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AUGUSTA, GEORGIA | In the 83 previous times the Masters has been played, no player had done what Cameron Smith did last week at Augusta National.
Smith became the first player in tournament history to shoot four rounds in the 60s – 67-68-69-69 – and as good as it was, it wasn’t good enough.
“It would have been cool to do that and win,” said the 27-year-old Australian who tied for second place with South Korea’s Sungjae Im, five strokes behind champion Dustin Johnson. “I was actually saying before, I’d take 15 under around here the rest of my career and I might win a couple.
“It’s just the way it is.”
Smith, who has won once on the PGA Tour, was the player who pushed Johnson through most of Sunday afternoon, keeping pressure on despite starting the final round four behind the eventual winner.
With his flat-brim hat and sandy blonde curls hanging out from the back, Smith was relentless through the first nine holes.
Birdies at Nos. 2 and 3 gave Smith the good start he needed and when Johnson wobbled with consecutive bogeys at the fourth and fifth holes, Smith found himself in a position to catch Johnson.
It never happened, though.
Smith made an almost magical birdie at the par-4 seventh after hitting his tee shot into the right trees. With only a small window to fit a wedge shot through, Smith hit one of Sunday’s best shots, setting up a birdie that kept him close.
“Obviously had an option of chipping out,” he said. “Knew I had to keep the pressure on Dustin, and wasn’t here to finish second, basically.
“There was a small gap up there. The club was pretty good. Just had to hit it really hard and good, and it turned out well.”
Two holes later, Smith made another birdie from the pine straw at No. 9 to send him to the final nine just two behind. That was as good as it would get for Smith in his pursuit of Johnson.
“I felt as though I needed to shoot 3 or 4 under on that back nine with the wind the way it was,” Smith said. “It got pretty tricky out there.
“I would say after 16, after not birdieing 16 ... I’d thought if I birdied the last four, I thought I would still have a chance. At least make him think about it. And wasn’t to be.”
Ron Green Jr.