Spectacular Cameron Smith wins The Open and bags his first major
We have to doff our hats off to 2022. What a year! It has delivered, not 1, not just 2, not even 3, but 4 exhilarating major on the trot — full of thrills, twists, heartbreaks, and triumphs. It has been a year of firsts and with truly great golfing action.
Scottie Scheffler (25) won his first major at the Augusta Masters, then Justin Thomas (29) won the PGA Championships at the Southern Hills with an incredible comeback, and last month at the Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts Matt Fitzpatrick (27) clinched the US Open in style. And now with Cameron Smith (28) winning the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews, 2022 has become the first year ever in golfing history in which all 4 men’s professional majors were won by players yet to turn 30. Everything in the past week had led to this and the Home of Golf delivered on the hype and expectations.
Everything has led to this.#The150thOpen pic.twitter.com/NWgCY80Fwr
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 13, 2022
The Aussie Cameron Smith had been coming close in major, regularly featuring in the business end of the tournaments. It was the same at the Old Lady, here in Fife, Scotland. He was tied third with Cameron Young (-12) on the iconic yellow leaderboard coming, four troke behind Norwegian Viktor Hovland, and crowd favourite Rory McIlroy (-16), who richly deserve credit for their run. But then Smith seized the lead with an utterly brilliant back nine with 5 birdies in a row (from hole 10-14).
Though his namesake, American Cameron Young ran him close, it was not to be. When the Australian walked up to number 17, the greatest hole in the world, he made a par and then finished off with a birdie to thunderous applause. That made it a 8 birdies for the Sunday, carding eight‑under-par 64 to go with 67, 64, and 73 for a four-round total of 268 (-20). Cameron Smith's 30 on the back nine is the lowest score over a closing 9 holes by a winner of The Open in history and was typically Aussie in his victory speech.
“Every player that has been at the top of their game has won this championship. So, it is pretty cool to be on there (on the Claret Jug List). It hasn’t really sunk in yet. I don’t think it will for a few weeks. It is just unreal. To win an Open Championships in itself is probably going to be a golfer's highlight in their career; to do it around St. Andrews is just unbelievable. This place is so cool!”
Well it is tradition after all 🍺 🏆#The150thOpen pic.twitter.com/SU499cGCtT
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 17, 2022
There is no better place to win a first major. The Brisbane-born and Jacksonville, Florida resident Smith played a stunning round, one of the greatest in The Open history to become the Champion Golfer of the Year. He officially tied the record of the most under par in a major with a 64 on the Old Course that both Young and Old Tom Morris would be proud of. He deserved to win more than anyone. All of this bodes well for the game of golf as so many young players are making their mark on the tour and not getting intimidated by the stage that a major provides. It will be very interesting to see them refine their games and compete with the fellow young champions who have emerged in 2022.
Do check out our ’The Open’ sale for our 2022 bestseller bundle — the S3 Max rangefinder, Bluetooth speakers, and magnetic hub all for a slashed price of just $359.98. As good as it gets. Don’t miss out on the opportunity. See you next time.
