148
Byeong Hun An (24) – 2,139,356
Thongchai Jaidee (46) – 2,080,976
Bernd Wiesberger (30) – 2,059,180
Victor Dubuisson (25) – 2,007,378

But the emphasis is on the Australian Masters this week with Steve Bowditch and John Senden returning, both multiple USPGA winners, with the ‘Belgian Bomber’ Nicolas Colsaerts.

The senior member of the field will be the 56-year-old Peter Senior, the Peter Pan of Australian golf. He’s played all 30 Australian Masters at Huntingdale, winning in 1991 and 1996.

For the last six years Senior has been on the Champions tour in the US, with 40 top 10 finishes in that time. So there’s plenty of life in the ‘old dog’ yet.

But if Cameron Smith can play as well as his namesake – the Kangaroo, Queensland Origin, and Melbourne Storm captain – expect him to be in contention come Sunday afternoon.

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