ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Throughout this year of golf, at the Masters, the PGA Championship and then the US Open, Rory McIlroy has looked poised to win once more and end an era that has incredibly left him without a major win since 2014 .
He fell short every time and Sunday at St. Andrews was ultimately to be no different despite all the roars that followed him from tee to green around the Old Course.
Cameron Smith and his player proved too much. Smith, an Aussie with a wispy mustache and mullet, has a retro vibe and often found his way on the historic course, making birdie after birdie after birdie after birdie after birdie after birdie after birdie after birdie (yes, five in a row) on the back nine, despite the strain that comes with trying to win your first major.
Smith, 28, from Brisbane in steamy Queensland, became the first Australian to win the British Open since Greg Norman in 1993 and the first Australian to win any major since Jason Day won the 2015 PGA Championship.
Starting on No. 10, Smith, who started the day at 12 under par, birdied five straight holes while McIlroy’s putts too often fell short, his lead dwindling and then disappearing. In turn, a month after missing the US Open final, Smith, the world No. 6, found his way into history on the board.
Smith showed far more precision than emotion during his final round on the subdued Old Course, but he has since learned some tough lessons at the majors with four top-five finishes, including a tie for third at the 2022 Masters and a tie for runner-up there in 2020. He won the Players Championship in March, his second PGA Tour victory this season.
But with his remarkable final-round 64 on Sunday, Smith broke through in an iconic spot. The Old Course is far from the toughest venue for the Open Championship, but it retains its power to inspire.
Smith’s 20-under-par total of 268 set a British Open record at St. Andrews, surpassing Tiger Woods’ score of 19-under when he won the Open here in 2000.
But Woods, then in his prime, won by eight strokes, turning the final round into a procession. Smith’s win came with a lot more pressure. With his brilliant performance and calm demeanor, he took the tournament lead after two rounds, but then fell four shots off the lead with a 1-over-par 73 on Saturday, a round that included a double-bogey on the par-4 13th when he went for an ill-advised second shot from the edge of a bunker.
By Saturday night, McIlroy had the momentum, sharing a four-shot lead with Victor Hovland, and on Sunday he heard nothing but positive reinforcement from the Old Course’s record crowd.
“You were born for this Rory! Come on!” shouted one Scottish fan as McIlroy teed off on the 10th.
McIlroy, who was born in Northern Ireland and played for Ireland at the Tokyo Olympics, won the 2014 British Open, lifting the marquee at Royal Liverpool. Then he seemed indomitable. But he missed the following year’s Open, the last he contested at St Andrews, due to injury and faced years of disappointment. Between Royal Liverpool and Sunday, he finished in the top 10 in 16 of the 29 majors he entered.
McIlroy, 33, opened this Open with a 66 on Thursday, followed by a 68 and another 66 that shot him into Sunday’s final pairing with Hovland, who was trying to become the first Norwegian to win a major.
“I’m playing well, I’m in good shape, my confidence in my game is as high as it’s been in a long time,” McIlroy said before the start of the tournament. “I can’t come in here thinking this might be my time. I just have to go out and play a really good tournament. I need to string together four good rounds and hopefully at the end of the week that will be enough to win.”
Instead, he was only good enough for third place as Cameron Young of the United States finished with an eagle on the 18th hole, which put him very briefly in a tie for the lead with his playing partner, Smith, at 19 under.
But Smith had already made his second shot on the par-4 18th just three feet from the hole.
“Cameron wasn’t going to miss that,” said Young, who had watched Smith drain so much tension throughout the overcast afternoon.
Young’s hunch was right. Smith calmly positioned himself and stroked the ball into the cup to take the lead again at 20 under. McIlroy’s last chance to force a playoff was to make eagle on 18, which Young had just proven he could manage.
But McIlroy’s putt, like his round, fell short, and when he missed his second putt, Smith became the 150th British Open champion with his name engraved – hastily – on the tee.
“All the hard work we’ve put in over the last couple of years is really starting to pay off,” Smith told his team, the trophy in his grip and the tears welling up. “And this one is definitely worth it.”
But Smith, having composed himself, made it plain that he intended to put the burgundy jug to good use, though not at present for burgundy.
“I’m definitely going to find out how many beers fit in that thing, that’s for sure,” he said.
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