Smith’s disappointing day began with a three-putt here at the first. Photo R&A via Getty Images

Cameron Smith took a three-shot lead over Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland into round three at the Open Championship and walked from the 18^th green four shots behind that pair, although, despite an unexpected round of 1 over par 73, he cannot be considered out of contention for a first major title.

After such a magnificent putting display in yesterday’s second round where he created a PGA Tour record for distance of putts holed in any one round, the putter deserted him on day three, beginning at the very first hole where a 3 putt from 30 feet set the tone for a disappointing day.

The killer for Smith, however, would come at the 13^th where he struggled to a double bogey 6 after a journey down the left rough left him with still 30 feet for bogey. He missed and he had fallen four shots from the lead of Hovland and McIlroy at that point.

A missed opportunity from 9 feet at the last cost him an important boost heading into tomorrow and he might consider a different option from the tee there having played his second from well back on both Friday and Saturday.

Still for Smith, however, it is now a case of convincing himself of the glass still being half full rather then half empty. He showed on Friday that a very low round is not beyond him over the layout and although he will need one to defeat McIlroy, in particular, golf does work in strange ways.

“It was just one of those days,” said a disappointed Smith. “Unfortunately, the golfing gods weren’t with me today. I felt as though I hit lots of good putts. Just nothing was really dropping. Yeah, quite the opposite to the first couple of days, which is pretty hard to take on the chin.

“It’s always hard to back up a good round. You know, to have one like that was definitely frustrating, but it will definitely motivate me tomorrow.

“I hit the ball as good as I did the first couple of days but the putts just didn’t go in.

“I love making birdies. I love making putts. That’s what I need to go out there and do tomorrow. I need to stay aggressive. Maybe a slightly different game plan off a couple of tees and just try and make a ton of birdies.”

Adam Scott kept himself within a very low round of potential contention tomorrow when he added a third round of 70 to move to 9 under and he is within seven. Admittedly he will need something very special if he is to have any chance but he is not without hope of a very high finish.

“I just didn’t hit good enough shots early on,” said Scott. “Just a hair off. Drove it in a bunker early on 4 and did well to make bogey. Then, yeah, a poor shot off 7 and not a good recovery shot and an even worse putt and another bogey. Did well to make another bogey.

“It just didn’t go the way I needed it to go the first seven holes today. That has to change tomorrow if I want to dream of playing with anything on the line on the back nine.

“I mean, there’s a lot of good golf in there. I just made the errors early today, and I guess some experience tells me that, when you’re playing good, you keep a calm head and work all the way in and you can post a respectable score, which I did.

“But I need to get out of my own way as much as possible tomorrow heading out. If it’s possible to attack a couple of pins, maybe attack a couple pins and have a bit of fun and try and shoot 6- or 7-under somehow on the front nine and put myself in the mix with nine to go.”

Anthony Quayle, playing his first open Championship and first major, produced a very impressive round of 68 to be the next best Australian in 24^th place where he is tied with Min Woo Lee and Lucas Herbert who both finished with rounds of 73.

Quayle had his Japan Tour colleague Brendan Jones on the bag today after Jones had been sick on day two but was back on the bag today, the pair agreeing a few weeks ago for one to caddy for the other if either qualified for the event. Jones has been one of the most successful foreign golfers in Japan over the last 20 years.

Brad Kennedy continued his solid week with a round of 72 to be at 4 under and tied for 34^th and Jason Scrivener improved his overnight position with a round of 71 to be tied for 55^th.

But Smith and Scott are chasing a very much in-form Rory McIlroy and Patrick Hovland, the latter of whom is playing in just his second Open Championship after finishing 12th on debut in 2021.

“The support that I’ve gotten this week has been absolutely incredible,” said McIlroy. “I appreciate it and I feel it out there. But at the same time I’m trying my hardest just to stay in my own little world because that’s the best way for me to get the best out of myself. I try to acknowledge as much as I can but I’m just trying to stay in my process, stay in my own little bubble and I just have to do that for one more day.

“I just have to just stick to my game plan, stick to the process. The more people bring up the result, the more I’m just going to harp on about process and sticking to my game plan, because that’s the only thing I can do, and I’ve done that well for the last three days. And it’s put me in this position. I just need to do it for one more day.”

