Look out, Mssrs Smith and Davis – there may be another Australian ‘Cameron’ on the charge in the golfing world.
Cameron John, 1007th in the world and rising, continued his brilliant week at the star-studded Links Championship in Scotland, shooting a four-under 68 on the famed Old Course links at St Andrews on Friday to move into the joint halfway lead in the prestigious European tour event.
The 25-year-old, having the time of his life at the three-course tournament which also attracts a host of celebrities in the accompanying pro-am team event, said playing at the home of golf gave him a similar vibe to when he won his maiden pro tournament at The National in March near his Melbourne home.
After taming Kingsbarns with an extraordinary 10-under 62 on Thursday, John moved seven miles up the coast to St Andrews to tackle the course where Australian golf’s most celebrated Cameron – Mr Smith – won the 150th British Open in 2022.
On a day when a bit of wind made the Old Course more of a challenge than Kingsbarns had been, John continued his dreamy week, despite suffering a double-bogey seven on the par-five fifth where he found a fairway pot bunker on a hole he had expectations of birdieing.
It didn’t faze John one bit as he put behind him his one blemish of the day and went on to record a round with six birdies, including a 21-foot putt from off the green at the ninth and then his crowning moment – a 22-footer at the celebrated ‘Road Hole’ 17th.
It left him at 14 under for the tournament alongside Belgium’s Nicolas Colsaerts, the former European Ryder Cup star who’s fallen to No.695 in the world but was back to his best with a seven-under 65 at Carnoustie
“It’s just fun,” said the beaming John of the experience of playing three of the best links courses in the world, with his sights now set on Carnoustie on Saturday.
“The outlook of the week is just enjoy it, take it all in. Walking up 18 at St Andrews, it’s always pretty special – so just remember it.
“Wind-wise, it was a little trickier today, for sure, but definitely the wind down at the National back home gets pretty crazy too.
“You have to use a lot of the undulating slopes and there’s massive sort of run-offs. You look at the 18th here, for example, and you leave it short, and it comes back and you feel like you’re 10 metre under the flag. So you get that a bit out of the National as well.”
The co-leaders outshone some huge names, with Jon Rahm shooting 71 at Kingsbarns to be six shots behind, while Rory McIlroy, playing alongside his dad in a group which also featured PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan, had a 69 at the same course to be eight back.
John is a shot ahead of Scotland’s David Law and South Africa’s overnight leader Darren Fichardt, with his Australian compatriot David Micheluzzi well positioned at 10 under, just four off the pace, in joint-13th position after a two-under 70 at St Andrews.
Another Melbourne golfer Brett Coletta might have been up among the leaders if he hadn’t made a triple-bogey seven on St Andrews’ Road Hole, as he ended up with a 68 that left him seven under in joint-37th.
