Open Championship 2022: Cameron Smith reels in Rory McIlroy to win Claret Jug and eclipse Tiger Woods record

ByAlex Livie

Updated 17/07/2022 at 21:41 GMT

The battle to the Claret Jug on the Old Course at St Andrews boiled down to a battle on the back nine on the Old Course at St Andrews. It looked to be in Rory McIlroy's hands for much of the day, but Cameron Smith clawed back a four-stroke deficit and a blistering round of 64 secured him the Claret Jug.

Cameron Smith came from four shots back to stun Rory McIlroy and win the 150th Open Championship, eclipsing Tiger Woods' Old Course Open record by one shot in the process.

McIlroy and fellow overnight leader Viktor Hovland began the final round on the Old Course at St Andrews four clear of Smith and the chasing pack, but neither got going and it gave the chasers hope.

For much of the round it appeared that McIlroy would snap an eight-year major drought, but Players champion Smith produced a blistering run on the back nine to secure a stunning win.

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A five-birdie blitz from 10 through 14 moved him into the driving seat, which he sat in after 36 holes.

Smith made an amazing par from a seemingly impossible position on 17 and a birdie on 18 gave him a bogey-free 64 for a total of 20-under, to beat Woods’ Old Course record by one.

It also secured Smith a share of the Open Championship 72-hole record, alongside Henrik Stenson who shot 20-under at Troon in 2016.

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Final Leaderboard

• 1. Cameron Smith, 20-under
• 2. Cameron Young, 19-under
• 3. Rory McIlroy, 18-under
• T4. Tommy Fleetwood, 14-under
• T4. Viktor Hovland, 14-under
• T6. Brian Harman, 13-under
• T6. Dustin Johnson, 13-under
• T8. Bryson DeChambeau, 12-under
• T8. Patrick Cantlay, 12-under
• T8. Jordan Spieth, 12-under

Both McIlroy and Hovland fired darts at the opening hole, to suggest there were no signs of nerves, but missed their putts. It was a sign of things to come.

It was a similar story on two and three, with McIlroy missing a short putt on the third after an excellent pitch to nine feet.

The fourth claimed a few victims earlier in the day, Jon Rahm among them as the Spaniard was left to curse in true Rahm style after a double bogey, and Hovland was the first to make an error. His approach went way right of target and a three-putt saw him drop down to 15-under. The Norwegian is a huge talent, but he never settled.

McIlroy eked out a two-shot lead on the fifth, as he made short work of the par five with a simple birdie, while Hovland could only sign for a five after his tee shot found an awful lie and he could not recover.

McIlroy spoke in his press conference following the third round that it was all about sticking to his game plan and his process. The game plan appeared to be to attack with the driver where possible, and err on the side of caution when danger reared its head.

Halfway leader Smith reeled off back-to-back birdies on 10 and 11 to get within one of McIlroy, but the Irishman responded with a glorious birdie on 10. He found the green off the tee at the par four and two simple putts restored his advantage.

But Smith, whose putter went ice cold on Saturday, continued his charge - with his wedge play and putter piling on the pressure with further birdies in 12, 13 and 14 to take the lead.

The judgement of distance with his putter from off the green on 14 was of the highest class, under the highest pressure.

With his nose in front, Smith navigated the difficult 16th and 17th - albeit the latter in heart-stopping fashion.

His tee shot hugged the hotel and left him in a superb spot, but his approach was the first sign of nerves as he left it short of the Road Bunker.

With fairways rock hard, the flop shot was never on so he took his medicine and hit a putt away from the hole to leave him 12 feet for his par.

The putter was his go-to club on Sunday, and he found the middle of the cup to take him to the 18th with a one-shot lead.

With Smith stood on the tee, huge roars went up behind him as McIlroy found the middle of the 17th with his second to set up a birdie.

While Smith’s putter had been living in an oven, McIlroy's had resided in a freezer and the birdie effort drifted by on the low side.

After playing conservative on 18th on Friday and Saturday, Smith took aim and fired it to the front edge. A two-putt birdie left him with a two-shot advantage, meaning McIlroy required an eagle to force a play-off.

He came up short of the hole and his chip raced by, leaving Smith to become only the fifth Australian to win the Open after Peter Thompson, Kel Nagle, Greg Norman and Ian Baker-Finch.

For McIlroy, he did not even secure second place as an eagle on 18 from Cameron Young left him in third on 18-under.

The drought continues, but no one should accuse of choking - it was a case of Smith producing the round of his life on the biggest stage in golf.

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