Cameron Smith shakes hands with his caddie Sam Pinfold after his round during Day 2 of The Open at the Old Course, St Andrews. PA Images/Alamy Images

Cameron Smith surges to British Open lead with eight-under-par second round

By Adam Stites | Last updated 7/15/22

Australian golfer Cameron Smith leads the 2022 British Open at the halfway point after a stellar second round Friday.

Smith, 28, finished eight under par with six birdies at St. Andrews, as well as an eagle on the 14th hole that was capped with arguably the best putt of the tournament.

A man on a mission

Cameron Smith drains the eagle putt at 14 and extends his lead to 3 shots at #TheOpen pic.twitter.com/c6EOnUexZI
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 15, 2022

Smith was one birdie on the last four holes away from tying the Open record with a nine-under-par performance, but he settled for a string of pars down the stretch.

His score of 64 on the day matched Cameron Young's 64 on Thursday for the best round of the tournament so far. Through the first 36 holes, Smith leads Young by two strokes and he's three strokes ahead of Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland.

Smith won the 2022 Players Championship earlier this year and finished in a tie for third at the Masters. His best ever finish at the Open is 20th.

Players who didn't make the cut Friday include reigning champion Collin Morikawa, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.

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