Cameron Smith has made a comeback and the Queenslander might substitute Lee Min-woo because the native high hope and finish an unforgettable yr along with his first Australian Open win.
The previous world No. 2 went into Sunday’s ultimate spherical on the Royal Melbourne tied for second place with an excellent 5-under 66, and his eagle on No. 14 moved him to 12 below.
Displaying a masterclass briefly recreation, Smith took the only lead with a birdie on the seventeenth gap, incomes an enormous thumbs up from his massive gallery of 30,187 followers on the sandbelt course.
However he dropped a shot on the 18th, whereas final evening’s chief Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen additionally shot a 66 and made 4 birdies within the final 5 holes to regain the lead.
The Danish participant is at 13 below, placing Smith in a gaggle two strokes behind fellow LIV golfers Carlos Ortiz of Mexico (66) and South Korea’s Kim Si-woo (65).
Australians Adam Scott (68) and Lee (69) are each on 10 below, whereas Lucas Herbert is simply two photographs behind after one of many day’s rounds of 65.
Lee was in third place on the finish of the second spherical, however he suffered three bogeys on the entrance 9 and 4 bogeys attributable to a flurry of tee photographs, inflicting him to fall down the leaderboard.
Nevertheless, the Western Australian workforce withstood the stress and remained a significant risk with 4 consecutive birdies between Nos. 12 and 15.
Rory McIlroy, the draw card of the match, entered the ultimate day at 5 below, however his third spherical was hampered when he suffered a double bogey when his ball acquired oddly caught below a discarded banana peel on the second gap.
The Grand Slam winner as soon as once more posted a powerful again 9 with 4 birdies and a 68, however was 9 strokes off the tempo and all however ended his match hopes.
Smith arrived at Royal Melbourne in 2025 after lacking a string of cuts, together with all 4 majors and the current Australian PGA Championship in Brisbane.
His hunch started 12 months in the past, when he exploded in the course of the second spherical of the Australian Open. He began the day one stroke behind the chief and completed eight strokes behind.
The 2022 British Open champion was an everyday on the driving vary and apply placing inexperienced this week, decided to enhance his type in a roundabout way, and it seems like his efforts are lastly paying off.
The 32-year-old tied for the lead with a birdie on the par-4 twelfth, and two holes later he chipped in for an eagle on the par-5 14th to take the only lead.
It seemed like he would take the lead going into the ultimate spherical earlier than a bogey on No. 18 and a late surge from Niergaard Petersen.
