Davis revs up to regain lift-off at Rocket Classic
After a strong start to the season, Cam Davis has cooled considerably with seven missed cuts since February.
The two-time Rocket Classic champion hopes a return to the Motor City can restart his engines when the action begins at the Detroit Golf Club on Thursday.
"I would say an event like this definitely seems like a bright spot on the calendar," Davis said.
"Yeah, when things are a little rough and I'm finding it hard to get the best out of myself, going somewhere that you feel good just being there always is going to look really appetising as it comes up."
The 30-year-old has two career PGA Tour titles, both in this event. He survived a three-man playoff to win in 2021 and held off four players to claim victory by one stroke last year, finishing 18 under in both events.
"A place like this (can) bring back some good memories and good vibes," he said. "I've played this place really well before and I know a game plan that has worked multiple times now, so if there's any way that I'm going to draw some confidence just by being in a physical location, it's this place."
Davis began the 2025 campaign with top-20 finishes at three of his first four events, including a joint-fifth at Pebble Beach.
But he has had only two top-20 finishes since then, including a joint-19th at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow last month. He missed the cut at the Masters and finished joint-64th at the US Open at Oakmont in this season's other majors.
Last week, Davis tied for 57th place at the Travelers Championship in Connecticut.
"Season got off to I think the best start I've ever had on the PGA Tour," he said. "I've been out here for a while now, but I played some really good golf for the first month and a half. Then I would say since then it's been pretty rough going.
"I haven't really seen myself play much good golf as of late. The PGA Championship was a nice little change, I had a couple of solid rounds there, but for the most part it's been a little bit of searching, trying to get some magic back."
Davis said he is looking forward to reversing his fortunes this week in Detroit, where a $A14.8 million purse awaits the field at the 7,370-yard, par-72 track.
"I've been playing as hard as I can. There's been a lot of great tournaments that we've just gone through and I've been through them all and not found, you know, the spark that I really wanted to find," he said.
"Yeah, this one in particular, I'm really glad it's turned up now because there's no better time to turn things around than getting right back here again."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Cam Davis has chicken sandwich named after him at $15m Rocket Classic in Detroit
Seven missed cuts since February wouldn't instil most players with confidence, but returning to a venue where he's won twice, including last year, and has a sandwich named in his honour is enough for Australian star Cam Davis to feel the 'vibe' that could propel him to a big end to the PGA Tour season. Davis won both his PGA titles at the Rocket Classic in Detroit and is the defending champion at this week's $15m event. After what he called his 'best start' to a season in some time, which included finishing in a tie for fifth at Pebble Beach and jumping back inside the world's top 50, Davis, the 2017 Australian Open winner, has struggled. He missed five straight cuts after that, including at The Players Championship and the Masters, and felt like he was 'banging my head against a wall'. Davis has straightened up since, only missed two cuts in his past seven events, and was top 20 at the PGA Championship. The 30-year-old knows exactly what level he's capable of and hopes returning to the familiar and positive surrounds at Detroit Golf Club helps him find his best, with places in the season-ending playoffs to play for. 'I played some really good golf for the first month and a half. Then I would say since then it's been pretty rough going,' Davis said, having been presented with the crispy chicken sandwich named the Davis Double. A #RocketClassic tradition, a personalized custom sandwich to honor our defending that will be featured in all the concession stands. Davis Double Crispy Chicken, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Pickle, Pepperoncini, Provolone, Mayo Brioche Bun — Rocket Classic (@RocketClassic) June 25, 2025 'The PGA Championship was a nice little change, I had a couple of solid rounds there, but for the most part it's been a little bit of searching, trying to get some magic back. 'One week might be OK putting but not good driving and vice versa, things like that. It's just been kind of frustrating having everything feel pretty good but seeing no results from it. 'In that regard it's been a little bit of banging my head against a wall over and over again waiting for something to change 'But it's very cool, a place like this to bring back some good memories and good vibes. I've played this place really well before and I know a game plan that has worked multiple times now, so if there's any way that I'm going to draw some confidence just by being in a physical location, it's this place.' Davis said the return to Detroit had come at the perfect time. 'I would say an event like this definitely seems like a bright spot on the calendar,' he said. 'When things are a little rough and I'm finding it hard to get the best out of myself, going somewhere that you feel good, just being there, is going to look really appetising as it comes up. 'I've been playing as hard as I can. There's been a lot of great tournaments that we've just gone through and I've been through them all and not found the spark that I really wanted to find. 'This one in particular, I'm really glad it's turned up now because there's no better time to turn things around than getting right back here again. 'I haven't won any other tournaments out here. They've all centred around this place. It's obviously going to live with me forever.'
