Cameron Smith produced a stunning final round to reel in Rory McIlroy and become Open champion in the major's 150th edition.
The Northern Irishman was the overnight leader alongside Norwegian Viktor Hovland, with the pair tied on 16 under going into the final day on the Old Course. McIlroy increased his advantage to two shots on the turn as Hovland dropped a shot, allowing Australian Cameron Smith to move into second on 17 under.
That ramped up the pressure on McIlroy, who's lead was cut to one shot before Hovland made amends with a birdie on 12, moving back to 16 under. But Smith moved level with McIlroy after 13 with another birdie before Hovland dropped back to 15 under. The Aussie then made it an incredible five birdies in a row to become the new Open leader after 14 holes. He was seven under for the final round at that point, forcing McIlroy to produce.
Cameron Young certainly did, moving to 17 under after 14 as he upped the ante on the two ahead of him. He was wayward on 16 but managed to make par to keep himself in contention. Hovland then bogied 15 to fall back 15 under.
McIlroy's par on 16 meant Smith had to hole a ten-footer on 17 to maintain his lead as McIlroy hit a great drive on the same hole with the crowd's cheers ringing in the Aussie's ears. He kept his cool to roll in however and seemingly could do nothing wrong under pressure.
McIlroy's brilliant 161-yard shot onto the green at 17 gave him the chance to draw level, but he just didn't have enough on his putt. Smith then sent his putt on 18 to within a couple of feet to end his round before finishing the job to end on 20 under.
Young made a great eagle putt to finish and move ahead of McIlroy. It was then down to what McIlroy could do on 18 as Smith made his way to the clubhouse at St Andrews. HIs tee shot didn't get the bounce he was looking for however, meaning it was a big ask to chip in and force a play-off.
In the end, he conceded before putting out to finish on 18 under. He just couldn't match Smith's outstanding consistency over 18 holes and the wait for another major goes on.
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