Cameron Smith’s mullet has been the talk of the PGA Tour for so long this season that it deserves its own song. But until someone puts words to music (we’re thinking of you, Sam Harrop), we’ll just have to make do with Jay Powell’s “The Mullet Song.”
For that, we have fellow Aussie Marc Leishman to thank. Someone had to come up with a good walk-up tune for the first tee at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans this week, and Leishman delivered.
“He’s already entered it. I didn’t even get a choice,” Smith explained. “We’re going to be rocking that going to the first tee.”
How did Leishman settle on “The Mullet Song?” He googled “mullet songs” and the rest as they say is history.
“You got to try and make it fun and embrace it and I think we’ll do that and yeah try and enjoy ourselves, get the day started off on the right foot and go from there,” Leishman said.
Smith has embraced his office-in-the-front, party-in-the-back hairdo like few before him. (Charley Hoffman and Pat Perez jump to mind of those who have rocked it in the past.)
“Everyone has a laugh. I know Leish has a laugh at it and he picks on me sometimes about it, but no, it’s good. I love it,” Smith said.
Just to say – I am offering a quid pro quo deal on walk-up songs for the @Zurich_Classic.
If a team selects one of my tunes for their walk-up song, I will pen an ode to the other member of that team in return. 🤝
CC: @tonyfinaugolf, @JustinRose99, @ByeongHunAn, @Lucas_Glover_
— Sam Harrop (@sam_golf) April 21, 2021
The Smith-Leishman pairing in the two-man team format for the Zurich Classic falls into the category of “no brainer,” as these close friends play most of their practice rounds together anyway. They previously teamed up in the 2018 World Cup in their native Melbourne, where they finished tied for second and also teamed together Down Under in the Presidents Cup in 2019. What’s the secret to their partnership? Leishman said it helps having a short-game savant like Smith to back him up if he misses a green while Smith said it’s the back-and-forth banter.
“We’re always in each other’s ear just playing around and maybe saying some stuff that gets us fired up and gets us ready to go,” Smith said.
That’s what friends do and these pals are sharing a house this week, which means plenty of time both on and off the course, which is great if they play well, but what if they don’t?
“I might not talk to him for a few hours,” Leishman said.
“I’ll have to get a hotel for the night,” Smith cracked.
More likely, they will be cracking open a few beers to celebrate all the birdies they are bound to make. The team format requires a certain amount of strategizing ahead of time and Leishman noted that his “stats guy” ran the numbers and recommended that he tee off first on the odd holes despite the fact that Smith teed off on the odd holes when he won this event in 2017.
“It will let Cam hit more drivers, I’ll hit more iron shots and I feel like that will play into both of our strengths,” Leishman said.
Smith holed the winning putt in a playoff at TPC Louisiana in 2017 to capture his first PGA Tour title with Jonas Blixt and it triggered a strong run of golf for Smith. A win with another good pal this week might have big implications for him too.
“I told the missus that I would cut it if I won, but I don’t know, it’s been, I mean everyone loves it,” he said. “So, I don’t know, might hang around for longer than I anticipated.”
But if it winds up on the chop block, they can always defend next year with Billy Ray Cyrus’s “I want my mullet back,” as their walk-up music.
[lawrence-related id=778100501,778100384,778100492,778100480]