Cameron Smith could have cost himself the 2022 Masters, a green jacket and a large sum of change on Sunday after a miss-filled 12th hole. Just moments after gaining a shot on 36th and 54th hole leader Scottie Scheffler at the par-4 11th to cut his deficit to three shots, Smith immediately turned around and lost three shots with a triple bogey on the difficult par 3.
Smith’s mistake may have ultimately decided the Masters, and it almost certainly had a huge impact on his payout of the Masters’ record $15 million purse.
His first attack on the 155-yard hole failed and splashed just short of the green. After a fall, he took no chances with another water ball and instead stole the green. From there, he raced well beyond the pin and then whiffed on his double bogey stop attempt before putting a six on the scorecard.
It was Smith’s first triple bogey or worse on the PGA Tour since the final round of the 2021 Travelers Championship, and it was arguably the most important round of his young career.
He was set to finish second in the tournament, winning $1.62 million, but finished T3, winning $870,000 instead, a difference of $750,000.
“Just a really bad swing at the wrong time,” Smith said of his effort on the 12th. “It was actually a really good number. It was a really good 9-iron. I wasn’t even trying to m ‘approach that pin and, yeah, it was just a really bad swing.”
Scheffler reached par on the 12th as part of a huge momentum shift that dramatically shifted the standings, propelling Smith to third place and Rory McIlroy to second. Moments later, McIlroy birdied the 18th to finish as the clubhouse leader at 7 under for the week. Scheffler, however, finished at 10 under, winning the green jacket and his first career major championship. McIlroy finished second and Smith – who played the final six holes at 1 under – finished tied for third with Shane Lowry at 5 under.
“I was obviously very frustrated after the 12th hole today,” Smith said, “but I hung in there and tried to finish on a positive note.”
Rick Gehman, Kyle Porter and Greg DuCharme react to Scottie Scheffler’s dominant victory at the 2022 Masters. Follow and listen to The First Cut on Apple Podcasts And Spotify.
