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Cameron Smith is a household name in Australia, particularly along the east coast and its three most inhabited states of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. Those three states make up about 78% of the country's population. Bring up Cameron Smith in any of those states and gums will start flapping. Some adore Cameron Smith. Some have an aversion bordering on hatred. Some might not love him but certainly respect him. Just about all have an opinion on Cameron Smith. We're not talking about the Cameron Smith who defends his Sony Open in Hawaii title this week. Nor the Cameron Smith who finished second in last year's Masters after becoming the first player to shoot four rounds in the 60s at Augusta National. That Cameron Smith might be the most underappreciated athlete in Australia. But - quite frankly - he doesn't care about that. It is another Cameron Smith who dominates the Australian sporting consciousness. (Australian readers bear with us a moment while we explain to the rest.) Cameron Smith is arguably the greatest rugby league player who ever lived. The National Rugby league (NRL) star is 10 years older than the golfer. The younger Smith spent his childhood idolizing the man. "It’s just cool. It’s like having Superman as your name basically. Everyone knows how good he is," says Smith, the golfer. "As a kid to have the same name it just makes you feel like you are kind of like him. So, it was fun for me to see his success and it makes you believe you can achieve great things to." The similarities go much deeper than a name. Both grew up in the Brisbane suburbs as part of working-class families. Both have a love of rugby league and golf, following their dads around golf courses from a young age. Both crave a "normal" life and prefer to point the spotlight in a different direction, despite their impressive accomplishments. Both have a steely determination to prove themselves after having their abilities questioned. And both were forced to leave the comfort of their cultural surrounds to become great. Smith, the rugby league player, is pretty fond of Smith, the golfer, these days as well. An avid recreational golfer, Smith, the rugby league player, keeps up with the Aussies on TOUR - particularly his fellow Queenslander who shares the same name. The two met a few years back and instantly hit it off. "I first heard of Cam when he came on TOUR as a young fella a few years back," Smith, the rugby league player, told PGATOUR.COM. "Smith and Cameron are quite common names but of course it stood out, and to share the name and be pretty much from the same town – we grew up 30-40 kilometers apart from each other – that was pretty remarkable." "Ever since he started on the PGA TOUR, I have been following his progress. When I got to meet him, I found him to be a very laid-back type of fella. A typical Queensland kid who loves his sport. Of course, we got on." On that occasion the pair hit a few shots on the range for local news cameras and passed the football around. The occasion drew Smith, the golfer, out of his shell. He displayed the cheeky personality that isn't often on display in public. Smith, the rugby league player, says he can understand why the golfer may seem quiet and shy to his PGA TOUR peers. Leaving Queensland can be a shock. Those from Australia's northeastern state find joy in simple pleasures and enduring friendships. They're not enticed by bright lights and fame. And there is most definitely an underdog spirit. New South Wales has Sydney. Victoria has Melbourne. Those two cities are Australia's equivalent of New York and Los Angeles. Queensland has Brisbane, which can be compared to Birmingham, Alabama, a big, friendly country town (but with Hawaii style beaches). "The first couple of years being away from home were the most difficult of my career," says Smith, the rugby league player, who played Australian Rules Football in Melbourne. "Making the move, it's a shock to the system. And my move wasn't as significant as Cam's was. I was only moving two states away, but it was like another world. "The way people dress and talk and the way they interact is very different to Queensland. The lifestyle is very different, and it takes time to adjust to that and you probably don't offer your full self to other people because you are trying to fit in a little bit to the people around you rather than being yourself and being a bit of an outcast. I'd imagine it's similar for Cam in the U.S." There's no doubt Smith, the golfer, would live in Queensland if not for the transcontinental commute. In his spare time, he'd hang with his mates at the pub, race cars, go fishing and hunt for the best coffee in town. But it's hard enough to take on the best golfers in the world without adding 15-hour flights to the mix. So, he lives in Ponte Vedra, Florida, instead. His friendship circle is small, but tight. You often see Smith, the golfer, with fellow Australians and New Zealanders, like his caddie Sam Pinfold, or the odd European like Jonas Blixt with whom he paired up with to win his first TOUR title at the 2017 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. One of