21 Dec 2024 | Professional golf |
Best of 2024: Davis doubles down in Detroit
by Tony Webeck
Unheralded. Under-appreciated. Under the radar. Unperturbed. You might win a bet if you ask your golf mate to name the lone Aussie to win on the PGA TOUR in 2024, but Cam Davis is chasing trophies, not public recognition.
Yes, he would have dearly loved a Presidents Cup appearance at Royal Montreal having been part of the Internationals team two years prior, but Davis achieved a special career milestone with a second PGA TOUR title this year at the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club.
With putts repeatedly burning the edge of the hole and a lasered second shot into the par-5 14th that somehow dribbled into the water late on Sunday, it looked as though the golf gods would conspire against Davis.
Fellow Australian Min Woo Lee (69) made a back-nine charge to earn a share of the lead at 18-under but made bogey on the final hole when his approach shot finished in the rough behind the green and he was unable to get up-and-down for par.
Davis, too, needed to scramble from the rough on 18 for a 2-under 70 to claim the clubhouse lead at 18-under, Akshay Bhatia’s par miss on the 72nd hole handing a stunned Davis a treasured win.
The fact that it came at the same venue as his first win three years earlier was another element of serendipity for the 29-year-old New South Welshman who now spends the majority of his year in Seattle.
Winning is hard.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 30, 2024
The first miss inside 6 feet this week for Akshay Bhatia leads to bogey and a victory for Cam Davis. pic.twitter.com/MeifeElEsm
In his winner’s press conference, Davis revealed how at the suggestion of his wife, Jonika, Davis had undertaken two weeks of hypnotherapy in the lead-up to his one-stroke victory.
Read: https://pga.org.au/news/aussies-on-tour-davis-stunned-by-second-pga-tour-title/
An emotional @CamDavisGolf is back in the winner's circle @RocketClassic.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 30, 2024
Coming into the week with six straight finishes outside the top 35, he flipped the switch. pic.twitter.com/zlAU9jSxT3
Davis was also part of one of the most compelling storylines for Aussies in 2024 after he and Adam Scott faced off in a playoff at US Open qualifying at Springfield, Ohio.
It took three holes for Davis to best one of his childhood heroes, threatening to bring to an end Scott’s streak of 91 consecutive majors.
UNBELIEVABLE PLAYOFF DRAMA!
— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 4, 2024
Adam Scott chips in and Cam Davis shows nerves of steel by rolling a birdie right behind him! pic.twitter.com/6MqYheJG5p
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