The Limerick Summary: 2020 Sony Open

Winner: Cameron Smith

Around the wider world of golf: Branden Grace won the South African Open on the ET; and Wade Ormsby won the Hong Kong Open on the Asian Tour.



My Twofer Tuesday picks were looking pretty good until the last few holes. As a reminder, this year I'm just picking two Top10ers and will make a note if one of them wins. This week I had Joaquin Niemann (T57) and Collin Morikawa (T21). Joaquin struggled early on -- I guess the excitement of the Presidents Cup finally caught up with him -- and Collin was still in the Top10 when he teed up at the 16th hole on Sunday. Rain took its toll on a lot of players this week.

• Top10s: 2 for 4 (1 Top5, 1 other Top10)
• Winners: 0 for 2 events

Brendan Steele's wind play looked as though it would get him through this week... but the additional rain and changing winds on Sunday made it much tougher for him and everybody else.

As Cameron Smith tried to run him down, the rain played havoc with his game. Shots that he had hit well all week suddenly couldn't find the fairway and he found himself manufacturing shots from under overhanging tree branches and thick wet rough as well as making exacting shots from wet bunkers. But he did it... and nowhere did he do it better than on the final hole of regulation and the first playoff hole.

When his second on the 72nd hole found the bunker, he hit a long bunker shot close enough to sink the birdie putt and force a playoff. And after his drive in the playoff found the rough and the trees, he squirted a low runner close enough to make an easy par -- which was all he needed.

The long delays between shots on the last regulation hole seemed to affect everybody but Smith. The miss in the bunker seemed more a result of a bad bounce than a poor shot. And just as he did in the Presidents Cup, he sucked it up coming down the stretch to get the big win.

Brendan Steele will take a lot of positives away from the Sony, as will Cameron Smith. But Smith will also get the trophy, the winner's check and that all-important Limerick Summary.

He chased Brendan Steele all day long.
Though the rain made his shots come out wrong,
Still he scrambled his way
To a playoff and HEY!
When it counted, he finished off strong.

The photo came from this page at golfweek.com.