Smith, the World No.3, won the Joe Kirkwood Cup in 2017 and 2018 before Scott managed to end his consecutive streak in 2019 at Royal Pines on the Gold Coast. That signalled the last time Smith played at home until this week when he made a triumphant return to Royal Queensland, where he was a junior member, as The Open Champion and star of the show.

The Queenslander lived up to the billing, closing with a Sunday 68 to reach 14-under-par and claim the title by three shots from Ryo Hisatsune and Jason Scrivener on Sunday when two weather induced delays made concerns over finishing in time significant.

Smith used those weather breaks to refuel with some coffee that helped power him to three birdies over the closing six holes on his father Des’ birthday and with his grandmother Carol, who has recently finished a second round of chemo, walking all 72 holes with her grandson this week.

“I can’t believe she did it,” he said of her monumental effort. “Everyone at the start of the week was telling her to pace herself and she was out there all day every day, so it was pretty amazing.

Smith is showered with champagne by sister Mel. PHOTO: Andy Cheung/Getty Images.

“Definitely inspiring. I don't know how she did it, but it was also my Dad’s birthday as well. After I got back to the tie for the lead there after 11, I really wanted to do it for those two.”

The par-3 11th was the site of Smith’s lone bogey of the day when he fell back to 11-under.

That brief mis-step gave hope to the likes of Scrivener chasing a second win of his career after a five year drought, and Hisatsune who was first in the clubhouse at 11-under after a six-under 65, the equal best round of the day.

“There was a leaderboard there on 11. I saw that I was one ahead. I knew that I had to kind of step it up a little bit. Obviously Scrivy is a great player and I knew he’d keep putting the pressure on me.”

But Smith somewhat surprisingly went back to the lead on his own after a pulled drive on the short par-4 12th.

Stymied by a tree, the option during the rest of the week might have been to go along the ground to the small and penalising putting surface. But the Brisbane weather led to Smith going aerial and producing one of the more memorable shots of the week.

“Definitely inspiring. I don't know how she (grandmother) did it, but it was also my Dad’s birthday as well. After I got back to the tie for the lead there after 11, I really wanted to do it for those two.” - Cam Smith.

“I think I probably would have hit it underneath the tree if it wasn’t for all that rain,” Smith said. “There was a bit of casual water down the bottom of the hill, so it was kind of my only option. I think if it hits that water it obviously stops pretty quick and can turn into four or five pretty quick.”

Rather than four or five, it was a birdie three, a score he repeated at the next before another birdie at the par-4 16th saw Smith playing the raucous par-3 17th and 18th with some breathing room.

Playing two groups ahead, the penultimate hole was where Scrivener’s run ended after he putted his ball off the green and into a bunker and eventually took a double bogey five.

Smith made no such mistake with a fairly regulation par followed by and up-and-down from the greenside bunker at the last followed by a champagne shower from sister Mel.

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Winning the Kirkwood Cup for a third time, and a fifth tournament win for the year, the feeling of pressure and joy is becoming exceptionally familiar for Smith.

But back home in Brisbane surrounded by his family and friends and clearly exhausted after his role as the biggest show in town all week, this one will stand out as pretty special.

“I really didn’t think I had it in me this week to be honest. The start of the week was a little bit scratchy and the game just got better and better as the week went on.”