Cameron Smith enjoyed a maiden major title with a one-shot win over Cameron Young, with Rory McIlroy two strokes back in third; Speculation over LIV participation continued at St Andrews, while Tiger Woods' return ended with a missed cut.
Tuesday 19 July 2022 08:09, UK
As the door closes on another year of men's majors, golf celebrates a new champion in Cameron Smith after he stormed to victory over Rory McIlroy in a thrilling 150th edition of The Open.
While the Australian flourished at the Home of Golf to frustrate McIlroy, thousands descended on the St Andrews links to worship Tiger Woods for what might have been his farewell outing at a course on which he won in 2000 and 2005.
What else happened during the final men's major of the year? Cameron Hogwood reflects on some of the main talking points from a blockbuster week in Scotland...
As round three closed out on Saturday, Sky Sports' Rich Beem issued a 'players like him don't have two bad days' warning after seeing Cameron Smith fall four strokes behind McIlroy and Viktor Hovland, following a 73 that had included a bogey, double bogey and just two birdies. How right he was.
Smith would string together the round of his life to leapfrog McIlroy with five straight birdies and six in total on his back nine, steering him on his way towards securing a maiden major crown to follow March's victory at The Players.
It became a clinic in short-game precision and links aggression as he dared to attack holes in a way McIlroy never quite looked like doing amid the tough task of holding a lead on the final day. In many ways, his subtle demeanour contradicted the boldness of his strokes and that famed mullet, Smith each day underlining his intention to stay 'boring' with his one-hole-at-a-time mentality.
Smith had finished tied-fourth at the 2015 US Open, tied-fifth at the 2018 Masters, tied-second at the 2020 Masters, tied-10th at the 2021 Masters and tied-third at the 2022 Masters. Having struggled to get over the line in the past, he looked unnerved as he prolonged McIlroy's wait for another major and looks every bit a consistent contender.
The reception that greeted a tearful Woods as he strolled up to the 18th fairway, doffing his cap to an electric St Andrews crowd, was as special and as poignant as anything you will see in any sport this year and for quite some time. It was a moment of reflection, celebration and appreciation for a player who has transformed golf, as he was likely bidding farewell to his favourite course.
It had been anything but the week the 15-time major champion had been hoping for on the links greens, though for many the mere sight of him swinging a golf club again was accepted as a win in itself following the car crash last February from which he feared he might have never walked again.
The retirement questions are to be expected by now, but while limited practice time was evidenced through short-game rustiness and frustrating putting, Woods did not cut the figure of a man ready to walk away from competition.
Even now he remains the story, the sell, the draw. And nobody is prepared to let go just yet.
Among the talking points heading into the week had been the difficulty of St Andrews as record scores at a major were projected, with some even tipping a sub-60 round on what marks one of the shortest layouts within the rotation.
While blustery conditions across the opening days proved disruptive, the R&A also came away with credit for shrewd pin placements and were reflected by a top 10 consisting of some of the world's best. The course challenged players to 'risk looking silly', as Beem had underlined earlier in the competition, with Smith's bravery living up to that challenge and leading him to glory.
A return to the historic venue meanwhile reminded us of the magic of the 17th, with Justin Thomas admitting he had to take his partner out and show her up close after she refused to believe he would have to strike his tee shot over a hotel.
The magnitude was underlined as thousands hurdled the infamous burn to shadow McIlroy up the 18th fairway prior to his final shot, and remained evident hours after Smith had been crowned champion as fans lined up to get their photo taken on the Swilcan Bridge. A truly special place.
Though it might come as little consolation, McIlroy can perhaps excuse himself of some self-criticism in light of it requiring a mammoth effort from Smith down the stretch to topple him.
The Northern Irishman's eight-year wait for a fifth major title goes on, with his missed opportunity at St Andrews likely to sting more than most given the imperious form he arrived in and what he had displayed at times throughout the week.
His duel with Hovland on Saturday served as one of the highlights of the week, and included one of the shots of the week when he holed a stunning eagle from the bunker on the 10th to send a McIlroy-dominant crowd wild.
He never quite pushed on as he would have liked early on the final day, but holding onto a lead at a major is among the toughest tasks in golf. Rest assured, though, he is right where he needs to be, ready to win again, and were it not for the unrivalled expectation and attention he garners you can't help but feel four would be significantly more by now.
When asked, every fellow player welcomed the prospect of McIlroy lifting the Claret Jug. For all he has done for golf and his competitors, nobody deserves another major more.
"I've heard Viktor Hovland could go" speculated one fan as the Norwegian star teed off on the final day; "Imagine Cameron Smith went" suggested another as St Andrews watched and admired the champion's landmark round.
Even an Old Course steeped in such history and tradition couldn't quite veil the unease surrounding the future of golf, and as the leaders approached the final holes on the final day of the final men's major of the year you wondered too whether the sport was counting down towards a sliding doors moment.
All week LIV players had been pushed for their thoughts on criticism of their decision to make the switch. All week they claimed they did not read or pay much attention to criticism, an apparent exception being Sergio Garcia as he expressed his upset over comments from former Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn.
Smith himself, visibly annoyed by the question in the wake of clinching the Claret Jug, refused to deny interest in the breakaway Tour, fuelling fear of further high-profile exits, particularly given the security blanket of major exemption for the 28-year-old and others. The conversations remain uncomfortable as golf enters its post-major stage of the year.
Across the week 11 LIV players made the cut, of which Dustin Johnson finished tied sixth on 13-under, Bryson DeChambeau in tied-eighth on 12-under, Sadom Kaewkanjana and Abraham Ancer in tied-11th on 11-under.
It will be interesting to see how many more of The Open field at St Andrews will find themselves in action at future LIV Golf Invitational Series events during the second half of the year...
