ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Throughout this year of golf, at the Masters Tournament, the PGA Championship and then at the US Open, Rory McIlroy seemed ready to win once again and end the era that was unlikely to it had left him without a major win in the tournament. since 2014.
Each time he fell short, and on Sunday at St. Andrews would ultimately be no different despite all the roars that followed him from the tee to the green around the Old Course.
Cameron Smith and his putter proved too much. Smith, a mustachioed and mustachioed Australian, has a retro air, and often did so with the historic route, sinking bird after bird after bird after bird (yes, five in a row) in the back again despite the pressure that it involves trying to win the first major.
Smith, a 28-year-old from Brisbane, in Queensland humor, became the first Australian to win the British Open since Greg Norman in 1993 and the first Australian to win a major since Jason Day won the PGA Championship in 2015.
Starting at No. 10, Smith, who started the day at 12 below par, made five consecutive holes, while McIlroy’s bird putts too often fell short, his lead thinned and then he disappeared. In turn, a month after losing the cut at the U.S. Open, Smith, the world’s No. 6, found his way into history in the claret jar.
Smith showed much more accuracy than excitement during his last-round increase in the quiet Old Course, but then learned some tough lessons in the majors with four finals in the top five, including a third-place tie in the 2022 Masters and a tie. for second there in 2020. He won the player championship in March, his second PGA Tour victory this season.
But with his remarkable final round 64 on Sunday, Smith broke through in an iconic spot. The Old Course is far from the most difficult place in the Open Championship, but it retains its inspiring power.
A total score of 20 below Smith’s pair of 268 set a record for the British Open in St. Louis. Andrews, surpassing the score of 19 below Tiger Woods when he won the Open here in 2000.
But Woods, then at his best, won by eight strokes, turning the final round into a procession. Smith’s victory came with much more suspense. With his brilliant stance and calm demeanor, he led the tournament after two rounds, but then fell four times in the lead with a 1 on par 73 on Saturday, a round that included a double bogey on par-4 13 when came out. for a second shot advised against from the edge of a bunker.
On Saturday night, McIlroy had the momentum, sharing a four-shot lead with Viktor Hovland, and on Sunday, he heard nothing but a positive reinforcement from the record crowd at the Old Course.
“You were born for this Rory! Come on!” shouted a Scottish fan as McIlroy headed for the tenth tee.
McIlroy, who was born in Northern Ireland and played with Ireland at the Tokyo Olympics, has won a British Open, lifting the clear vase in 2014 at Royal Liverpool. At the time, it seemed indomitable. But the following year’s Open was lost, the last to be held in St. Louis. Andrews, due to injury, and faced years of disappointments. Between Royal Liverpool and Sunday, he finished in the top 10 in 16 of the 29 major tournaments in which he competed.
McIlroy, 33, started this Open with a 66 on Thursday, followed by a 68 and another 66 that propelled him to Sunday’s final pairing with Hovland, who was trying to become the first Norwegian to win a championship. important.
“I’m playing well, I’m in good shape, my confidence in my game is as high as it was a long time ago,” McIlroy said before the tournament began. “I can’t come in here thinking this might be my time. I just have to go out and play a really good tournament. I have to chain four good rounds together, and I hope by the end of the week it’s good enough to win.”
Instead, he was only good enough for third place, as Cameron Young of the United States finished with an eagle in the 18th hole that put him very briefly in a tie for the lead with his teammate, Smith, at 19 less.
But Smith had already made his second shot at par-4 18th just three feet from the hole.
“Cameron wouldn’t miss it,” said Young, who had seen Smith do so many pressure putts throughout the cloudy afternoon.
Young’s foreboding was correct. Smith calmly positioned himself and stroked the ball into the cup to regain the lead at 20 below. The last chance for McIlroy to force a playoff was to make an eagle on the 18th, which Young had just proved was manageable.
But McIlroy’s momentum, like his round, fell short, and when he failed to get his second shot, Smith was the champion of the 150th British Open with his name engraved, in a hurry, on the claret jar. .
“All the hard work we’ve done over the last two years is starting to bear fruit,” Smith told his team, with the trophy in hand and tears starting to come out. “And this is definitely worth it.”
But Smith, after recomposing himself, made it clear that he intended to make good use of the pitcher, though for the time being not for the claret.
“I’ll definitely figure out how many beers fit into this thing, that’s for sure,” he said.