Cameron Smith takes mallet to the Old Course to win the Open and extend Rory McIlroy’s drought

Smith, 28, is the first Australian to win the Open Championship since a certain Greg Norman, and did it the hard and fantastic way. He started the day four shots behind McIlroy and ended up two strokes clear to claim his first major title. Cameron Young’s eagle on the last meant that the American finished second, one shot behind, and one ahead of a crestfallen McIlroy, whose bogey-free round of 70 was solid but not sufficiently spectacular.

The cynic might suggest an implosion from that reversal of fortune, but that would be harsh on both Smith and McIlroy. Five successive birdies after the turn constituted the best streak in a final round of the Open for 21 years.

And, let’s face it, if you record a round of 64 on a major Sunday, tie the tournament record of 20 under par and take only 30 strokes on the back nine, you deserve to win. McIlroy had advocated patience in his approach, but was suddenly cast into the guise of chaser. He could not find that gear change. He had five holes to save himself and was not up to it.

McIlroy, 33, knows what is coming, but this was won rather than lost. Indeed McIlroy made every green in regulation, albeit those greens are like national parks, and one bogey in his last 39 holes shows impressive consistency. Perhaps he could have taken more risks but he was leading until the 13th, and the bare fact is Smith is a better putter. “I got beaten by a better player,” McIlroy said. Sometimes sport is simple.

So all hail Smith, even if he did provoke rumours of a move to LIV Golf. The man from Brisbane, dubbed a “cashed-up bogan” by pals due to his big prizes and the blue-collar background, made good on promise he has long been showing and a few near-misses at the majors. He once said that he would cut his hair if he won a big prize, but why risk a Samson scenario? An Open and a Players Championship in four months constitute an open-and-shut case for carrying on. “It’s just, honestly, belief,” he said of his form. The Players provided it. “I’ve knocked on the door maybe one too many times.”

He estimated that it would take two cans of beer to fill the famous old trophy. “I’ll probably have about 20 Claret Jugs,” he said. Sadly his family were not there to see it. “My dad was meant to come over and he pulled out at the last minute – he’s kicking himself now.”

At 2.50pm two other men had stood on the tee as golfing gunslingers. McIlroy was the battle-hardened veteran with four notches and more scars, while Viktor Hovland was “the kid” whose blissful ignorance made him dangerous. As expected, it turned into a duel, but just not the one we had expected. Hovland slipped away and Smith broke out of the saloon doors with the sharpest shooting the Old Course has witnessed, better even than Noughties-era Tiger Woods.

Playing in the last group meant that McIlroy could look towards home and see the drama unfolding ahead of him. It really came down to the 17th, the Road Hole, the scene of mayhem and merriment down the years. Smith finally found a modicum of trouble on the par-four hole that skirts the Old Course Hotel and is a constant flirt with disaster. He putted to the side of the bunker and had a ten-foot putt. Miss and we were all square. He made it.

With Smith odds-on for a birdie on the last, McIlroy then stepped up to the 17th and hit his tee shot. His approach was classy. One more chance. The entire tournament came down to whether he could make an 18ft putt and, in keeping with the day, it slipped left.

For days McIlroy had looked out of his hotel window, adjacent to the 18th fairway, and imagined his name atop the leaderboard. The challenge was simple: play the round of your life, win the “Holy Grail”, end an eight-year major drought and spike the guns of those primed to damn you as a choker. No pressure. “I’m only human. I’m not a robot,” he said.

In the other narrative splitting the fairways this week the Open has been tagged as a sort of morality play. However, if things carry on like this, a LIV Golf player will win a major at some point. Either that or the majors will be devalued by finding ways to marginalise those bankrolled by the Saudi-funded series. As it happens, a LIV player may have already won one.

Smith took umbrage when asked if he is going to join the LIV breakaway. “I’ve just won the British Open and you’re asking me about that,” he said. The question remained. “I don’t know, mate. My team around me worries about all that stuff. I’m just here to win.”

A simple “no” would have sufficed. But if the Open is a fairytale and a LIV champion golfer a nightmare for some, the reality is the tours and upstarts will probably have to learn to coexist, even if that means living snippily ever after.

Whatever happens next, yesterday’s (Sunday’s) run for home was another dream. As he started his back nine, Smith trailed McIlroy by three strokes. He struck perfect shots and holed putts from 16ft, 11ft and 18ft, the sort of range he had struggled with a day earlier. Momentum ebbed away from McIlroy.

A four-day marathon was reduced to a clutch of holes. Ultimately McIlroy did not choke. We like black-and-white summaries in this age of short attention spans, but it is hard to damn a score of 18 under par. Young deserved better. This was his first Open and a round of 65, seven birdies and an eagle made him the unluckiest of losers. Hovland and a resurgent Tommy Fleetwood shared fourth place. Two other LIV men, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau, made the top ten.

From Woods’s teary exit, McIlroy’s near-miss and Smith’s fantastic five, this was an Open worthy of the 150th birthday honours. As the drama built to a crescendo, with huge crowds following McIlroy, it was hard not to feel the test of nerve, blood, heart and sinew. In the chaos fans broke clear of marshals and jumped the Swilcan Burn. McIlroy fell short, but Smith cleared every obstacle. If he now takes a leap of faith, golf’s power struggle will reach the tipping point.

– The Times

Originally published as Cameron Smith takes mallet to the Old Course to win the Open and extend Rory McIlroy’s drought