ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Cameron Smith just gave up his 36-hole lead at The 150th Open. It was time for his caddy Sam Pinfold to give a pep talk and help turn the tide.
When Pinfold finished, Smith smiled at his good friend and, without skipping a beat, replied, “Three or four back, … don’t worry. … We should have given them the lead though.”
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Such is the confidence of the young Aussie who made a stunning 64 on Sunday to win The Open, becoming just the fifth Australian to win the Claret Jug and first since 1993. His first major triumph adds to wins earlier this year at THE PLAYERS and Sentry Tournament of Champions. He moved to No. 2 in both the FedExCup and world rankings in a year in which he became the only player other than Jack Nicklaus in 1978 to win THE PLAYERS and The Open in the same year. In his win at Sentry in January, Smith set the TOUR record for lowest score over par, shooting 34 under. At St. Andrews, he matched that major mark and recorded the lowest score ever shot at an Open at St. Andrews, a 20-under 268. And he closed with a remarkable 30 on the back nine, the lowest score ever shot by an Open champion.
But back to Smith’s joke. It was a nonchalant response. But there was hidden wisdom in it. Smith is – with all due respect – like a half-breed fighting over the first bone he’s seen in a month. He is the ultimate underdog, determined to prove the doubters wrong.
At the start of Sunday, four shots off the lead was enough of a challenge. The fact that one of the leaders was Rory McIlroy, Britain’s great hope, whom the crowds eagerly crowned, was a red rag to a bull.
Smith is from Queensland, the northeastern state in Australia known for its beautiful beaches, Great Barrier Reef and never-say-die endurance ethic. That determination was born out of Smith’s favorite non-golf sport – rugby league – where the Queensland Maroons take on the mighty New South Wales Blues three times a year in an epic and brutal series of games called State of Origin. It’s tribal.
Queensland are known for often winning against the odds. He has a smaller pool of talent to draw from, but still somehow rises above himself when he pulls on the jersey. A State of Origin game fell on the eve of the Open and Smith insisted on playing his final nine-hole practice session early in the morning so he could stream the match on his phone in St. Andrews.
The Maroons, missing three key players due to COVID and injuries, were underdogs. Then, in a frantic opening few minutes into the game, they lost two more to concussions. Despite the obstacles, they won 22-12. Pinfold confirmed that Smith “got a lot out of it.”
“There’s never a doubt,” Smith joked about the match in his pre-tournament press conference afterward. “It’s just another example of the Queensland spirit. I’ll think about it this week for sure.
The underdog appeared on Sunday at the Old Course. Smith wrote a brown shirt before his attempt to chase down the local favorite.
After a solid 34 on the front nine, Smith looked up to see he was just one shot back of McIlroy. The time had come to put up or shut up.
“You have to try and win. That’s what we’re all here for. I really needed to make something happen,” said Smith, whose gallery included former tennis star Ash Barty and two-time Moto GP champion Casey Stoner.
So Smith went to work. He almost bogeyed the par-4 10th to make the first of five consecutive birdies that put him one ahead of McIlroy. The best came on the 13th, a hole that almost ended his chances a day earlier.
“These guys are great players. They wouldn’t give it to me. I had to accept it,” Smith added. “It was good that I was behind. My attitude would have been a little different, especially on that back nine, if I was ahead.”
“My second putt on 13 was really when I thought we could win this thing.”
Pinfold also caught some flak for Saturday’s double bogey on 13. Many suggested he should have denied Smith a risky shot in which he attempted to hit his ball while standing in a bunker with the ball over his feet. That shot hit a bush, resulting in a double bogey.
“You don’t mess with a confident player at his skill level,” Pinfold explained. “I’m just proud of him. His game plan was great; he was just really confident and has so much faith that he makes my job easy.
“I don’t have to think about a second option, what’s important is what’s the best shot, what’s the best option, then I point, shoot and off we go. He just has the balls and the guts to stand up and do it.”
Another of those moments came Sunday on the infamous Road Hole, which ranks as the toughest on TOUR every time The Open comes to St. Andrews. Smith’s approach fell short and the famous greenside bunker stood between his ball and his target. Smith calmly drove his ball up the slope against the edge of the trap, then buried the 10-foot par putt.
When he coolly holed the last to score 20 under, one stroke better than playing partner Cameron Young, only McIlroy’s eagle could beat him. But the four-time major winner failed to chip in just short of the green and victory was secured.
“I feel like I can’t breathe,” he said. “These last four or five holes are not easy here, especially with the wind to the left. I’m really proud of how I came across today and was able to do it.”
“Winning the Open Championship in itself would probably be the highlight of a golfer’s career. I think it’s just amazing to do it around St Andrews. This place is so cool.”
Birding the first five holes of the back nine paralleled how he won THE PLAYERS earlier this year. He birdied the first four holes of the back nine at TPC Sawgrass en route to that win.
“He likes to fight,” Pinfold said. “Put him in a fight, three or four back and he’s going to step up his game and he’s going to do it.”
Another celebration, like the one that followed the PLAYERS’ victory, is expected.
“I’m definitely going to find out how many beers fit in that thing,” he said of the Claret Jug. “I’ll guess two, two cans of beer. … I’ll probably have about 20 board jugs.”
He certainly deserved it.
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