Cameron Smith

On an (extra) long week at the Player Championship, we'll remember Cam Smith's putting, Anirban Lahiri's gumption, a rules dust-up and much more.

“The past couple years when you show up, you can feel the weight of what the Players means to everyone, and I think that's the coolest thing. He continues to look out of sorts with the putter and still has not won a tournament, at least not officially, since the 2021 U.S. Open. Hovland and Morikawa are breathing down his neck. But then other weeks if I haven't hit many chip shots the whole week and then, suddenly, I have one that's a little awkward, I think I have a tendency of maybe guiding it a little too much.” He called it the “coldest I’ve ever been on a golf course,” and that’s coming from a Pacific Northwesterner. Francesco Molinari, who has followed this game all around the globe, called it “freezing.” Viktor Hovland’s got Viking in his bloodline, and he wore mittens all day. He looked up at his caddie, Joe Greiner, and gave the same look you give to your buds when you’re about to tee off in a 40-mph wind. He’s not one to get fast and loose with the rules, and there’s little chance he was trying to pull a fast one. He would’ve been a fitting champ on an unpredictable week, for even the sharpest touts can’t claim to have backed the Indian this week. In competition, the group is tasked with coming to a consensus on judgment calls. Berger thought his ball crossed over the hazard line up by the green, which would mean he gets to drop his ball up by the green. And it wasn’t just that he made the putts, it’s how he made them. The stats say he picked up 11.5 shots on the greens for the week, most in the field, and more than four in the final round alone. And with all due respect to the mallets out there, there’s something about a blade that makes the whole thing look a little better.

Cameron Smith walked onto the 17th tee on Monday at the Players Championship and hit the best shot of his life. Or did he?

You want to be on whatever side of the spine the pin is on, because the green will funnel it in that direction. Smith also, as was mentioned on the broadcast, hit more club that most others on that hole: A knockdown 9-iron, whereas most were hitting a full pitching wedge. Smith said afterwards that he was “probably aiming 10 feet left” of the pin, which was a bit of a throwaway comment that shouldn’t taken too literally. “It drifted right and then held its line at the end … heart was in the throat there for a second.” You can hit a bad shot and still avoid disaster if you aim in the right place. But the combination of a blazing-hot putter and some wily course management meant he still walked away with the trophy ( and $3.6 million!). His shot into the 17th green on Monday afternoon was the perfect encapsulation of both these things, and there’s a lot we can learn from it.

Kiwi caddy Sam Pinfold will make an estimated $500,000 from Cameron Smith's Players Championship victory yesterday. Pinfold has been Smith's caddy since ...

"My main priority was to hang out with them and golf was second for the last few weeks. I made plenty of birdies and had to make a lot of good par putts at the end there. It was good to see them and nice to get a win for them." Lahiri missed the green with his approach, couldn't chip in for birdie, and the $4.9m winner's cheque belonged to Smith, who finished at 13-under after a closing round of 66, with his 101 putts for the tournament the fewest ever for a champion. But Smith met the challenge, with a wedge to 1m and a tap-in bogey that demanded Lahiri made a birdie to force a playoff. With family, including his mother and sister who Smith hadn't seen in more than two years, and his best mate following every shot from behind the ropes, he needed nerves of steel after making a last-hole error having almost iced the tournament after a stunning wedge to the famous island green on the 17th hole.

The Australian stuck his tee shot at the daunting island par-3 17th hole and deftly recovered from a water ball at the 18th to claim a $3.6 million payday ...

It was the only shot he dropped all day, and his best finish on the PGA Tour came with a $2.18 million consolation prize. Instead of a mid-iron into the par 5, he had to punch it out short. Keegan Bradley was among four players who had a chance over the last hour. After a penalty drop, his 60-yard wedge spun next to the hole to 3 feet for a bogey. The bone-chilling temperatures Sunday made it tough on everyone. He moved to No. 6 in the world. The ball ended up 4 feet away and he made his record-tying 10th birdie of the round. Casey drilled his drive down the middle. The wind didn’t really do much for maybe three quarters of the shot, and it held it up right there at the end. They arrived a week before The Players Championship to see Smith in his adopted hometown of Ponte Vedra Beach. It’s nice to see them and nice to get a win for them.” When he punched out from under the trees into the water on the closing hole, he never panicked.

The Queenslander, who now lives 10 minutes away from TPC Sawgrass in Florida and plays it regularly, outlasted Anirban Lahiri by a single shot across a marathon ...

He then played a special shot that allowed him to walk off with par and keep the two-shot gap. "My main priority was to hang out with them and golf was second for the last few weeks. I made plenty of birdies and had to make a lot of good par putts at the end there. Smith had 11 one-putt greens through 15 holes that legendary commentator Jim Nantz called "otherworldly". Lahiri missed the green with his approach, couldn't chip in for birdie, and the $4.9m winner's cheque belonged to Smith, who finished at 13-under after a closing round of 66, with his 101 putts for the tournament the fewest ever for a champion. But Smith met the challenge, with a wedge to 1m and a tap-in bogey that demanded Lahiri made a birdie to force a playoff.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Cameron Smith started the year by setting a PGA TOUR scoring record (and beating the top player in the world in the process).

He also appreciates the balance Smith exhibits in his swing. He needed just 24 putts in the final round and 101 for the week. Before this year, he’d never finished better than 119th in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee, losing strokes in that area of his game each season. He gained more than 4 strokes on the greens. He ranks sixth in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green this season after never finishing in the top 50 of that metric in his six previous seasons. Golf Channel commentator Brandel Chamblee called it “one of the greatest examples of great nerve from start to finish that I’ve seen.” His 24 birdies were the most in the field, but he also made 11 bogeys. His first 13 holes of the final round featured just a single par. He missed right of the green and it was all over. It started with a severe hook off the 16th tee that necessitated a punch out from the pine straw. Add those to a short game that’s long been considered among the best in the world and Smith is now firmly ensconced among the top echelon in the game. He’s the first PLAYERS champion to hit the fairway less than 50% of the time. Smith plays an entertaining style of golf, and one that also is proving to be incredibly successful.