CNN
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Cameron Smith’s hopes of reaching the top of the world golf rankings were dashed by a two-shot penalty at Sunday’s FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Open Champion at St. Andrews in July, the Australian arrived at TPC Southwind in Memphis knowing that a win would see him overtake Scottie Scheffler at world no. 1 for the first time in his career.
Two shots behind overnight leader JJ Spaun ahead of Sunday’s deciding round, Smith looked well placed for a run to victory but his hopes were hit hard before he even teed off when he was called into the rules office to discuss an incident The previous day.
The hit concerned Smith’s fourth hole of the third round, where the Australian had taken a drop after his tee shot hit water. Smith made the best of an awkward position off the water to chip onto the green and putt for a bogey before continuing his round, but the ball’s close proximity to the red penalty line prompted officials to investigate Sunday morning’s shot .
“When we got back to the live action, we saw him [Smith] When he played a shot from down there, it looked like the ball was awfully close to the line,” PGA TOUR chief judge Gary Young told NBC Sports.
“But we felt comfortable that the player knew enough that he couldn’t play a ball that touched the penalty area line.”
With no wrongdoing observed by the officer near the hole at the time, Young confirmed the incident was being re-investigated Sunday morning. When called into the rules office, Young said Smith – who believed only part of the ball needed to be in the playing area to be sure – confirmed his ball had touched the line.
A subsequent two-stroke penalty resulted in Smith’s score on the hole being increased to a triple bogey, falling to four shots from the lead. Despite the setback, Smith was praised by Young for his sportsmanship.
“Cam is a total gentleman and he took it that way,” Young said.
“He was completely calm throughout the process and when he found out it was a 2-stroke penalty, he just said to me, ‘The rules are the rules.’ In typical casual cam fashion, he just accepted it and left the office like that.”
On a final day with a straight 70 points, the Australian finished the weekend nine shots in 13th place, six shots behind champion Will Zatoris, who defeated Sepp Straka in a playoff to claim his first PGA Tour win.
After shooting 71 on Thursday, Zalatoris roared back with rounds of 63, 65 and 66 to force Austria’s Straka into a sudden-death shootout. Unable to get separated after two plays of the 18th hole, a bogey by Straka on the subsequent 11th hole sealed the American’s first PGA Tour win in his 56th Tour start.
For a tearful Zatoris, the win marked an emotional end to a series of painful near misses throughout the season. Runner-up at the Farmers Insurance Open, PGA Championship and US Open, the 25-year-old’s $6,705,802 win marked the highest amount earned in a winless season. according to to the PGA Tour.
The triumph in Memphis adds an additional $2.7 million to those earnings, and Zalotoris is the first player since Camilo Villegas in 2008 to win a FedExCup Playoff event as his first PGA Tour title.
“It’s hard to say when it’s time when it’s your second year on tour, but it’s time,” Zlatoris told reporters.
“Considering all the close results I’ve had this year, it means a lot to finally make it.”
Tears of joy flowed from coach Josh Gregory, who, supporting Zatoris, celebrated a crucial putt so enthusiastically at his home tournament that he injured himself.
“He jumped on the side of a hill and I think he tore his calf or something, so I didn’t see him until I got the trophy,” Zalatoris said.
“He cried like a baby … He’s been there for me through the ups and downs of the last few years and it’s pretty cool to be able to do that in his hometown and of course with him here.”