ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Cameron Smith, the Australian golfer who has emerged as one of the game’s most skilled craftsmen on the greens, used a back-nine of birdies on Sunday to storm the British Open standings and, after two dozen disappointments, to win his first major championship.
Smith shot a sparkling 64 and finished 20 under for the tournament.
Smith’s success, an exciting last-lap effort that was only gradually pushing spectators along the Old Course at St Andrews, came with a steady assault on the four-shot lead that Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland guarded for the day.
Starting at number 10, Smith, who started the day 12 under par, made five consecutive holes with birdies, while McIlroy’s birdie putts fell short too often, diminishing his advantage and then disappearing. In turn, a month after missing the cut at the US Open, the world’s No. 6 Smith found his way into history on the burgundy pitcher.
smith, 28, won the Players Championship his second PGA Tour win this season in March. The following month, he finished third at the Masters Tournament.
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