‘It stings’: Setback driving Aussie’s homecoming

Cameron Davis will return home to Australia a two-time winner on the PGA Tour and motivated by the “sting” of missing a second Presidents Cup team as he seeks a second Australian Open title.

Davis was controversially overlooked by International Team captain Mike Weir for this week’s biennial clash with the USA in Canada despite being higher on the world rankings than fellow Aussie Min Woo Lee, who is set to make his debut.

It was a sobering phone call Davis took from Weir, having netted something Lee hasn’t, a PGA Tour victory in 2024 when he collected a second win at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit.

Davis also performed admirably on Presidents Cup debut in 2022, playing all five matches to finish with a 2-3 record as the International Team felt the sting of LIV Golf’s emergence, with regulars Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman unable to be picked.

Weir instead went with Lee and three fellow Canadians among his six captain’s picks, leaving Davis time to rest and refocus for a tilt at both the Australian PGA and Australian Open in November and December.

“I got a call from Mike (Weir) just explaining to me that we’re going to hopefully see me there in the future and it was a hard decision,” Davis said from his Seattle home on Tuesday as his trip home was locked in.

“It stings, not being there, as it was probably one of the biggest and most exciting weeks that I’ve had as a pro golfer.

“That was a huge week for me, feeling like I belonged out there – that stage just keeps on firing you up and making you believe that you’re destined for more big things.

“So sitting at home and watching it on TV is not going to be a lot of fun this year; it’s frustrating, it sucks.”

Davis, who came from the clouds to beat a crack field to win the Australian Open in 2017, said his 2024 season “took a turn” after some mediocre performances.

That turn included his win in June before pushing hard at the end of the year to make the PGA Tour playoffs, where his season ended at the BMW Championship.

Having re-found his mojo towards the end of the year, Davis wants to bring that form to Australia, possibly get one back on Lee, and compete against fields set to include Smith, Jason Day, Adam Scott and a host of the world’s best players.

“The year did take a nice turn from some pretty mediocre golf into some pretty good golf,” he said.

“Through the middle of the year I felt like I was putting the effort in and not getting the results out of it.

“The BMW was a good week, a very solid week, so hopefully I’m on a good pathway for more of that … I’m hoping even better stuff by the time I get to Australia

“I’ve gotten one (title) under my belt, which is great, and I really want another one.

“I would really like to win it again, so I am putting everything I can out there to try and make that happen.”