Cameron Smith seals 150th British Open victory with spectacular final-round 64
Australia's Cameron Smith clinched his first career major title, sealing victory with a final-round 64 at the 150th British Open. With his win at St. Andrews, Smith becomes the first Australian golfer to hoist the Claret Jug since Greg Norman in 1993.
Smith, 28, sat four strokes off the lead entering play Sunday, but after third-round co-leader Rory McIlroy surged ahead on the fifth hole, Smith caught fire.
He became the only player in the last 20 years to birdie the first five holes of the back nine in the final round of a major. Those five consecutive birdies and a 30 on the back nine, plus another clutch birdie on 18, helped Smith finish at 20-under par for the tournament, one stroke ahead of runner-up Cameron Young.
McIlroy needed to eagle the 18th hole to pull into a tie, but missed a chip to stay alive. Young nailed an eagle putt on 18 from off the green, to finish one shot ahead of McIlroy for a play that helped Young take sole possession of second place.
Smith most recently won the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in March with an equally impressive Sunday back-nine push.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 2022 British Open: Cameron Smith wins by a shot for first major title
