Nothing about Cameron Smith the golfer is relatable right now, not even the fact that he had (more than) a few beers on Sunday evening.
There’s a big difference between enjoying some adult beverages after shooting 20-under to win the Open Championship at St Andrews and enjoying some adult beverages alone on your couch because “it’s Sunday.” We are not the same.
However, there is one thing that puts us all on the same level instantly: commercial air travel. Believe it or not, Smith, who made $US2.5 million for his efforts in Scotland, did not fly home on a private plane back to Jacksonville, Florida. He instead flew commercially out of Edinburgh airport, and, fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, he had some extra luggage with him that he did not originally arrive with. We’ll let you do the math from there:
“Hey Cameron, that was a really great 64 you shot today, but we’re going to have to ask you to check that bag as it doesn’t appear to be fitting. Sorry for the inconvenience.” – the flight attendant, probably.
Hopefully, it did fit, which might be a more impressive accomplishment for Smith than actually winning the tournament. We assume he had at least a slight hangover, thus adding about 10 points on the degree of difficulty scale for stuffing a suitcase in an overhead bin. We’ve all been there at some point.
Smith, of course, is not the first Major champion to be photographed taking a ride on the struggle bus following a career-altering win. Just last year, Hideki Matsuyama was seen lugging the green jacket around the Atlanta airport. Both situations are a reminder of how expensive flying private can be, particularly to another country.
Smith was flying back to America, while Matsuyama was going home to Japan. These guys are rich, just not that rich. Unless, of course, they were to make the jump to … ahh, never mind.
