THE 154TH OPEN

July 17, 2026

Cameron John

Mixed Zone

Q. You must be very pleased with that second round.

CAMERON JOHN: Yeah, absolutely. A little shaky through -- probably 12 through to 16 weren't some of my best shots, but I sort of had a feeling that was going to happen at some point this week.

Yeah, I mean, overall just very happy.

Q. What are you most pleased about?

CAMERON JOHN: Playing the weekend. I just enjoy competitive golf, and the fact I get to play two more days in a situation like this, it's impossible not to have a good time out there. It doesn't matter how you score at the end of the day. Like even the guys I played with were all smiling all day.

It made it easy for me, and I hope they had a good time too because it's a pretty special moment when you get to play a major.

Q. Is the experience of the week been what you thought it would be, golf aside?

CAMERON JOHN: I mean, the food's pretty good. I like just everything. Like my wife's 30 weeks pregnant. She had the ability to go in and get a massage, get sort of looked after. I felt like from her standpoint, it's nice that she feels she can come out and watch nine holes but also that comes from the event, right? We don't get that very often.

To have things like that, it's awesome.

Q. Social media (indiscernible) with your golf club wishing you well. What does that mean to you?

CAMERON JOHN: Yeah, for sure. I saw Herby, and I was cheering him on. Obviously I knew where he was at. Anytime you have a chance to break the low round in a major, that's pretty cool. To have him tied at that point -- we played a practice round earlier in the week, and we were both going good.

It was kind of a little bit of stay out of our own way, and Cam Smith kind of told me that as well. It was nice to play with a couple of those guys and just get some words of advice. I'm very proud to be a Commonwealth member, and hopefully they're very happy with that performance.

Q. If I had said to you a couple of days ago after two rounds of The Open you'd be running 3-under sort of midway through the second round, what would your response have been?

CAMERON JOHN: I could see it. I was obviously very nervous, and I don't think I've ever shaken more on the first tee shot. When I played my first Australian Open, probably comparable, but nothing quite like that. Even after I hit the shot, my legs were shaking.

Once I got going, I really felt like my game's in good shape. So there's no reason why I couldn't be there.

Q. That experience you had at the Dunhill, playing well for the first couple of rounds, is that going to hold you in good stead for the rest of the weekend?

CAMERON JOHN: Yeah, I love links golf. It was an amateur event, but I've won a links golf tournament. I feel like my game's suited to it. I enjoy it. It's a great atmosphere and great event. I'm hoping we get a good pairing or something on the weekend and make some more birdies.

Q. With your wife so late in her pregnancy, do you need to get clearance for her to fly at this stage? How did that all come about?

CAMERON JOHN: Yes, we did, actually. I think it was with Qantas they hold seats until 34 weeks or something like that. She's 30 weeks tomorrow. So it was basically just make sure that the baby is healthy, and that was the main thing, and then she was fine to fly, which is good.

Q. Just back to Commonwealth, obviously very firm and fast, Birkdale out there, and growing up playing in the Sand Belt, do you feel that's one of the reasons you've played so well so far this week?

CAMERON JOHN: Yeah, for sure. We get really similar conditions in Melbourne. Especially in our summer. Our Australian Open last year at Royal Melbourne, it's comparable to this. It's a bit wider and a bit more forgiving off the tee, but realistically, we play most of our golf in similar conditions. I felt like I didn't have to adjust my game too much. Just come over here and get used to the ball bouncing again because right now it is winter and it hasn't been doing that a lot at home.

I had a good week last week playing with a couple friends, and I feel like that did more for me than anything.

Q. A really good start to this week. You brought a contingent to this championship. Were you daring to dream about playing the weekend?

CAMERON JOHN: I was daring to dream two months ago when I qualified. I think it's important to have dreams. We all have them. We all want to do our best.

At the end of the day, however it goes on the weekend, I'm still going to look back on this week, and it will be something I'll remember for the rest of my life.

Q. Looking at the artwork on your arm, when did that happen? What does it mean?

CAMERON JOHN: Yeah, this happened probably five years ago now. Everyone in my family has a Tiger tattoo. So this was kind of a family thing. This is for my grandma. That's her favourite flower. That was sort of like a blend into it, her initials and then her birthday just there.

For me, if I get a tattoo, I want to be able to see it. Some people might disagree, but that's my opinion.

Q. Anything with the Tiger?

CAMERON JOHN: It started out as a Richmond thing, massive Richmond supporter. We're going through it at the moment. That's all right. You've just got to believe things will turn around. Yeah, it started out at that.

Then my sister and brother and everything, it kind of blended more into everyone's got a Tiger.