4 days Ago By Murray Wenzel
After a seven-year absence, Cameron Smith admits Jason Day's mere presence will have the three-time winner looking over his shoulder at the Australian PGA Championship. Former world No.1 Day, Smith and defending champion Min Woo Lee will headline the field at Brisbane's Royal Queensland from Thursday.
Now ranked 31, Day hasn't played in his home country since he faded to lose the Australian Open to an up-and-coming Cameron Davis, another of this week's contenders, in 2017. A PGA Championship winner in 2015, Day's return to an event just an hour's drive from his childhood home in Beaudesert is welcome after years of opting to remain in the United States with his young family. LIV Tour member Smith now only sees Day at the majors, the pair enjoying a rare grouping in a practice round before this year's Masters.
"Everyone has their reasons ...
you have a little joke here or there," Smith said of Day's scheduling decisions. "We're still relatively close, talk a bit and it's great ..
. hopefully now he can get down a bit more. "It's going to take a lot to win with guys in the field that are known winners.
"When they're there or thereabouts on a Sunday it gives you something else to think about it." Brisbane product Smith was in tears when he missed the cut last year and this year committed to a greater preparation by playing and contending in the Queensland PGA Championship and NSW Open. "The last few weeks everyone's been talking about a shootout and it hasn't happened," Smith said of potentially pairing with Day in a title duel.
"It's a hard thing to do, given the quality of the field, but we'll see what happens." Crowd favourite Smith's early exit allowed Lee to oxygen captivate the gallery a year ago. The charismatic talent even donned a chef's hat on the green of the tournament's penultimate hole went viral and fuelled a year that included an Olympic debut alongside Day.
Lee said Day, 11 years his senior with five children, had become a trusted mentor. "What I tell to kids and my friends is kind of what he's been telling me," Lee said of their friendship. "I can play golf, but he's been at another level .
.. a world No.
1 and a major winner. "A lot of wisdom and he's kind of a kid too ..
. we like to have fun. "Hopefully he plays well and I play better.
" Davis, a winner on the PGA Tour in Detroit earlier this year, recognises the importance of Day's return seven years after running him down in the final round at The Australian Golf Club in Sydney. "It's great to see any Aussie that's had success overseas come back and play in Australia. It's what we miss," Davis said.
"I remember the 20 years I spent here before I moved (to the US). "To see someone you watched on TV come back and play, to see in person, made a big difference to me. "I'm sure there's thousands looking forward to it and he's held the Aussie flag strong for 10, 15 years now.
" Day will also play the Australian Open at Melbourne's Kingston Heath and The Victoria from next Thursday. "It's great to have him back, I know it's been a long time," perennial contender Marc Leishman said. "The Australian fans are going to embrace him.
He had a good year on tour ...
hopefully when he's here he'll realise how much he missed it and will be back next year.".
