Cam Davis returns to scene of career changing week
Cam Davis – in Sydney today – image Australian Golf Media
Sydney golfer, Cam Davis, continually flies under the radar amongst the elite of Australian golfers at present but there is little doubt that his ever-building record and that he is the 2017 Australian Open Champion at this week’s venue deserve serious consideration when identifying a potential winner of this week’s event..
Even with the likes of Cam Smith, Adam Scott and Min Woo Lee likely to steal the early headlines amongst the Australians in this week’s field, there is little doubting the credentials Davis has to repeat his brilliant victory as a 22-year-old when recording a final round of 64 to win by one over Jonas Blixt and a man who would become a two-time winner of the same event Matt Jones.
Davis’s amateur career was outstanding, winning the Australian Amateur Championship in 2015, the Eisenhower Team and Individual trophy in 2016, and recording two near misses at the Asia Pacific Amateur Championship.
Both his Australian Open victory and the Australian Amateur Championship were won at the Australian Golf Club.
Davis turned professional late in 2016 and has been slowly but very surely building platforms for himself each and every year, beginning first in Canada, then the Buy.Com Tour and in 2019 graduating to the PGA Tour.
He won the Rocket Mortgage event in July of 2021 and has finished inside the top 60 in the FedEx Cup table each year since, in addition to making the Presidents Cup team for the first occasion in 2022.
When asked at last week’s Australian PGA Championship how he assessed his own progress since turning professional Davis responded as follows.
“A big one for me and one that I’m trying to maintain as long as I can is feeling like I’m a better golfer every year and I think I’ve been ticking that box since I was maybe first put a club in my hand when I was four or five.
So, I would say I wish I had accomplished more at this point. I’m sure everyone’s going to say the same thing, but at the same time, I’m very proud of the fact that I feel like I’m becoming a more accomplished golfer every year.
“I’ve got a little bit more of an idea of how I work. I think the consistency’s becoming a little bit more noticeable to myself as the years go on, a few more opportunities to win. A year like last year, I don’t really know how to rate it on a scale, but at the same time, I’m very happy with how I played when I needed to play well and that’s a really good sign for me going forward.”
At the Australian Golf Club today, Davis was again in front of the media and spoke of the joy of returning to a golf course that holds so many memories and is so close to where he grew up.
“It’s always so much fun coming back to a place where you’ve got that many good memories, defining moments in your career. This place really kick-started my whole professional career. I would say this is the place that helped me get on the PGA Tour basically. I think without the week that I had here, the pathway would have been very different for me.
“It’s so fun coming back here, being able to see the places where I hit some shots that were really crucial during that round. It’s also just a lot of fun because it’s a home game for me. This is as close as I’m ever going to play to home, growing up about 30 minutes north of here. So friends and family are going to be here. It’s a lot of fun. I love coming back home.”
Davis believes the strengths of his game including his length from the tee and his ability to play wind well will likely be key requirements on the two exposed layouts adjacent to the Sydney airport (both the Australian Golf Club and the Lakes are being used this week).
“I feel like it’s always really windy here. I feel like I’m a pretty good wind player in terms of shaping the ball around and judging wind conditions. That’s going to be a huge thing out here, because the greens are a little harder to hold, especially downwind, I feel like I’ve got a good high ball. Into the wind I feel like I’ve got a good low-ball as well. I feel like I’ve gotten to the point in my career now where I’ve managed to get better control of all the shots.
“I did grow up here, so just doing that required you to learn how to play the wind, but also hitting the ball a bit further out here is beneficial. If you do have that length, you don’t necessarily need to use it all the time, but if you do have a drive that can carry some of these fairway bunkers, it can turn the fairway from 20 metres wide to 40 metres wide. We’ll take these opportunities when we get them, especially when it’s downwind.”
Davis was upbeat about the way has been playing in recent times and hopes that the magic he produced in 2017 can assist him to a second Australian Open victory.
“Since the beginning of the playoffs and just before the playoffs this year, I’ve played some really good golf. So, I’m hoping that trend leads to another trophy out here, but last time it was a pretty out-of-the-blue week for me.
“I was coming off probably the worst season of golf I’ve ever had and first year as a pro, it was not a great 2017 for me until I came here and, all of a sudden, I turned in some of my best scores I’ve ever had in tournaments.
Hopefully, we can find some more magic.”
Cam Davis with his 2017 trophy
Cam Davis with his Australian Amateur trophy