Agony for Rory McIlroy as he was beaten to the 150th Open title by Cameron Smith… with the Aussie dropping five birdies in a row for a stunning 64, while the Northern Irishman finished in third place two shots back
- Cameron Smith produced a stunning display to win the 150th Open Championship
- The Australian inflicted more misery on Rory McIlroy
- Smith scored 20 under par to beat Tiger Woods’ previous best of 19 under
Australian Cameron Smith produced a stunning final round to capture the 150th Open Championship and inflict more major misery on Rory McIlroy, who was horrified by the grenade.
McIlroy had a two-shot lead over St Andrews midway through the final round and made a bogey-free close of 70, but that wasn’t enough to end his eight-year drought in the game’s biggest tournaments.
Smith, who held the lead halfway through before falling out of pace by four with a third round of 73, fired eight birdies – including five in a row from 10th – to card his second 64 of the week and finish 20 under par, beating the previous best of 19 under at Tiger Woods Old Course in 2000.
Australian Cameron Smith (pictured) is crowned champion of the 150th Open in St Andrews
American Cameron Young made a brilliant eagle on the 18th in his closing 65 to force Smith from two feet for his final birdie, forcing McIlroy to need his own eagle to force a four-hole playoff.
However, the 33-year-old was unable to produce a moment of magic and had to settle for a par that allowed Smith to celebrate an extraordinary victory in the Home of Golf.
Relive all the action from Sportsmail’s live blog for the last day of 2022 Open Championshipincluding tee times, leaderboard and updates throughout.