Hovland is thriving in the atmosphere created by playing with crowd favourite Rory McIlroy who he played with in the penultimate group today but who he will duel with in the final group tomorrow.

When asked as to his feeling of being the other guy out there because of McIlroy’s popularity Hovland responded;

“I don’t mind. It doesn’t take the pressure off of anything, but I feel like I had some experience with that in the Ryder Cup last year. And at the end of the day, they’re — well, there’s still some shouts there for me as well. So I appreciate those. At the end of the day, I’ve just got to play my game and not worry about anything else.

“I mean, it’s pretty crazy from where I grew up and so far away from playing the PGA TOUR, European Tour, for that matter major championships. Just to be here is very special, but to have a chance to win one is — yeah, I have to pinch myself, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to hold back tomorrow.”

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Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland – together today and again tomorrow – photo R&A via Getty Images 

 

 

 

 

 

Cameron Smith – hits his tee shot at the 2nd today – photo R&A via Getty

The 13 strong Australasian contingent have generally fared well on the opening day of the 150^th Open Championship at St Andrews, Cameron Smith leading the way after an opening round of 67 has him in a share of 3^rd place and three shots off the lead of American, Cameron Young.

Smith was out in the morning wave of players on day one and put together a near flawless 5 under par round, his only real blemish coming when his tee shot at the par 3 11^th missed the green left and a little long and he was unable to get up and down.

He had, though birdied, the 10^th and then did so at the 12^th on either side of the bogey to maintain the momentum he had built through his opening nine of 3 under 33. His only other birdie would come at the last when he drove the green and two putted from long range to walk from the green two from the lead of Young who would later birdie the last to move three clear.

Over and hour later, Rory McIlroy would also birdie the last to move into outright second place and one ahead of Smith but the Australian, who has shown a capacity to play the big events well in his still relatively young career, has started well.

This was Smith’s first exposure to St Andrews under Open Championship conditions although he did play well there as an amateur at the St Andrews Links event before turning professional.

“I think it was nice to get out there this morning,” said Smith referring to his early tee time. “It’s a little bit fresh this morning, but there wasn’t much wind around for the first three or four holes and just nice to get off to a good start. Couple of birdies in the first five there and really set the tone for the day.

“Hit lots of good lag putts today. It was probably some of the best lag putting I think I’ve ever done. My putt on the 2nd managed to go in from a fair distance. That was pretty decent. But had so many — seemed like I had so many 80, 90, 100-footers out there today and did a good job of getting them down in two.”

“Obviously an afternoon tee time tomorrow, I think the crowd might get a little bit louder,” added Smith when asked about the atmosphere of the opening day. “But plenty of Aussies in the crowd, which is nice to hear.

“And places like this just have a certain feel to them, and almost gives you goosebumps. Standing on the 1st tee at St Andrews in an Open is something that I’ve only dreamt of doing as a kid, and for it to all come real and to have the support I did out there today was pretty cool.”

Brad Kennedy is the next best of the Australasians at 4 under par 68 and tied for 5^th. His was also an early morning round and he raced to 4under through six holes before bogeys at the 8^th and 9^th saw him turn in 34. The 48-year-old Queenslander would, though, birdie the 10^th and 11^th and although he dropped shots at the next two holes he got up and down from just short of the green at the last for one final birdie for an outstanding start.

Having missed the cut in his only other three appearances at the Open Championship, it was an encouraging start for Kennedy who has been in good form in 2022 in events he has played in Japan and Australia.

Min Woo Lee was out in the very first group of the day and when he double bogeyed his third hole after tangling with a gorse bush, things did not look good for the 23 year old.

Lee did, however, respond in style by playing the next 11 holes in 6 under including an eagle from long range at the 14^th to get to 4 under for the tournament and at one stage during that stretch he actually led the event. He would, however, three putt from long range at the 17^th but his 3 under par 69 has him in 13^th place and five off the lead of Young’s lead.

