THE LONG GAME
All PGA bets back on for former junior teammates
JAKE McLeod will shout himself a $70,000 LandCruiser if he pulls off an upset Australian PGA win over headliner Cameron Smith, the former Queensland teammate he once duelled with for push-ups and $5 bets.
Smith’s hot seven-underpar 65 vaulted him from 23rd to the front yesterday at Royal Pines when the leaderboard took a dream shape for tournament organisers on the Gold Coast.
Defending champion Smith (70-65) is such a hard marker he was still disappointed that he was a shot short of the 10under position he’d targeted, even with eight birdies in his pocket.
Marc Leishman (68-68) is ominously poised one stroke behind in his focused chase for the “missing piece to my resume”, a trophy from one of Australia’s big events.
Emerging young gun McLeod (66-70) sits with him in second spot after losing the lead when he tugged a drive wild left and out of bounds on the par-four 17th where he took a double bogey.
McLeod’s smiling, shrug-itoff demeanour has impressed everyone during his win at the NSW Open, a third at the Australian Open and in hard spots like the 17th.
“It was definitely out, by no more than a ball, but it was a bit messy there with the fence bent and leaves everywhere,” McLeod, 24, said.
“I’m fine. It’s great to be up there with Cam, see where he’s at and compare a little to one of the best in the world.”
McLeod’s ripping three wood second shot into the parfive 12th set up an eagle putt from inside 2m and a threeshot lead.
The duo were gun amateurs in the Queensland team that won the 2013 Interstate Teams event at Tasmania Golf Club.
The inspirational commentary of Adam Scott’s Masters victory that same week at Augusta was pumped through the bus on the way to their own triumph.
“Cam and I and the other boys would sometimes throw in $5 when we played a few holes in practice or simply do it for push-ups, depending on how far behind you were,” McLeod said. “I’m sure Cam did a few push-ups.”