SHELLHARBOUR golf star Travis Smyth has saved his best for last, shooting a final-round 67 to finish tied for 10th place on the final day of the Australian Open at Twin Creeks on Sunday.
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In just his second tournament as a pro, Smyth didn’t drop a shot on the front nine, producing a birdie on the par-four seventh. He also birdied the par-three 11th to go two-under before back to back birdies on the 13th and 14th holes took him to four-under.
Having produced four bogeys on the final four holes over the opening three rounds, the 22-year-old held his composure to finish at a four-under 280 for the tournament.
It ultimately saw him finish seven shots back from eventual winner Cameron Davis, the only player to return a better fourth round-card (64), with American Jordan Spieth also returning a four-under 67.
It was enough to secure a top-10 finish, tied with fellow Aussie James Marchesani, improving on the 11th place finish he managed on professional debut at last weekend’s NSW Open.
It was an effort that shrugged off the back-nine wobbles that hampered his first three rounds, with Smyth saying he simply played looser on the final day.
“I think it was more a mental thing,” Smyth said.
“I just went out and tried to really have fun out there, not expect to hit every shot great and not get frustrated when putts aren’t dropping.
“I think I did a bit too much of that in the first few rounds so I just tried to really give out a lot of positive emotions and some positive things came back.
“I really just focused on trying to get around with no soft bogeys and I did that well today. I had no bogeys and held some really good putts. To finish four-under out in those conditions was great.”
Smyth will now turn his attention to next week’s Australian PGA Championship on the Gold Coast, with his strong finish at Twin Creeks ensuring he’ll head to Royal Pines in good form.
“It’s my second week out as a pro and everything’s heading in the right direction for sure,” he said.
“I’m just going to have the same swing thoughts and try and keep everything identical to [Sunday] and I think I’ll do just fine.”