Perth Now
2 hours ago
- Perth Now
Irving signs $A180m NBA deal with Mavs, says insider
The Dallas Mavericks and Australian-born NBA star Kyrie Irving have reportedly agreed on a three-year deal worth more than $A180 million. Former NBA All-Star guard Irving is still recovering from a torn ACL that will sideline him into the 2025-26 season. A person with knowledge of the deal said Irving was declining the $US43 million ($A66 million) player option in the final year of his current three-year contract. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal isn't expected to be finalised until July 6. The new contract, worth a reported $US119 million ($A182 million), will align Irving with co-star Anthony Davis, who joined the Mavericks in the seismic trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February. Davis has three years remaining on his contract, with a player option that now will be the same season as Irving in 2027-28. The agreement with Irving came on the eve of the NBA draft, with the Mavericks poised to take former Duke star Cooper Flagg with the No.1 pick. Irving also is a Duke alum, as is young centre Dereck Lively II. Once the nine-time All-Star returns from his injury, Irving, Lively and Flagg expect to be in the starting line-up if they are healthy. The 33-year-old, Melbourne-born Irving came to the Mavericks in a 2023 trade after a tumultuous tenure in Brooklyn. The idea was to pair him with Doncic, and a year later the duo led Dallas to the NBA Finals for the first time in 13 years. The decision to send Doncic to the Lakers elevated Irving's status, although Davis's championship pedigree with the Lakers essentially put the two on even footing. Irving, who has averaged 23.7 points and 5.6 assists over 14 seasons, and LeBron James won a title together with Cleveland in 2016. Davis went down with a groin injury in his Dallas debut, and before he could come back, Irving sustained his knee injury about a month after the Doncic trade. Sceptics were plentiful when the Mavs traded for Irving, who wanted out of Brooklyn after three and a half seasons of disappointments on the court and plenty of drama off it. Earlier in the season he was dealt to Dallas, Irving was suspended by the Nets for eight games after his repeated failure to "unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs". That came shortly after Irving refused to issue the apology NBA Commissioner Adam Silver sought for posting a link to an antisemitic work on his Twitter feed. Irving also wound up losing his long relationship with Nike. Irving also missed much of the 2021-22 season because of his refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19, which left him essentially ineligible to play in Brooklyn's home games because of New York City pandemic rules.
West Australian
2 hours ago
- West Australian
Irving signs $A180m NBA deal with Mavs, says insider
The Dallas Mavericks and Australian-born NBA star Kyrie Irving have reportedly agreed on a three-year deal worth more than $A180 million. Former NBA All-Star guard Irving is still recovering from a torn ACL that will sideline him into the 2025-26 season. A person with knowledge of the deal said Irving was declining the $US43 million ($A66 million) player option in the final year of his current three-year contract. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal isn't expected to be finalised until July 6. The new contract, worth a reported $US119 million ($A182 million), will align Irving with co-star Anthony Davis, who joined the Mavericks in the seismic trade that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in February. Davis has three years remaining on his contract, with a player option that now will be the same season as Irving in 2027-28. The agreement with Irving came on the eve of the NBA draft, with the Mavericks poised to take former Duke star Cooper Flagg with the No.1 pick. Irving also is a Duke alum, as is young centre Dereck Lively II. Once the nine-time All-Star returns from his injury, Irving, Lively and Flagg expect to be in the starting line-up if they are healthy. The 33-year-old, Melbourne-born Irving came to the Mavericks in a 2023 trade after a tumultuous tenure in Brooklyn. The idea was to pair him with Doncic, and a year later the duo led Dallas to the NBA Finals for the first time in 13 years. The decision to send Doncic to the Lakers elevated Irving's status, although Davis's championship pedigree with the Lakers essentially put the two on even footing. Irving, who has averaged 23.7 points and 5.6 assists over 14 seasons, and LeBron James won a title together with Cleveland in 2016. Davis went down with a groin injury in his Dallas debut, and before he could come back, Irving sustained his knee injury about a month after the Doncic trade. Sceptics were plentiful when the Mavs traded for Irving, who wanted out of Brooklyn after three and a half seasons of disappointments on the court and plenty of drama off it. Earlier in the season he was dealt to Dallas, Irving was suspended by the Nets for eight games after his repeated failure to "unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs". That came shortly after Irving refused to issue the apology NBA Commissioner Adam Silver sought for posting a link to an antisemitic work on his Twitter feed. Irving also wound up losing his long relationship with Nike. Irving also missed much of the 2021-22 season because of his refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19, which left him essentially ineligible to play in Brooklyn's home games because of New York City pandemic rules.
