Cameron Davis came into The Northern Trust, the first of the PGA Tour’s playoff events, running hot after three consecutive 65s in North Carolina last week.
Today at TPC Boston, he went one lower.
As a result of Davis’ white-hot seven-under-par 64, he holds a share of the lead with three other players in the $US9.5 million tournament.
The possibilities are endless for the 25-year-old Davis, 2017 Australian Open Champion, and one of the best young players in the world.
Having sneaked into the FedEx Cup playoffs in 91st position – his first appearance in the playoffs in his second full season on the main tour – he can jump into the top 10 with a maiden victory this week.
When you’re on, you’re ON.@CamDavisGolf with his 8th birdie of the day to take the solo lead @TheNTGolf.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/H2z3FiBqXy
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 20, 2020
He needs to jump into the top 70 players to progress to the BMW Championship in Chicago next week, and only the top 30 get to the Tour Championship in Atlanta after that.
There is also his world ranking – 203rd this week but obviously about to be much higher. It’s already been a breakout year for him, with earnings past the $US800,000 mark.
Davis was white-hot from the outset today. Starting on the back nine, he hit it close on the par-four 10th and the par-three 11th to make birdies.
Further shots picked up at the 14th, 17th and 18th. Then after the turn, birdies at the second and the fourth put him on the leaderboard.
“My swing was a little sloppy, and I wasn’t hitting the ball very solid on the range,” Davis said post round.
“The start to this back nine, which is where I started my round, is very strong, and (I) hit a lot of good quality shots. I feel really proud of the way I dug in.”
With a three-metre birdie from the fringe at the par-four sixth hole, he had the lead to himself.
Then, a lull. At the par-five seventh, Davis tugged his tee shot, hit a tree with his second and had to scramble a par from five metres.
At the eighth, he dropped his only shot of the day after going long and left at the 200-metre par-three. A stress-free par at the ninth gave him 64, putting him at the top with Americans Harris English, Kevin Streelman and Russell Henley.
Davis did not sound surprised, like a man who was coming off a string of low numbers.
“I feel like all I had to do is make sure I didn’t get ahead of myself and play a good, solid round of golf,” he said. “It was nice to get a few extra putts to go in, and that’s what really propelled my score forward.
“I feel like this has been coming for a little while, and it’s nice to get a low one to start a tournament.”
Davis, from Monash Country Club has been flagged as a potential superstar since he won the 2015 Australian Amateur. At just 21, he shot a final-round 64 to win the Australian Open in 2017.
It was a good day for the Australians, with Adam Scott (66) just outside the top 10. Matt Jones (68), Cameron Smith (69) and Jason Day (70) all went into red figures while Marc Leishman struggled to a 75.
