Cameron Smith Steals The Claret Jug With An INSANE Back 9 At St. Andrews
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What a wild round of golf Cam Smith just played. I feel like I'm writing my PLAYERS Championship recap all over again. Cam Smith went dummy on the Old Course with a Sunday 64 that's right up there with the best rounds of golf in the history of the game.
As is typical with any strong Cam Smith showing, his putter was absolutely unconscious today. He was pouring it in from everywhere. I don't think there's any question who the best putter on the planet is at this point. Guy had a round last year where he had 18 putts in 18 holes. 18! Then he went wild at THE PLAYERS on his way to making 10 birdies in the final round at Sawgrass. And now at The Open he helped himself with 25 one-putts and only one 3-putts this week. So tough to avoid 3-putts at this place.
This week he shot not one, but TWO 64's at the Home of Golf. It was his back 9 especially that put him in position to win. 5 straight birdies on holes 10-14 took him from the fringes of contention to the outright lead in the home stretch. He consistently put himself in position to make medium length putts and when he didn't, he lagged it real tight. That's what Open Championships are all about.
The biggest putts of all, though… were the two rolls on the road hole. It was the one time all day that he really put himself in a poor position on his approach, leaving himself between the infamous road hole bunker and the pin. Sure enough, he rolled one up the slope to the right of the bunker and left himself 9 feet… which he coolly poured in to maintain his one shot lead.
Naturally he hit his drive within range, rolled one close, and knocked his birdie putt in to get to -20, the lowest score in history by a winner at St. Andrews.
All of that is in stark contrast to Rory McIlroy, who had this championship in his crosshairs and just could not make a putt today. Guy held a 4-shot lead with the Hov (who crumbled) and played bogey free golf and still managed to be overtaken by multiple Cams. Rors hit every single green, yet piled up 34 putts. It’s really really tough to go low when you’re piling up 34 putts on the greens. Brutal heartbreak for him as the major championship drought heads into year 9.
Cameron Smith though… he’d been sniffing around a major for a few years and now he’s got his first. He’s got the type of game that can especially contend at Augusta and Open Championships for years and years to come and I’d be surprised if this ends up being his only major.
Lastly, what a week at the Home of Golf. It’s such a different course than we tend to see most weeks on Tour which is what makes it so fun. The Old Course presented a good challenge but was there to be had by the world’s best. A major championship leaderboard should reflect who the world’s best are and this tournament resulted in a really quality leaderboard at the top.
Awesome awesome week and congrats to Cam Smith