Greeted by the warmest of hugs after yet more agony in the majors, Rory McIlroy’s wait for glory goes on. As Australian Cameron Smith’s thoughts echoed around the 18th green at St Andrews, the Northern Irishman stood in sheer disbelief, tucked away outside the scorer’s hut after the Claret Jug slipped away during a fourth round that could not be described as a meltdown, it simply lacked a spark to take him across the finish line. Consoled by his wife, Erica Stoll, and drained from a tortuous day, McIlroy was soon slumped over and whisked away on the back of a buggy to escape a familiar nightmare.
His capitulation at Augusta in 2011 still rankles but a mature McIlroy, embracing his role as golf’s saviour amid a civil war sparked by LIV Golf, oozed class even at his most vulnerable during his latest disappointment. He refused to protect himself from the moment, which would have delivered immortality at the Old Course this week. Indeed, as he coined, winning here is “the Holy Grail of golf” and it was within his grasp until a rampant Smith caught lightning in a bottle on a breathtaking back nine. Five successive birdies inspired just the third final round of eight under par or better to seize a maiden major victory. His 20-under-par total, matching the record held by Henrik Stenson in 2016, toppled McIlroy and Viktor Hovland, who had held a four-shot lead to start the final round. The 28-year-old also became the first Australian player to win The Open since Greg Norman in 1993 and the first Australian to capture this famous trophy at St Andrews since Kel Nagle in 1960. History-maker.
