Cameron Smith said every birdie "meant that little bit more" after dedicating his victory at the Sony Open to the those affected by the bushfires in Australia.
Smith defeated Brendan Steele in a play-off in Hawaii after overturning a three-shot deficit to claim his first individual title on the PGA Tour, having won the Zurich Classic alongside Jonas Blixt in 2017.
The Australian's uncle saw his home destroyed by the fires terrorising the country and Smith pledged to donate $500 for every birdie and $1,000 for every eagle he made during the event in Honolulu.
"That [victory] has been one that I've wanted to tick off for a long time," Smith said. "I've been out here four or five years now, and to finally say that I have won an event by myself is quite good.
"It's been an Aussie week. Wade [Ormsby] won over in Asia, me winning here. I just hope that just brings a little bit of joy to some people that are going through some tough times.
Words cannot describe how happy I am to win the @SonyOpenHawaii! This one is for you, Australia!! 🇦🇺🏆🤙🏻 pic.twitter.com/jyjD9HKm4d
— Cameron Smith (@camsmithgolf) January 13, 2020
"I just wanted to make birdies. It was tough the first three days to make birdies and I managed to scrape in a few. Every birdie putt I had just meant that little bit more.
"Rather than kind of wanting to make it, I almost felt like I had to make it. I've always been quite good at not giving up. I've never felt the need to kind of mentally check out in any way.
"I started bogey, triple-bogey [on Thursday] and then finished that day even par and progressed from there. It was a big fight all week basically."
Smith later tweeted to say $10,500 had been raised for the relief efforts in Australia.
We did it!! We were able win the @SonyOpenHawaii AND raise $10,500 for relief efforts in Australia!
— Cameron Smith (@camsmithgolf) January 13, 2020
I hope this brings some joy to everyone back home. We are all going through some tough times, but hang in there. 🙏🏻🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/t2ZiZdo7b6