his best mates from home moved to Ponte Vedra to be a personal assistant of sorts. Smith, the golfer, does have a long-term girlfriend who is American, and many friends who are American. But he opens up quicker to those who understand his self-deprecating and stinging humor and who aren't looking for too much attention. Smith is a throwback, a millennial straight out of the 1970s. Hence the mullet he started growing after he saw National Rugby league players growing similar ones last year. "Queenslanders, and most Australians, are pretty good at bringing people back down to earth if you get a little bit full yourself," Smith, the golfer, says. Smith doesn't need to be reined in. No matter how many zeros get added to his bank account - he won $2.4 million on the course last season, not including the bonus for finishing 24th in the FedExCup — he remains the same knockabout bloke from Brisbane. This Christmas, he paid off his father's mortgage as an expression of gratitude. "He knows where he's come from and appreciates everything that was given to him and appreciates everything he gets," said Cameron's father, Des. Des, a scratch golfer, introduced his son to the game at a young age. He was in the printing business, which meant his shift was over when school let out. Smith beat his dad for the first time when he was 12 but Des says he knew from age 6 the boy could be a professional. "He flushed every shot," his father remembers. But Des didn't force the issue, except suggesting he might want to give up the contact sport of rugby league. He did, but he still is a fan of the sport. His dog, Walter, is named after another Queensland rugby league idol, Wally Lewis. "He used to like the attack (offense) part of rugby league but let's just say he was a bit of a grabber in defense. He didn't use his shoulder much," Des chuckles. "So I told him it might be time to choose golf or league because the way you're defending you're likely to get hurt." Smith, the rugby league player, says Des and his wife deserve a lot of credit for the man they've raised. "Queensland attitudes, it's part of upbringing to be honest. You learn that from your parents," Smith, the rugby league player, says. "It’s just all about humility and while I don’t have anything against people self-promoting and enjoying their success, because we all have to enjoy our success, we just do it in different ways." There is one significant difference between the two Smiths. The rugby league player, trains harder than most. Smith, the golfer, knows that's a place he can sometimes get slack. "I feel like I have a really good understanding on golf, but I wish I did sometimes work a little harder than I do," he admits. "I don’t get lazy. I just get content sometimes. I’d rather be out doing something with my mates than pounding balls on the range." Smith, the golfer, knew as a 12-year-old he might not emulate his namesake in rugby league, but he figured he might be able to do something decent with a club and dimpled ball. And where he could emulate his hero was in attitude. Both Smiths have a knack for producing their best when the chips are down. It's another Queensland thing apparently. State of Origin is one of the biggest events on the Australian sporting calendar. It's a three-match rugby league series pitting Queensland against New South Wales. It's as fierce a rivalry as you'll find anywhere in world sport and pits club teammates against one another. Imagine if NFL players from Georgia and Tennessee returned to their state to play for state pride. Or the best of Texas took on one of their rival states. Smith, the rugby league player, was part of an incredible era when Queensland won eight series in a row, and 11 of 12. He was captain for a large chunk of it. Even before Smith's time, the Queensland Maroons Origin team would often win games against the odds. And they had an uncanny ability to come from behind late in matches to snatch victories from the jaws of defeat. They just never give up. As Smith, the golfer, came through the Australian junior system the spotlight fell towards the likes of Oliver Goss and Brady Watt. Goss was runner up in the 2013 U.S. Amateur and was the low amateur at the 2014 Masters. Watt reached No. 1 in the world amateur rankings. It helped fuel Smith's underdog mentality. When he qualified for the 2015 U.S. Open (by making four birdies in his last six holes at sectionals), Smith was determined to prove his worth. While Jordan Spieth was winning his second straight major, Smith was making his own splash. Knowing he needed to eagle the final hole to secure his future, Smith's final approach shot at Chambers Bay was a cracking 3-wood that set up a tap-in eagle and ensured a T4 finish. It gave him temporary membership on the PGA TOUR. He's been there since. And he's proven clutch on multiple occasions since. He was three down to Justin Thomas in the 2019 Presidents Cup singles before rallying to win. He was out of position multiple times at the recent Masters but created brilliant short game shots to stay in the mix. And a year ago, he was 4 over at the Sony Open after just two holes but managed to rebound all the way to victory. "Watching those Queensland