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Another great story for an Aussie sportsman
It was the moment that was supposed to end Cameron Smith's hopes of winning The Open.
Midway through a stalling third round on Saturday, Smith found himself standing in one of the Old Course's 112 bunkers, trying to swipe at a ball sitting outside the trap at knee height. Despite all conventional wisdom, Smith was still trying to reach the 13th green in two.
It was audacious, reckless even. It didn't come off. Smith predictably chunked the shot, ended up in even more trouble and carded a double-bogey. As Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland made their third-round moves, Smith appeared as if he was tailing off to the pack.
It wouldn't have been the first time that Smith's all-or-nothing, never-a-backward-step style of golf had cost him. On the 12th hole of the final round at the Masters this year, he took on an incredibly risky line off the tee and dunked his tee shot into Rae's Creek, ending his hopes of victory then and there.
Even in his win at the Players Championship, a loose lay-up on the final hole of the tournament found the water and could quite easily have cost him the victory.
Sometimes aggressive golf can be costly. Sometimes it can spark a back-nine 30 on Sunday at St Andrews, and result in you lifting the Claret Jug.
In a week almost overloaded with a tangible sense of history, Smith went out and made his own.
Stories of Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, the glorious Old Course and the 150th playing of The Open were superseded by the remarkable deeds of one fearless young Queenslander.
Cameron Smith's journey to becoming the Champion Golfer of the Year is unlike many of his competitors. Australia has produced more than its fair share of international golf stars, but the path is always more complicated than it is for most American or European players.
For Smith, it all began at a small suburban golf course north of Brisbane. Wantima Country Club — not to be confused with one of the exclusive and upper-class country clubs of the States — was where a young Smith honed his prodigious talent.
At Wantima, the powerlines are very much in play. The par-five 13th swamps up at the slightest hint of rain. And the faint smell of sewage is ever present as you walk up the seventh fairway.
Humble beginnings to be sure, but representative of the professional Smith has become. He's not flashy, but he's humble and creative and resilient.
Smith's rise through the Australian professional ranks was swift, and he adjusted to the rigours of the PGA Tour quickly. But competing and winning on the biggest stage are very different things.
It's hard to imagine now, but before this year Smith had won only one solo event — though he had twice won the two-ball Zurich Classic — on the PGA Tour. The Cameron Smith of 2022 has been a different beast.
He opened the year with a win at Kapalua in the Tournament of Champions, holding off a red-hot Jon Rahm with a putting performance which now looks like foreshadowing.
Next up was the Players Championship, held by some as the unofficial fifth major. Again starting from behind, Smith unsurprisingly opted for all-out attack, storming home to claim the biggest win of his career to date.
Between then and now there was the Masters disappointment and a handful of other squandered opportunities on Tour as he fell afoul of his risk-reward gambit.
All of which simply set the stage for St Andrews. The Open's tagline for the week was "Everything has led to this", and for Cameron Smith nothing could be more true.
He was spectacular through 54 holes, taking the lead at the halfway point without so much as a stutter. And even when his crisis point came on 13 on Saturday, he buckled down and fought like hell to stay in touch, just to keep the flames of hope alive for Sunday.
Those flames burst into a roaring inferno in the space of five unfathomable holes. Making the turn three shots back of crowd favourite and pre-ordained champion McIlroy, Smith produced his opus.
A well-placed drive on 10, up and down for birdie. An incredible tee shot on the par-three 11th, another putt made for birdie. The green driven on 12, two putts for birdie.
Then at 13, a delightful iron in from 184 yards and an 18-footer made for birdie. Finally at the par-five 14th, his second shot having made it to the back of the green, an expertly judged lag putt and tap in gave him another birdie and the standalone lead.
All that was left to negotiate was the 17th — the Road Hole.
One of the most famous and difficult holes in the world, the 17th on the Old Course demands a drive over a railway shed that doesn't fly too far right and into the hotel, and a second shot that flies far enough to carry the most menacing pot bunker you can imagine but not far enough that it goes, quite literally, onto the road that runs directly behind the green.
Smith's second was short of that bunker, leaving him absolutely no play at the hole and requiring something special to save a par. So he produced something special.
It may not look like much, but there were so many ways that putt from behind the bunker can go wrong. It took a great champion to execute that shot and then have the mental fortitude to ice the tournament by holing that nasty par putt.
But that's Cameron Smith. He sees things other players don't. He might be the most unflappable, single-minded player out there.
