Cameron Smith wins 150th British Open with final round surge
Cameron Smith hit eight birdies, including a string of five straight, to make up a four-stroke deficit in the final day at The Open Championships and win his first career major.
Smith, 28, was the co-leader after 36 holes thanks to an eight-under-par round Friday, but a tough day on Saturday put the Australian four strokes behind Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland. While McIlroy finished without a bogey Sunday and made the green in regulation on all 18 holes, he missed several birdie putts and finished the day two under.
That wasn't enough to hold off the surging Smith, who birdied twice on the front nine before starting the back nine with five straight.
Smith put the tournament to bed by finishing with a birdie on the 18th hole, which was just enough to hold off Cameron Young, who eagled the last hole to climb to second.
Smith tied several records with the performance, including the best final-round score to par to win a major and the best overall score to par in a major.
While Smith is sixth in the Official World Golf Ranking, he hadn't won a major before Sunday. He has three top five finishes at The Masters and finished fourth at the 2014 U.S. Open. His best career finish at The Open prior to 2022 was 20th place in 2019.
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