boys on TV in Origin for me is inspiring," Smith, the golfer, says. "Just watching them smash the Blues and be willing to do anything to win despite always being the underdog team. To give every ounce for their mates - seemingly outside their ability... and most of the time they just find a way to win. It’s inspiring to me to just try and be like that." His namesake in rugby league can be compared to quarterback Tom Brady for the success he's had over the past two decades. The accolades attached to Smith, the rugby league player, who is now 37, are endless. Among them are records for the most games played and points scored, multiple MVP equivalent awards and numerous matches for his state and country. Despite all of this Smith, the rugby league player, is now the one being inspired. He thoroughly enjoyed Smith's efforts in the Masters and will be watching intently as he defends his Sony Open title. "Cam certainly has all the attributes to be No. 1 in the world somewhere down the track. His golf skills are there for all to see but he's also got the right temperament," Smith, the rugby league player, says. "All the great players and athletes no matter what sport it is have the temperament to come up with the right options, and with the big plays when they need them because they don't get overawed. He's that type of personality."

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Grit. Determination. And just a flat-out will to win. That is what Abraham Ancer has displayed for a few seasons on the PGA TOUR, but it was not until Sunday afternoon in Memphis that the diminutive, yet feisty, Ancer was able to find his way to a trophy. And what a trophy. Ancer became the first Latin American to win a World Golf Championships event and just the fourth Mexican player to win on the PGA TOUR when he outlasted Hideki Matsuyama and Sam Burns in a playoff. It was a wild and wacky afternoon at TPC Southwind where all three didn’t appeared to be destined for victory until some fade-outs elsewhere catapulted them into the mix. Meanwhile back in California, South African Erik van Rooyen was also claiming his first PGA TOUR win and a breakthrough weekend. Here are five stories you may have missed from the World Golf Championships–FedEx St. Jude Invitational and the Barracuda Championship. 1. Patience was the key for Ancer’s breakthrough When you’re known as one of the best, if not the best player on the PGA TOUR without a win, it can get frustrating as each near miss piles up. But rather than look at the four runner-ups and countless top-10s as any sort of negative, the now 30-year-old kept his head down and persevered with the positive self-talk. Ancer knew he was good enough to win – he’d proven it with a brilliant final round at the 2018 Australian Open. And then his performance at the 2019 Presidents Cup was downright impressive as his only loss came to a vintage display from Tiger Woods. So he kept his head down and forged ahead. On Sunday when he sat five shots back as he started the back nine, Ancer figured it might be another near miss, but he stayed focused and when he picked off a birdie on the 13th, he was suddenly just two back. Shortly after he was tied for the lead. “I didn’t want to think of like, oh, my God, I’m so due,” Ancer said. “I didn’t want to put extra pressure. I’ve done enough in other events to win, and it just didn’t go my way, so I just stayed patient, I didn’t change anything.” He calmly plotted his way into the clubhouse to join the lead of those finished and then when his opportunity came on the second playoff hole he took dead aim and stuck his approach close. Before he could think about finally winning, Sam Burns hit one even closer. But under the pressure, Ancer made his putt while Burns saw his ball cruelly lip out. It was finally Ancer’s time. Get a great rundown on the win here. 2. English collapse sees third win slip away Harris English appeared set to be the first three-time winner this season when he surged to 20-under at the turn on Sunday in Memphis. With eight holes to play, he was three shots clear of his nearest rival in playing partner Bryson DeChambeau and seemingly in control. But the group had been on the clock since early in the round and the quickened tempo started to find a few cracks in his game, particularly as the gusts picked up around TPC Southwind. DeChambeau’s game was also unravelling, making it tough for the group to get any sort of momentum down the home stretch. English doubled Nos. 11 and 14, the two par 3s on the back nine, to fall back into a logjam of contenders before a soft bogey on the par-5 16th had him behind. The Sea Island resident showed great poise to hit a close approach into the 18th to give himself a chance for a spot in the playoff but couldn’t get the putt to drop. Read more here. He wasn’t the only player to falter though. DeChambeau was 6 over on the back nine and Cameron Smith was 3 over in his last four holes including a double bogey on the last when par would’ve ensured a place in the playoff. The Australian’s drive found the trees and he decided to take the risky choice of going for the win rather than punching out to safety. His bold thinking backfired this time around when his second shot hit a branch and rebounded out of bounds. 