“Yeah, my shot out of the gorse, my caddie was a bit hesitant on the shot, said Lee. “And I thought it was okay. And he was, like, the gorse is pretty thick. And I was like, I should be okay. And after I hit, I said, welcome to The British Open.

“No, it was a great recovery, great recovery. And the one thing I wasn’t, haven’t been good at is bouncing back from bad shots. So amazing 9-iron into the next hole and made a birdie there and kind of kicked off the round. It wasn’t nerves or anything, just a bad drive to make a double.”

Lee was philosophical about his chances this week and is doing his best to keep things in perspective despite his encouraging start.

“It’s a long way to go. But actually making a cut, I’ll be happy with actually making a cut. I haven’t made many cuts this year. And that’s not the mentality. But I am just trying to find something right now. It’s been a bit of a struggle this year. So I’m trying.”

Lucas Herbert was another to being well with an outward nine of 34 but could not build on that start and played the back nine in even par for a round of 70 and at 2 under he is tied for 27^th.

New Zealand’s Ryan Fox recorded three birdies and two bogeys for his round of 1 under 71 to be tied for 34^th.

Of the other Australasians in the field, Adam Scott and Jason Scrivener are at even par 72, Ben Campbell, Anthony Quayle and Matt Griffin 74, an out of form, Marc Leishman, had 76, Dimi Papadatos 77 and Jed Morgan 79.

Similar conditions tomorrow should see a cut score around even par but they are all chasing the two shot leader Cameron Young who is playing in his first Open Championship.

Young is in his first season on the PGA Tour and is already making a statement having finished runner-up twice and third on three occasions and risen to 32 in the world.

“I think we worked our way around the golf course really well,” said Young. “I don’t think that I played a perfect round of golf. I think it just kind of — I scored really well. And I think we thought our way around kind of the way you have to out there.”

Surprisingly, especially given his great rookie season to date, Young is working with a new caddie and was asked the reason behind the decision to change.

“Quite a few things. I kind of, as much as I’ve had a solid year, there’s been a couple things missing, I think. I haven’t won anything, and that was just something that could change to kind of exhaust all my options to see what I could do better. That was just something that we as a team decided was probably best for my golf.

“He (Chad) brings a lot of experience to the table. I know he’s been working on the PGA TOUR for about 20-ish years. He’s worked for Vijay Singh, Nick Watney when he was No. 2 in the world.

“So I think being around people like that, he has — I mean, there’s no replacement for being around good golf and major championship golf for 20 years. There’s just a level of knowledge that is hard to find elsewhere. There’s a bunch of veteran guys out here like that. And I think that knowledge is kind of irreplaceable.”

Cameron Young – photo R&A via Getty Images

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St Andrews and the Open Championship go hand in hand – photo R&A

I have heard it so often and it happened to me.

On arrival in St Andrews for the very first time in 1973, I was a little underwhelmed by what I saw. I was there to caddy for the now late Australian golfer, Bob Shearer, at the Scottish Open in July of that year and after our first practice round I was struggling to understand just what all the fuss was about.

Admittedly, even though by then I had caddied in 20 or so tournaments and three of those for wins by Jumbo Ozaki and John Lister, I was still (at the age of 19) developing an understanding of golf courses and learning what made good golf courses good and vice versa.

By the end of that very first week at St Andrews, however, I had fallen in love with the not only the golf course but the township of St Andrews itself and, looking back now, it had opened my eyes to the subtleties of links golf and just how a golf course which had staged its first Open Championship 100 years earlier, could still offer such intrigue and strategic demands. Another 49 years on, despite the changing face of golf technology, it still does.

Shearer finished 14^th that week with a score of 9 over par, the winner being a man who I would go on to caddy for on many occasions, Graham Marsh, his winning score of 2 under par 286, giving him a six-shot victory over the superb English golfer, Peter Oosterhuis.

What I learnt that week was that the demands and difficulty of links golf on any given day are very much determined by the overhead elements as much as the layout which is being played, but also that a golf course which had, at that point, seen not a lot of change over so many years was still capable of challenging some of the world’s best.

