BRISBANE, Australia. Open champion Cameron Smith went 2-69 upside down on Saturday to take a three-stroke lead in the final round of the PGA Australian Championship.
Smith had six birdies and four scarecrows, including two in a row at 11 and 12, and finished with 54 holes totaling 11 of 202 at Royal Queensland.
Liu Yanwei (70) from China and Masahiro Kawamura (71) from Japan tied for second place. Four others, including Australian Min Woo Lee (68) and second-round leader Jason Scrivener (74), were in 7th place and four behind Smith.
Full results of the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship
Mark Leishman threw 70 and was 2 under, while Adam Scott with his old but new caddy Steve Williams hit 74 and was 1 under, 10 behind Smith.
Smith started the day one shot behind Scrivener, but an hour later he was two shots ahead thanks to a two-shot backswing on the fourth hole.
Smith scored second and then went to par-3 four a meter from the flag while Scrivener was unable to get up and down from the bunker.
The two-time Australian PGA winner then hit the sixth and seventh holes to build a four-stroke lead before making a scarecrow at the ninth when he clipped his shot. Smith recovered to the fairway, hit his third shot into a deep green bunker, and then missed with a parity shot.
Scrivener made three shots into the top nine as his first title run since 2017 stalled.
Source: www.golfchannel.com