3. Van Rooyen catapults himself into FedExCup Playoffs Erik van Rooyen was 139th in the FedExCup standings when he headed to Tahoe knowing it would take something special to prolong his PGA TOUR season. The South African delivered with victory in the Barracuda Championship, scoring an impressive 16 points in the final round of the modified stableford format. His five-point victory was finished with an exclamation point birdie on the last and sees him move to 78th in the season long standings with just a week of the regular season left before the top 125 do battle in the FedExCup Playoffs. “It’s massive. It’s massive,” van Rooyen said. “It’s been a difficult sort of 18 months for me golf-wise. I haven’t been playing well. There’s been glimpses of it the last six months. But I haven’t been able to put four good rounds together. So I was well aware of the position I was in going into the Playoffs, knowing that I’ve only got eight rounds left to make that cut. “And to win here this week, I mean, under the conditions, you know, the pressure that I was under, I’m going to take so much confidence from this.” 4. The 2021-22 PGA TOUR season schedule dropped – with a few surprises As we head into the closing stretch of this season, the upcoming 2021-22 season was released with a focus on the Strategic Alliance with the European Tour. The Genesis Scottish Open, Barbasol Championship and Barracuda Championship will now be included in both the FedExCup and Race to Dubai, while the Irish Open will see a significant increase in prize money. The PGA TOUR’s schedule of 48 events also includes the move of the first FedExCup Playoffs event to TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee, sponsored by FedEx. “Since the inception of the FedExCup in 2007, we have made a number of changes to enhance the quality of the FedExCup Playoffs for our players, fans and partners,” said PGA TOUR commissioner Jay Monahan. “Thanks to the continued support from FedEx as the TOUR’s umbrella partner, we’re proud to bring the start of the FedExCup to Memphis and a course loved by our players. Not only will it be a great test worthy of Playoff golf, but we also anticipate tremendous enthusiasm from a community that has steadfastly supported the PGA TOUR for more than 60 years. And, of course, the important work of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will continue to be front and center. “In totality, the 2021-22 PGA TOUR Schedule, combined with the momentum we have with our now-entrenched partnership with the European Tour, puts the PGA TOUR in a position of strength within professional golf like never before. We’re confident this schedule will give the world’s best players the opportunity to do what they do best – inspire and entertain our fans around the globe while helping our tournaments make a significant impact in their respective communities.” Read more and see the full schedule here. 5. Wolff on track to win Aon Risk Reward Challenge Matthew Wolff is almost a lock to win Aon Risk Reward Challenge, a season-long competition on the PGA TOUR and LPGA Tour that tests players on the most challenging holes. First place pays $1 million. “It’d be hard for me to lose, but not impossible,” he at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, where he shot a final-round 67 to finish 7 under in a tie for 17th. With two birdies at the par-5 16th at TPC Southwind – the competition takes a player’s best two scores of the week on a designated hole – Wolff protected his big lead over Louis Oosthuizen and Joaquin Niemann. Now he heads to this week’s Wyndham Championship, which he added to his schedule partly to meet the competition’s minimum number of starts. He also just likes the event and has since Wyndham tournament director Mark Brazil extended him a sponsor exemption in 2019. (Wolff didn’t end up needing it after winning the 3M Open.) “I feel like Mark Brazil and everyone has been really nice, and I haven’t played too many this year, so I felt like I wanted to play it and see everyone again,” Wolff said. Not only that, but by playing the Wyndham, which will use the par-5 15th as the Aon Risk Reward hole, he will ensure he is eligible for the seven-figure bonus. “The Aon is a nice little bonus reason to go because I need that minimum,” he said. “It’s really cool what Aon is doing; it’s a game inside of a game, which is pretty cool to me.” For Oosthuizen to unseat Wolff he will need two birdies on the designated hole at Wyndham and Wolff would have to bogey the same hole on two occasions. – PGATOUR.COM’s Cameron Morfit contributed COMCAST BUSINESS TOUR TOP 10 The Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 highlights and rewards the extraordinary level of play required to earn a spot in the TOP 10 at the conclusion of the FedExCup regular season. The competition concludes this week at the Wyndham Championship and the top 10 FedExCup points leaders will be recognized and awarded as the most elite in golf. Week after week, shot after shot, each event matters more than ever before. Who will finish in the Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10?

