Smith’s long time coach, Grant Field, was sitting in the clubhouse at Concord Golf Club in Sydney as he prepared to put in some work with players ahead of this week’s NSW Open before heading back to Queensland.

Before heading to the range at Concord then out for a practice round with a group of his charges, Louis Dobbelaar, Jed Morgan, Jake Higginbottom and Dimi Papadatos, Field sat and watched as Smith played the back nine.

“It’s not exactly where I thought I would be, but I will be anywhere to watch that. That’s for sure,” Field exclusively told Golf Australia magazine.

Placing his hands on his head as he Smith hit his second shot on the 72nd hole into the water, Field was understandably on edge as he watched the 28-year-old win the biggest tournament of his career. Years of experience meaning the Pelican Waters based professional never celebrated early.

RIGHT: Field (pictured centre) watches on TV  at Concord Golf Club as Smith hits his second shot in the water. PHOTO: Kim Felton/PGA of Australia.

“Look, it’s that whole it’s never over till it’s over right? Around a golf course like that, every shot is penal and you’ve got to be right on your game,” Field said. “Unfortunately, it ran through the fairway but I guess we saw the true mark of Cameron Smith with a wedge shot to three feet to finish it off. I was pretty happy to see him finish it off with that bogey.”

Smith’s win is likely to elevate him inside the top-five on the world rankings, the victory at the PGA Tour’s showpiece event reinforcing what Field has long thought about the Queenslander.

“I’ve known for years how good I believe he is. And I think we are seeing more of that in bigger events all the time, obviously the win at the start of the year, today to hold up under that sort of pressure and to continually keep standing up when he needed to, as a coach I couldn’t be happier and more proud than what I saw today,” he said.

It was Smith’s wedge at the last and brilliant putting throughout the week that garnered the majority of the attention at Sawgrass, yet Field was quick to point out another area that he believes to be a strength and again make note of the improvement in Smith’s driving. The combination making him a genuine chance on any and every golf course around the world.

“I think what people forget is how good of an iron player he is,” Field said of Smith. “I think we tend to focus on the driver, but he still drives it better than half of the field. So we are always quick to pick out the weakest spot, but the reality is he is very strong in three other categories. I think his ability hit his iron shots, then his chipping and putting speaks for itself.

"To hold up under that sort of pressure and to continually keep standing up when he needed to, as a coach I couldn’t be happier and more proud than what I saw today." - Grant Field.

“I think winning on big golf courses now, there is not a golf course he can’t play where a few years back he used to struggle on a few different types of layouts. I don’t think that is the case anymore.”

Smith will understandably still be celebrating the biggest win of his career at home in Florida with his friends and family, and it wouldn’t surprise if Field too allowed himself a little moment once he is back on the Sunshine Coast tonight to fully appreciate what has unfolded this week.

Once that is done, Smith and Field will turn their attention to Augusta National and next month’s Masters, where Australia's fifth Players Championship winner will be among the favourites after this week and based on past performances there.

His improving game and power almost tailor made for the storied tournament venue that have come on the back of Smith’s dedication to fulfilling his potential as a player and commitment to what has taken him to the top of the game.

“Not really,” Field said when asked if the pair had been working on anything particular that has led to his improved play of late. “I think it is just consistency over a long period of time. One of the things I am proudest of, is that we haven’t tried to change things. We haven’t tried to do things to go with some of the flavour of the day sort of things, we have stuck to what we do.

“He has physically gotten better, which has allowed him to move a bit faster and a bit freer and control his movement better. The physical stuff has made the biggest difference to his quality of ball striking. Other than that, everything has stayed the same.”