DP WORLD TOUR
Fortinet Australian PGA Championship
Smith Collects Third Australian PGA Championship
Cameron Smith joined the likes of Peter Senior, Peter Lonard and Robert Allenby (four) as hat-trick winners over the past 40 years of the Australian PGA Championship. The 29-year-old Queenslander overcame fellow Aussie Jason Scrivener and Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune by three shots at Royal Queensland.
Smith, who won the event in 2017 & 2018, took a three-shot lead into the final round after posting scores of 68, 65 and 69. The world No. 3 and marquee player in the field carded a final round 3-under 68 for a 14-under tally. The Open champion showed his class returning to course from two weather interruptions to produce three unanswered birdies over the final seven holes en route to hoisting the Joe Kirkwood Cup.
The short-game specialist and newly crowned Greg Norman Medalist has enjoyed a stellar 2022 with five wins to date. Smith started the year winning the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii during January. He then added victories at THE PLAYERS Championship and the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews before achieving success on the LIV Golf Tour with a win at the Chicago Invitational.
Scrivener’s bid to chase his maiden DP World Tour victory was derailed when he suffered a costly double bogey at the 17th hole. The 33-year-old moved into contention after piling on seven birdies through 15 holes. The 2017 NSW Open winner gained a late birdie at the final hole to sign for a final round 3-under 67. Scrivener and Hisatsune finished at 11-under in a share of second place. Hisatsune produced a stunning 6-under 65 on Sunday that included an eagle hole out at the par 4, 2nd hole.
Talented Western Australian Min Woo Lee and England’s John Parry finished two shots further back at 9-under and in a tie for fourth place. Lee, who was searching for his third DP World Tour title, signed for a final round 2-under 69. Parry climbed the leaderboard with an impressive 6-under 65.
With his win, Smith banks more then AUD340,000 in prize money.
Final Scores
Fortinet Australian PGA Championship
1. Cameron Smith -14
T2. Ryo Hisatsune -11
T2. Jason Scrivener -11
T4. John Parry -9
T4. Min Woo Lee -9
6. David Micheluzzi -8
T7. Masahiro Kawamura -7
T7. Sam Brazel -7
T7. Greg Chalmers -7
T7. Cam Davis -7
T7. Takumi Kanaya -7
Photo credit: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images
