Smith Vows to Grow Stronger After Masters Disappointment

Augusta, Georgia, United States: In time to come, Cameron Smith will reflect on a fourth consecutive top-10 finish at The Masters with a sense of pride. But in the immediate aftermath of his third-place finish at Augusta National on Sunday, the Australian was left to reflect on what might have been.

“Just too many mistakes,” rued the 28-year-old after signing off with a one-over-par 73, scarred by a triple-bogey six at the short 12th. His hopes of joining Adam Scott (2013) as only the second Australian to win the Green Jacket will have to wait.

With a 72-hole total of five-under 283, the two-time former Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship (AAC) participant finished five strokes behind the triumphant Scottie Scheffler (71), who claimed his fourth win in the space of just 56 days – the shortest span between first and fourth wins in PGA Tour history.

The first Australian to feature in the final group at Augusta National since Stuart Appleby in 2007 and paired with world number one Scheffler, Smith birdied the first two holes to reduce a three-shot overnight deficit to just one. That would be as good as it got.

Dropped shots for Smith at the third and fourth enabled Scheffler to regain a comfortable advantage. “I feel like my two bogeys on the front nine weren’t quite deserved and halted the momentum a little bit. I got off to a really good start, birdieing the first two. Then two bogeys to follow that just really slowed me down,” said Smith.

However, he remained on Scheffler’s coattails with a brilliant birdie at 11 raising hopes of an exciting finish. But the key moment was to come at the 12th, where the Australian’s tee-shot found water.

Smith’s assessment was delivered with his customary honesty. He said: “Poor shot on 12 and there was the tournament. It was a perfect nine-iron. It was just a really poor swing – probably one of the worst swings of the week, at the worst time of the week. It’s unfortunate, but I’ll grow from this and be stronger for it.”

Meanwhile, fellow-Australian Min Woo Lee was among a group of nine golfers who fell agonisingly one shot short of the top-12, missing out on an invitation for the 2023 Masters.

Thanks to an eagle at the par-five second and four straight birdies to close out the front nine, Lee went out in a record-tying 30 on Sunday before falling back to a final-round 70.

“Coming into this week I wasn’t playing that well but this place gets you on another level just because you’re in front of millions of people and you need to play good,” said 23-year-old Lee.

“There’s some demanding shots out here, and it makes you kind of reverse psychology and tell yourself you just have to commit to it. If you have a bad swing, you have a bad swing, but you just have to commit to every shot out here.

“I’ll take a few weeks off now and work on a couple of things, but maybe a little celebratory drinks with the team tonight,” he added.

Playing alongside fellow-Australian Scott, Cameron Davis carded a 73 to finish 46th on his Masters debut.

Davis, who like Smith and Lee competed in the AAC during his amateur days, said: “I’ve looked up to Adam my whole life, and getting a go around here first group off, fresh greens, not much wind, the weather a little warmer, it was a lot more enjoyable.

“And I’ve seen all these Sunday pins for years now. It was fun to have a couple of cracks at using all the slopes and hitting the shots that I’ve seen before. A lot of fun. A lot of good memories. It was awesome.”