Cameron Smith’s dad Des has opened up on the emotional phone call he had with his son, after he missed the 28-year-old’s Open Championship win at St Andrews. Smith carded a remarkable eight-under-par 64 on Sunday to become Champion Golfer of The Year.
Despite his historic victory, the Australian was unable to celebrate with his dad after Des opted to stay back home in Queensland due to the huge journey. Soon after the win though, the golf -loving pair were quickly on the phone together, with the Aussie able to congratulate his son on his historic achievement.
Speaking to Golf Digest, Australian Des - who is a scratch golfer himself - revealed: “I was bawling my eyes out speaking to him. I'm so proud of him.
“All the hard work he's done has paid off. Nothing surprises me anymore. He is so talented and has put so much hard work in.” After the win of the Open Championship, 28-year-old Smith hilariously revealed his plan to fill up the famous Claret Jug with as much beer as possible in his post-round celebrations.
Asked if he was going to follow in the footsteps of his son despite the early time in Australia, his dad commented: “She's early at the moment, but I might have a few XXXX Golds later in the day.” There is no doubt the turning point in Smith’s final round - and tournament - was his unbelievable performance following the turn.
The Champion Golfer of The Year incredibly put together five birdies on the bounce between the 10th and 14th, to give him the lead over overnight leader Rory McIlroy for the very first time on Sunday. Des went on to reveal that after seeing his son’s impressive birdie train on the back nine, he started to believe the Aussie star could become champion.
“When he made those five birdies in a row, that's when I really started getting really excited,” he told the Today show. “I was going, ‘Oh god, it's game on here’ and then when he missed the green on 17 it was another emotional rollercoaster. I had a chat with him for a couple of minutes before I broke down. He was having a dig at me for pulling out and not going. I'll get that for a couple of months.”
Smith himself paid tribute to his hugely influential dad post-round, wishing he could be alongside him at St Andrews. He said: “I really wish he was here, too... Dad loves his golf as well. It would have been awesome.”