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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Kelly Ryder knows there are no guarantees when it comes to souvenirs. RELATED: Leaderboard | The top 5 aces at TPC Scottsdale’s 16th Her son, Sam, once made an albatross at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, saved the ball, and forgot it in his courtesy car. He once played with NBA star Stephan Curry in a Korn Ferry Tour event in Northern California, and afterward they swapped signed balls. She has that one in her study back home in Orlando. Now she and her husband, Art, will be getting another souvenir after Sam became the first player to make a hole-in-one at the WM Phoenix Open’s 16th hole since Francesco Molinari in 2015. The ball flew 124 yards and spun hard left before disappearing into the cup, triggering a meteor shower of beer, beer cups, and anything else that would fly. “Still kind of coming down off the adrenaline,” Ryder said, “but, yeah, it was pretty crazy.” As 16th hole moments go, this one recalled Tiger’s ace in 1997 and the late Jarrod Lyle’s in 2011. Here’s how it all went down: Ryder didn’t have the honor; playing partner Chris Kirk had just eagled 15 and went first. Ryder and his caddie, David Pelekoudas, sized up the short shot and were in immediate agreement. “It just ended up being a perfect 54-degree wedge,” Ryder said. “Everything always plays a little shorter in there, adrenaline or whatever it is, it’s just, it always plays shorter. And it just, I just told (Pelekoudas), ‘It’s just got to be that, doesn’t it?’ And he’s like, ‘That’s all I ever thought.’” The shot came off perfectly, and as Brian Harman, the third member of the group, said later, it looked like a hole-in-one the entire way before disappearing and triggering pandemonium. What made it even more special was Ryder’s parents were inside the ropes with him, walking through the tunnel and watching from inside the cauldron of 16 as the ball went in. Ryder raised his arms and went in for a collision/embrace with Pelekoudas, then high-fived Harman and Kirk as their respective caddies and fans screamed, the stands shook, and beer rained down. After that the only question was when play would resume – it would take 15 minutes or so for volunteers and maintenance officials to clear the debris – and what to do with the ball. “We’re definitely getting this one,” Kelly said with a smile. “He knows which one it is.” After Ryder fished his ball out of the cup, and his caddie had cleaned it, he got very deliberate. “I’m like, ‘Let’s just put that one away,’” said Ryder, who had missed five cuts in 10 starts coming into the week and is 129th in the FedExCup. “And we kind of put it in a different pocket, but there was a couple other balls in there; I was like, ‘Woah, woah, woah.’” They kept the ball separate from the others and housed it in its own pocket. “We got the right one,” Ryder said. As golf shots go, it was a cardiac moment – shout out to Ryder’s sister, an ER doc – literally stopping play. But Ryder, whose last hole-in-one in competition came at a long-ago Hooters Tour event, had an up and down day otherwise (even-par 71). He said he’d be trying to figure out “what happened on the other 17 holes,” but won’t soon forget the shot of the tournament. “I’m going to enjoy it,” he said. “I want to make sure I take care of the media center and the maintenance and stuff like that, buy some drinks so that everyone can enjoy that, and they can send me the bill for that. But I’m probably just going to try and rest up and have a good day (Sunday). Probably not the answer that you’re looking for, but I’ll probably have a beverage, try and get ready for tomorrow and hopefully have a good day and finish the tournament strong.” At 6 under par, he’s tied for 29th place.

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