An early glimpse of mullet mania
CAMERON Smith was just 20 minutes into his first home round since becoming a global star when one wag in the crowd dropped the provocative line.
“There’s a few here … more than the cricket the other day,” the wag said.
And it was only 6.20am. If reports were true that there were only 1000 people present at the toss between Australia and England at the MCG, then the blue-chip trio of Smith, Masters winner Adam Scott and fellow local star Ryan Fox might well have had them covered by the third hole when both sides of the fairway were lined with fans on round one of this Australian PGA.
When the trio hit off on Royal Queensland’s 10th tee at 6am sharp on a working Thursday, there were already 600 fans behind the tee box and lining the fairways to hear Smith introduced as “the pride of Wantima’’ and “Brisbane’s own’’.
It was the first sign of mullet-mania and how British Open champion Smith has changed the golf landscape – and his own life – since he last played a tournament in Australia three years ago.
All of the players were surprised by the early crowd, Smith saying “it was unreal – I was not expecting that many”.
The significant point for golf was not the size of the crowd but the vastly different worlds from which they came.
There were teenagers and 20-somethings with tattoos and mullets, older pennant golfers keen to see a master at work, and plenty of average hackers just out for a peep at some big names.
One member and ninehandicapper of Redcliffe Golf Club, who works in the mines, even designed his own tribute to Smith where he stapled an artificial mullet on the back of his golf cap.
Smith’s grandmother has printed a group of maroon shirts that had ‘Team Smith – lifetime member’ on the front and a photo of his mullet on the back.
The thing about Smith’s appeal is that it spreads easily across the classes, which golf celebrates with gusto as it tries to shed its reputation as a rich man’s part-time game.
Smith may have signed a $150m contract with Greg Norman’s LIV Golf but he is still a pie-loving, revhead with a passion for rugby league and the unpretentious characters who play it.
Smith, who said his brain felt “foggy’’ early in his round after a long week, shed rust with one over on the first nine then, much like his British Open success, roared home with four birdies to finish three under par.
It said a lot about his ability to go with the furious flow of a long week and still conquer the course.
Smith has been a wanted man since he landed in Brisbane a week ago. He accepted the Greg Norman Trophy at a dinner, held a coaching class for 600 fans, spoke at Wantima Golf Club presentation night, appeared on the Today Show, accepted the keys to the city and played in a proam with his namesake, league legend Cameron Smith, where they dissected the recent form and finals prospects of the Brisbane Broncos.
“I have really enjoyed it but it has been long and I could not wait to get home for a nap yesterday afternoon,’’ Smith said.
He’s done it all with a smile on his face but even the normally peaceful secluded practice range has been dotted with “mate … you haven’t got five seconds’’ requests.
His father Des, who watched him play, added: “People have said to me it must be great to have him home but I actually spent the last three months with him and since he has got home, I have not really seen him. He has had so much on.’’