NRL legend Johnathan Thurston skols a BEER out of Cameron Smith’s Claret Jug

While Aussie golf legend Cameron Smith was teeing off in the Australian PGA Championship in Brisbane, another sports champ couldn’t wait to get his hands on the golfer’s most prized asset: the Claret Jug.

Former NRL superstar Johnathan Thurston has been filmed in the same room as the iconic trophy Smith won at The Open in Scotland earlier this year.

Thurston picks up the phone to call Smith and ask if he can have a beer from the Claret Jug, which he’s already loaded with the amber liquid.

“He’s like, yeah, go ahead,” Thurston said, followed by his trademark laugh.

‘Oh, you’re a legend. I just wanted to make sure it was okay. Thanks brother, seeya.’

Thurston then hangs up, raises the famous Claret Jug to his lips and takes a long gulp.

Australia’s Smith plays his tee off on the 5th hole during Day 2 of the 2022 Australian PGA Championship at the Royal Queensland Golf Club

‘How did it taste?’ he is asked.

‘Taste excellent [laughs]. Tasted like a winner [laughs]. Something Cameron and I have in common,” Thurston replies.

Fans of both sports mostly loved the video, save for a few purists who don’t believe Thurston has earned the right to chug off the iconic trophy.

“With the beer already in, I don’t think JT would have taken no for an answer,” said one fan.

Thurston lets out his trademark laugh after drinking ale from the Claret Jug won by Cameron Smith at The Open in Scotland

“His smile will forever be iconic,” another posted.

“That’s why he’s the goat,” added another.

Meanwhile, Smith has turned heads on his return to Australia and, in an ominous warning to rivals, says he has rediscovered his sense of the ball off the tee.

The world number 3 and Open Championship winner is one behind leader Jason Scrivener going into the third round of the Australian PGA Championship in Brisbane.

Seven others, including Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura who will join Smith and Scrivener in Saturday’s final group, are lurking within two shots away.

Two bogeys on Friday at the tricky Royal Queensland Golf Club sent Smith chasing the Western Australian, who is looking for his first win since 2017.

“I only had a few bogeys, both on par three, which is usually not a good sign,” he said.

Australia’s Smith plays a shot on the 16th hole during Day 2 of the 2022 Australian PGA Championship at the Royal Queensland Golf Club

“But I felt like I hit my driver as well as I’ve hit it for a long time, so it was nice to do that.

“It gives me a little confidence going into the weekend.”

In 2018, he defeated a PGA field of Masters champions Adam Scott and Sergio Garcia at Gold Coast’s Royal Pines, then defended his title a year later in a Sunday shootout with Marc Leishman.

Smith reacts after missing a putt on the 17th hole during Day 2 of the 2022 Australian PGA Championship at the Royal Queensland Golf Club

Smith, back after a three-year absence, has scored four wins this year and has rewarded the thousands who have lined the fairways so far to position themselves for another.

“Obviously a lot has changed in three years, it really wasn’t,” Smith said of his hero’s welcome.

“It seemed like they were three or four deep on either side of the fairway all day.

“My dad was whining to me yesterday and said he couldn’t see me playing golf (because he couldn’t see through the crowd).”

The Claret Jug holder thinks it was his first Joe Kirkwood Cup win in 2018 that will steal him this weekend.

“That first one down the (Gold) Coast definitely helped a lot for my confidence, knowing I could pull it off on Sunday,” he said.

“It was something I really hadn’t done until then, so that was kind of fun to do and I had a really good 2018 and just played really solid golf.

“It was a huge, huge confidence booster for everything.”