He was, apart from Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson, one of the protagonists of the tournament. The 21-year-old Cameron Smith, from Australia, captured all the attention when he holed an eagle on the last hole at Chambers Bay during the US Open. He hit a 3-wood from 265 meters.
He would have finished eighth if he had made par, but his masterful stroke put him in fourth place and earned him 407,000 dollars, 127,000 more than the eighth place finisher. The champion took home 1.8 million dollars, 200,000 more than Martin Kaymer did when he won the tournament last year because in this edition the prize money has increased from 9 to 10 million.
But Smith’s fortune is not limited to the succulent prize he pocketed, but his fourth place in the U.S. Open opens doors that will surely earn him much more money. Apart from the sponsorships he can obtain now that his media fame is much greater, the player from Brisbane, Queensland, thanks to his good performance in Chambers Bay will receive invitations to play next year’s Augusta Masters and the US Open. He is also guaranteed a fixed place on the American Tour for next season, as his earnings on the US PGA Tour now exceed one million dollars.
Reminiscing about his reception by the public on the 18th hole, he said that “it was chilling, crazy”.
“Being up there in a major,” he added, “means I can play with the big players, so I just have to keep doing what I’m doing and hope it all works out.”
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