Australian Open leaderboard
1
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen
-14
2
Kim Si Woo
-12
2
Cam Smith
-12
2
Carlos Ortiz
-12
5
Jose Luis Ballester
-11
6
Daniel Hillier
-10
6
Adam Scott
-10
6
Min Woo Lee
-10
9
Ding Wenyi
-9
10
Lucas Herbert
-8
View full leaderboard
Cameron Smith has teed up a glorious chance to end a forgettable season on a high at the Australian Open.
The former Open champion has had a poor season by his lofty standards, finishing 18th in LIV Golf’s individual standings and failing to contend at a major championship.
Last week’s Australian PGA Championship saw Smith miss his seventh cut in a row in an Official World Golf Ranking event, which is a far cry from the player who broke Rory McIlroy’s heart at St Andrews in 2022 and also triumphed at the coveted Players Championship – golf’s unofficial fifth major.
But Smith is in a great position to end his year on a high, with the golfer posting a third-round five-under 66 at Royal Melbourne to trail Denmark’s Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen by two shots heading into the final round.
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South Korea’s Si Woo Kim and Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz are also on the same score as Smith, while home favourites Adam Scott and Min Woo Lee are also in contention on 10-under.
McIlroy’s – whose third round was de-railed by a bizarre banana peel incident – is nine shots off the lead.
“It was sort of a double whammy – it was in the tough grass and under a banana skin, but I shouldn’t have been there in the first place” McIlroy told Sky Sports when asked about what happened.
“I didn’t get off to a great start, but I played well from there.
“I am probably going to be too far behind to challenge tomorrow.”
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Smith was delighted with his position in the $2m tournament. “Really stoked,” he said.
“It’s been a while, so I’m happy I’m up there. It was nothing special. I don’t think it was anything different to what I’ve been doing.
“It’s just a few putts went in and the momentum was up and felt really good.”
Smith has not won a professional golf event since 2023.
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