Brave Smith seizes Open crown
The Saturday of a major golf tournament is traditionally known as moving day. You cannot win the tournament with a good round, but you can certainly lose it with a bad one. Or so they say. Cameron Smith began his Saturday top of the pile following two excellent rounds of 67 and 64. But over the ensuing five hours where previously his putter had been like a wand it suddenly lost its Harry Potter lustre as a two over par round of 74 ensued. Meanwhile Europe’s finest in the form of the Norwegian Viktor Hovland and Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy fed off one another to shoot rounds of 66 and with it a lead of four strokes from the chasing pack, of whom Smith was now one.
Cue Sunday the 17th July and perhaps one of the most remarkable final rounds in the 150 year history of this great championship. Would Rory claim his first major championship since his PGA triumph in 2014? Would the smiling Hovland channel his youthful exuberance to victory? Or would someone break out from the chasing pack? Given how well he had played over the first three days and the weight of expectation on his shoulders, the pressure was certainly on Rory McIlroy to perform. And over the opening nine holes he showed few if any nerves. Playing steady if unspectacular golf by the 10th he had secured a two shot lead over the chasing pack, amongst them playing partner Viktor Hovland and a now resurgent Cameron Smith.
Yet as the mullet coifed Smith embarked on the difficult stretch from 11 through 16 it was clear the momentum began to swing in his favour. McIlroy was striking the ball imperiously, but the putts would simply not drop and as a result he found himself treading water. Not so Smith, who looks as if he weighs little more than ten and a half stone ringing wet, yet is sneaky long. Ally that to the heart of a lion and a wonderful putting stroke and you have a formidable adversary. Time and again he produced the goods, his up and down when out of position at 17, being just one of many remarkable examples. Standing on the 18th tee with a two-shot lead over playing partner Cameron Young he struck his drive to just short of the valley of sin. Meanwhile Young playing like a vet in only his first Open Championship not only found the green with his drive but followed it by holing the putt for an improbable eagle. This left Smith needing two putts from below the green to secure victory a challenge to which he was once again equal. Unbelievable.
From the 18th tee McIlroy could only look on and watch sensing that the championship was slipping from his grasp. Needing an eagle to tie, his drive came up some way short of the green leaving him a fiendishly difficult pitch. As his effort flew by, from the recorder’s hut Smith breathed a huge sigh of relief and in so doing he became the first Australian to claim the Claret Jug since Greg Norman’s triumph at Royal St Georges in 1993. It was richly deserved.
Folk will no doubt criticise McIlroy for not winning this tournament. Yet I feel differently. Unlike many of his recent top ten finishes in majors this one was achieved whilst being perpetually in the heat of battle. The pressure was constant yet he demonstrated a degree of resilience not previously evident. Let’s not forget that when he won his first Open, Nick Faldo shot 18 pars in his final round. McIlroy shot sixteen pars and two birdies and it still wasn’t good enough. He would not be human were he not hugely disappointed. But deep down I sense he will feel better in terms of his ability handle pressure and as a consequence play great shots when it really matters. His nine iron into 17 was a case in point. There is still a major championship within him.
… and finally is my antipathy to Tiger Woods evaporating? On Friday as he departed the 17th green on +9 his weekend diary was for once devoid of purpose. As he walked up the eighteenth fairway his playing partners held back allowing him to bask in a rapturous reception from the masses surrounding the hole. And as he soaked up that reception he struggled to hold back the odd tear. Given his physical travails he knows that this could be the last time he plays in an Open Championship at St Andrews – the next one is due eight years hence.
His record marks him out as one of the undoubted greats of the game. But for much of his period of dominance it was accompanied by a level of single mindedness devoid of grace. Perhaps in old age he is acquiring a degree of humility not previously evident and in the process turning himself into a more sympathetic human being.
©Mark Brennand