Cameron Smith joins a fellowship of rarified air that features just five golfers, including Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus. The humps and swales of the Old Course, St Andrews, were truly no match for his talent, writes Mat Barnes.
Cameron Smith began the final round of the historic 150th Open Championship four strokes adrift of co-leaders Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland and delivered an unwavering exhibition of short-game artistry and dogged determination to chase down his more fancied rivals.
The dramatic Sunday comeback sealed Australia’s first men’s Major Championship in seven years, and first Open Champion since Greg Norman claimed his second Claret Jug in 1993 – Smith can now declare his demons of Major Championship Sundays officially exorcised.
His final round eight-under-par 64 is the lowest by an Open Champion at St Andrews and lifted him to 20-under par for the tournament, a score which tied the lowest winning total in relation to par in men’s Major Championship history.
Smith is renowned for his talent and imagination on and around the greens and this week it truly separated him from the rest. His 253-feet of total putts made during his second round broke an unofficial PGA Tour record, and his efforts during the final round proved even more decisive in the eventual result.
His incredible run of five-straight birdies from 10 to 14 comprised a combination of clutch putts and up-and-downs that made a mockery of the humps and swales designed to protect the Old Course. This spectacular stretch of golf turned a three-shot deficit into a one-shot advantage and completely turned the tournament on its head.
Smith manoeuvred his golf ball around the Old Course with purposeful precision, avoiding all 112 bunkers and hitting 17 greens in regulation. His only missed green came at the penultimate 17th hole and offered an opportunity to prove the mettle that lies within after a poor approach left him stymied behind the infamous Road Hole bunker.
A productive British open for Cam Smith ????#The150thOpen #TheOpen pic.twitter.com/9GKg9C1Z7B
— Only Sports ANZ (@onlysportsanz) July 18, 2022
Instead of succumbing to the pressure of the occasion and difficulty of the shot that confronted him, he executed a shot that exemplifies his incredible confidence and touch with the flat stick. His putt from off the surface utilised the contours of the notorious sand trap to perfection, with his ball narrowly avoiding the jaws of the beast before it settled to 10-feet – he holed the subsequent par attempt to set up a famous victory.
His 23rd score of birdie or better for the tournament was reserved for his 72nd and final hole. Knowing that a three on the short Par 4 would all but ensure the win, he drove to the front edge of the green and two-putted from 75 feet with such simplicity that you could be excused for believing it was just that easy.
This birdie secured Smith’s maiden Major title and third win of a breakout season. His victory here and in the unofficial “Fifth Major” at the Players Championship in March place him in the rarefied air of being one of only five golfers to win the Players and a Major in the same calendar year – a fellowship that includes Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.
This is company Smith now deserves to keep, his record-breaking, near flawless performance was executed on golf’s most historic occasion in conditions he had never conquered before. He is now a bonafide Major Champion and will be for evermore.