When playing St Andrews you might walk past a bunker one day and wonder just why anyone would bother to put a bunker in a certain position and the next day you could well find yourself in the middle of that bunker. Certainly not unique to St Andrews, admittedly, but typical of links golf generally with those variations subject to changing conditions daily and at times even during the course of any one day where the changing tide, from the adjacent North Sea in St Andrews’ case, can influence the direction and strength of the winds.

It was not only the golf course that left an indelible mark on me at the time, it was the township itself, so full of the history of golf and education (it is a university town) and character and that I was there in the middle of summer, that made it such a fun place to be for a young impressionable man with a passion for golf, life and history.

In mid-summer, daylight lasts to 10.30 pm or so in that region and I can recall in the days when caddies were required to survey the pin positions each morning, going out after a few beers at the 19^th alongside the 18^th to get the pin positions for the following day after they had been cut, or pinpointed at least, that evening.

In more recent years, pin positions have been made available to all on the first tee at all events avoiding an armada of caddies wandering around the golf course early in the morning viewing and sourcing such information, but having the opportunity of doing so late in the evening was another special memory I have for the venue.

The first time the Open Championship was played over 72 holes at St Andrews the winning score was 322 and it is interesting to see the progression in scores since. 300 was broken for the first time in James Braid’s 5^th Open Championship victory in 1910 (299) and in general scores have continued to lower since.

Tiger Woods’ remarkable victory in 2000, when he produced a 19 under par score of 269 is still the lowest winning total at St Andrews. Woods not once visited one of The Old Course’s, at times, notorious bunkers throughout his 72 holes. It must still go down as one of one of Wood’s most emphatic and clinical victories.

Woods won by 8 shots over Thomas Bjorn that week and even though he won the US Open a few weeks earlier by 15 shots his effort at St Andrews was him at his very best.

The history, mystique, intrigue, design subtlety and longevity of the golf course along with its standing as the Home of Golf and the history surrounding the town itself, make St Andrews a must visit for all golf fans and this year’s 150^th staging of the Open Championship is one of those week’s that those who get to be on site will forever look back and say ‘I was there’.

Xander Schauffele – photo Getty Images / DP World Tour

Cameron Smith staged an impressive weekend recovery over a windswept Renaissance Club at the Genesis Scottish Open and has finished in a share of 10th in the lead-up to this coming week’s Open Championship.

Smith’s second round of 75 cost him any chance of contending for the title but he bounced back over the weekend to move from 49th to 10th over the final 36 holes and will no doubt head up the road to St Andrews feeling good about his game.

The tournament was won by Olympic Gold Medal winner, Xander Schauffele, who continues his recent form having won at his last start at the Travelers Championship last month and the Pro Am event in Ireland last week and he must now enter calculations as a genuine chance for success at the 150th open Championship.

Schauffele will move from his current 11th place in the world ranking to 5th given the strength of this week”s field

Schauffele was delighted to have been the first player to win an event jointly sanctioned between the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour of America.

“It’s great to win the first event that’s co-sanctioned between the two tours. It was an incredible week. Genesis has always put on — the tournaments I have played they have always put on incredible events and I knew this was going to be no different and what an honour to win in the Home of Golf.

“I’m playing some of the best golf of my life and capitalising on playing really well. There’s a lot of times all the top players, any player playing professionally plays very well but they don’t get everything out of it and I feel like I’ve been successful in getting the most out of my game.”

Looking ahead to next week Schauffele was asked how he felt about heading to St Andrews.

“To be honest, a bit rushed. I’ve never played St Andrews. I’ve never played the Old Course South so a lot of homework to do.

“I have to use this time, going down at eleven o’clock at night to my advantage to try to prepare to the best of my ability. Going to rely a lot on my caddie to do that. I’m tired. I’ve played a bit and I need a rest and I need to get ready for the week. I’m not even thinking about Sunday quite yet. I need to prepare.”

Smith headed the Australians in 10th place but Jason Scrivener also had a good week when he finished just one shot behind Smith and in a share of 16th place.

Scrivener produced the best of the day final round of 65 to jump 37 places and he too now heads to St Andrews for just his second start at The Open Championship, earning over 100,000 euro for his effort this week.

Ryan Fox finished 47th after a final round of 69.

RESULTS