If Cam Davis was a horse, you’d describe him as a swooper – and a very fast one, at that.
Davis, 23, came from the clouds to win his first Web.com Tour title today, storming home with seven birdies in his final 12 holes to nab a one-stroke victory.
The win puts the Sydneysider up to 14th on the tour’s all-important money list, with the top 25 at season’s end earning status on the US PGA Tour.
It’s a remarkable turnaround for Davis, who had only partial status on the secondary tour until this month when a reshuffle from a T17 finish at the North Mississippi Classic and then a T4 finish at Knoxville a fortnight ago.
But there was no sign that trend would continue when he was still in a share of ninth with only the back nine to play at the Nashville Open at the Nashville Golf and Athletic Club today.
Then, just as Davis did to win the Emirates Australian Open in November for his first professional title, the former Australian Amateur champion unleashed a withering run that left his opponents in his wake.
A birdie on the 11th was followed by two more on the par-five 13th and 15th holes, then another on the tricky par-three 17th left him right in the title hunt.
Just short of the par-five closing hole in two, he pitched his third just 1m past the hole and calmly knocked in the birdie try to sign for a spectacular 65 and an 18-under-par total.
Then, just as he did at The Australian, Davis headed towards the driving range to stay warm as his rivals played the final hole. And again, it proved an unnecessary precaution with his total standing up by one from American trio Josh Teater, Kevin Dougherty and Lanto Griffin.
“I kept on holing putts, even when the pressure was on, which is a big improvement for me,” said Davis, who had just 25 putts in his final round.
“It’s nice that I could get it done under pressure. There were nerves out there, I didn’t know the exact situation, but I knew I was up there and to make a few putts is really nice.”
Davis’ victory reminded many of his victory in last year’s national championship, when he began the final round six shots behind third-round leader Jason Day.
Davis that day fired a seven-under-par 64 to win his first ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia title, but found it difficult to compare the moments despite their similarities.
“It’s hard to compare. The Aussie Open was fantastic, it was my first win and such a big event, but getting it done on this tour, gets me (headed) toward the PGA Tour. It’s good to get a win out here and it means a lot.”
Davis began the season with conditional status after a T113 performance at the final stage of the Web.com Tour Q-school in December, but it has improved rapidly in the past few tournaments.
The win was worth $US99,000 and moved him from No.72 to No.14 on the money list.
“I’ve been trending upwards over the last couple of weeks,” said Davis, who notched the 54th win for Australians on the secondary tour.
“I’ve gone from having no status to have enough status to play events and now winning one. It’s been a pretty steep rise over the past month or so. I mean, it’s just a lot of relief to know I’ve gotten over the line and now looking forward to the rest of the year, because obviously I’ve moved up the money list a bit and have a few more opportunities coming my way.”
One of those opportunities is the upcoming Memorial Tournament on the main tour where Davis will compete alongside Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and fellow Australians Marc Leishman and Jason Day.
Davis is well aware of how big the stage is, but is excited about the challenge Muirfield Village Golf Club presents.
“It’s going to be a completely different golf course,” he said. “The field is full of the top players in the world. I can’t tell you how I’ll feel until I actually get out there to play a PGA Tour event, but it’ll be awesome to be out there.”
Davis finished T15 at the Mayakoba Classic in Mexico on debut on the PGA Tour last year, a tournament he was able to enter after finishing low individual in the 2016 World Amateur Teams Championship when Australia was victorious on the same course.
He has since played two events on the main tour, finishing T58 at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines and missing the cut at Pebble Beach in the AT&T Pro-Am.
Brett Drewitt and Curtis Luck shared 30th place at nine under today, while fellow Aussie was a shot further back in a tie for 42nd.