Cameron Smith owned the show, and so did that silver claret jug he won on a stunning Sunday in the Open Championship with the best closing round the Old Course has ever seen. Smith was four shots behind at the start as the world-record crowd looked forward to seeing McIlroy cap off a week of celebrations in style at the 150th Open. He was three back when he made the turn. And then the charismatic Aussie with his magic bike rattled off five straight birdies to take the lead, holed a nervous birdie around the edge of the shabby Road Hole bunker to save par and finished with two shots from 80 feet for birdie for an 8-under 64. “Winning an Open Championship in and of itself will probably be the pinnacle of a golfer’s career,” Smith said. “I think it’s incredible to do it around St Andrews.” So is his golf. In the 29 previous times, the oldest golf championship has been held in St. Andrews, no winner had ever closed with a 64. Smith finished at 20-under 268, a record score for the Old Course and matching the lowest par score in any major. “I got beat by the best player this week. To go out and shoot 64 to win the Open Championship at St. Andrews is a hell of a show. Hats off to Cam,” McIlroy said. McIlroy hit every green in regulation and two-putted them – two were birdies, the rest were pars – for a 70 that left him in third place and having to wait nearly nine months before he could try to end his drought in the majors that now it’s eight whole years. Smith won by one shot over Cameron Young, who holed a 15-foot eagle putt on the final hole to tie for the all-time lead. It wasn’t enough, not something McIlroy could muster. McIlroy couldn’t make a point early. He couldn’t hit it slow enough. His last good chance was a 15-foot birdie attempt at the dangerous Road Hole on No. 17, and he narrowly missed to the left. McIlroy needed eagle to tie it and his chip into Sin Valley had no chance. Smith won for the third time this year, all on completely different courses _ Kapalua’s generous fairways, the visual intimidation of water at TPC Sawgrass and the world’s oldest links with its double greens and pot bunkers. He beat the No. 1 player in the world (Jon Rahm) at Kapalua. He won the best course in golf at The Players Championship. And he had to overcome a four-shot deficit against a heavy favorite to win his first major. Even with the silver claret jug in his hands, it was hard to believe. “Every name in there, every player that’s been at the top of their game has won this championship,” Smith said. “It’s really nice to be there. It really hasn’t sunk in yet. I don’t think it will for a couple of weeks. Yeah, it’s just unreal.” Smith is the first Australian to win at St. Andrews after Kel Nagle in 1960, when he topped a rising American star named Arnold Palmer, the world’s choice. This is now McIlroy. He moved into the gap left when Tiger Woods missed the cut in what could be his final Open at St. Andrews. He had support that brought him to the brink of victory at the home of golf. “The Holy Grail,” McIlroy had called it earlier in the week. All day there was an energy on the humps and hollows of the Old Course, all waiting to celebrate McIlroy as the Open champion at St. Andrews. He gave them little to cheer about. “The bet fell on me,” McIlroy said. “When both Camerons — especially Smith — made that run on the back nine, I had to dig deep to make birdies. And I just couldn’t.” That left Smith, the 28-year-old Australian known for his toughness and putting stroke, on the 18th green to be inducted as the ‘Champion Golfer of the Year’. Smith is the first Australian to win the Open since Greg Norman in 1993 at Royal St. George’s. Norman was asked not to return this year – there was no indication he would come – because of his Saudi-backed LIV Golf, which has offered millions to attract players such as Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau, major leaguers who finished top 10. But this day belonged to Smith and that athlete who answered every test. McIlroy was playing controlled golf, his only birdie coming from 18 feet on the par-5 fifth. Viktor Hovland, who started the final round tied with McIlroy, was never a factor. He didn’t make his first birdie until the 12th hole and closed with a 74. What Smith runs on the back nine is now part of Open lore. He hit a good pitch to 5 feet for birdie at the short 10th. He was bold on a back pin at the par-3 11th and holed a 15-foot birdie putt, and birdied the next two holes from about that length. His fifth in a row was a 90-foot putt on the par-5 14th, over a huge mound and down the slope to tap-in range that gave him the lead for the first time. McIlroy couldn’t catch up. Lag placement was amazing. It wasn’t what was needed. And he got no help from Smith, whose one missed shot posed the biggest challenge. The Road Hole bunker was between him and the flag on 17. He used his putter to get to the right edge of the bunker and onto the green, 10 feet away, and putt another putt, this one to stay ahead. Young had his chances in his Open debut. He left a short 6-foot putt with about a foot break at the 15th. He came down short with a wedge on the next hole. He drilled his drive and approach at the 17th, only to leave another birdie opportunity close. He eventually made it, but all it took was a 65 and the silver medal. In two majors this year, the PGA Tour rookie missed a playoff by one shot at the PGA Championship and made his best putt late at St. Andrews. Smith made his last birdie and the engraver went to work on the claret jug, a prize first awarded to the 1873 champion at St Andrews. There’s a lot of history surrounding this gray, old town, and Smith became a big part of it.
