Ethe Australian Cameron Smith He is the new champion of the British Open, the best tournament that no golfer can win, and he got it after giving a memorable performance. Firm 64 strokes to win the jar of claret and he also did it in the Old Coursein the 150th edition of the oldest tournament in the world. Cameron Smith is already eternal. In addition, he became the fourth player in history to achieve a -20 in relation to par in a ‘major’ after Henrik Stenson (British 2016), Jason Day (PGA 2015) and Dustin Johnson (Masters 2020).
His name is installed next to that of historical as Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Seve Ballesteros o Nick Faldo. In addition, he left unforgettable moments like the putt for par on 17 or birdie on 18 to counteract the eagle that his match partner Cameron Young just gotand which matched him for a few seconds in first position.
The 28-year-old Aussie’s triumph is in any case no surprise. this same year won The Players and set the Sentry Tournement of Champions record for lowest points on the PGA Tour with his -34 total. In the history of this sport, only he and Nicklaus have won The Players and the Open in the same year, and both also did so by taking the latter in the cathedral of golf. In the 2020 Augusta Mastersin which he was second, became the first player in history to do all four rounds in less than 70 strokes.
Rory McIlroy, who began the day with a four-shot advantage, led for much of the day but did not finish off. He was third, little consolation for someone who has fought to win the four majors this year. With the norirlands straight on the hunt for the big fifth of him, an impressive Cameron Smith started the comeback. The Australian had closed the first nine holes at -2 and started the following ones like he could never have dreamed of. Five consecutive birdies (10-14), a couple of them with one of those putts that are not forgotten. Meanwhile, McIlroy’s return was nothing more than discreet, although the Northern Ireland was playing well. However, he was unable to take advantage of his biride opportunities and filled his card with pairs.
In the decisive moments the best Smith appeared. He got into a compromising situation after the second blow he landed on the hole 17. Between the flag and him was the bunker. His strategy was successful. He took a risky putt around the trap, but without a chance to hole out, and still missed a ten-footer. With a lot of cold blood he pushed the ball again and put it, the same way he had been doing all week. Shortly after Rory pressed his chances with a putt also on 17 that he almost made, but he made par.
When the day began, everything indicated that McIloroy and Hovland would reissue the ‘duel in the sun’ that Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus starred in at Turnberry in 1977, until the Australian Smith emerged. None of his nationality have won since Greg Norman in 1993. Interestingly, this course all the greats have been won by players under 30 years of age, something that had never happened.
Among the top finishers, only Cameron Young was able to put up a fight and almost achieved his goal. Tommy Fleetwood responded with a good lap as he almost always does in these situations, but not enough. Dustin Johnson was not able to scare like before. Scottie Scheffler was the big loser in quotes of the day with his 74.