With professional golf in a state of unprecedented unrest, Smith's immediate playing future is uncertain. But this is a win that is worth staying in the moment for.
Lifting that Claret Jug elevates Smith to another stratosphere within golf and within Australian sport. And he did it in the most enchanting way possible.
It was the moment that was supposed to end Cameron Smith's hopes of winning The Open.
Midway through a stalling third round on Saturday, Smith found himself standing in one of the Old Course's 112 bunkers, trying to swipe at a ball sitting outside the trap at knee height. Despite all conventional wisdom, Smith was still trying to reach the 13th green in two.
It was audacious, reckless even. It didn't come off. Smith predictably chunked the shot, ended up in even more trouble and carded a double-bogey. As Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland made their third-round moves, Smith appeared as if he was tailing off to the pack.
It wouldn't have been the first time that Smith's all-or-nothing, never-a-backward-step style of golf had cost him. On the 12th hole of the final round at the Masters this year, he took on an incredibly risky line off the tee and dunked his tee shot into Rae's Creek, ending his hopes of victory then and there.
Even in his win at the Players Championship, a loose lay-up on the final hole of the tournament found the water and could quite easily have cost him the victory.
Sometimes aggressive golf can be costly. Sometimes it can spark a back-nine 30 on Sunday at St Andrews, and result in you lifting the Claret Jug.
In a week almost overloaded with a tangible sense of history, Smith went out and made his own.
Stories of Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, the glorious Old Course and the 150th playing of The Open were superseded by the remarkable deeds of one fearless young Queenslander.
Cameron Smith's journey to becoming the Champion Golfer of the Year is unlike many of his competitors. Australia has produced more than its fair share of international golf stars, but the path is always more complicated than it is for most American or European players.
For Smith, it all began at a small suburban golf course north of Brisbane. Wantima Country Club — not to be confused with one of the exclusive and upper-class country clubs of the States — was where a young Smith honed his prodigious talent.
At Wantima, the powerlines are very much in play. The par-five 13th swamps up at the slightest hint of rain. And the faint smell of sewage is ever present as you walk up the seventh fairway.
Humble beginnings to be sure, but representative of the professional Smith has become. He's not flashy, but he's humble and creative and resilient.
Smith's rise through the Australian professional ranks was swift, and he adjusted to the rigours of the PGA Tour quickly. But competing and winning on the biggest stage are very different things.
It's hard to imagine now, but before this year Smith had won only one solo event — though he had twice won the two-ball Zurich Classic — on the PGA Tour. The Cameron Smith of 2022 has been a different beast.
He opened the year with a win at Kapalua in the Tournament of Champions, holding off a red-hot Jon Rahm with a putting performance which now looks like foreshadowing.
Next up was the Players Championship, held by some as the unofficial fifth major. Again starting from behind, Smith unsurprisingly opted for all-out attack, storming home to claim the biggest win of his career to date.
Between then and now there was the Masters disappointment and a handful of other squandered opportunities on Tour as he fell afoul of his risk-reward gambit.
All of which simply set the stage for St Andrews. The Open's tagline for the week was "Everything has led to this", and for Cameron Smith nothing could be more true.
He was spectacular through 54 holes, taking the lead at the halfway point without so much as a stutter. And even when his crisis point came on 13 on Saturday, he buckled down and fought like hell to stay in touch, just to keep the flames of hope alive for Sunday.
Those flames burst into a roaring inferno in the space of five unfathomable holes. Making the turn three shots back of crowd favourite and pre-ordained champion McIlroy, Smith produced his opus.
A well-placed drive on 10, up and down for birdie. An incredible tee shot on the par-three 11th, another putt made for birdie. The green driven on 12, two putts for birdie.
Then at 13, a delightful iron in from 184 yards and an 18-footer made for birdie. Finally at the par-five 14th, his second shot having made it to the back of the green, an expertly judged lag putt and tap in gave him another birdie and the standalone lead.
All that was left to negotiate was the 17th — the Road Hole.
One of the most famous and difficult holes in the world, the 17th on the Old Course demands a drive over a railway shed that doesn't fly too far right and into the hotel, and a second shot that flies far enough to carry the most menacing pot bunker you can imagine but not far enough that it goes, quite literally, onto the road that runs directly behind the green.
Smith's second was short of that bunker, leaving him absolutely no play at the hole and requiring something special to save a par. So he produced something special.
It may not look like much, but there were so many ways that putt from behind the bunker can go wrong. It took a great champion to execute that shot and then have the mental fortitude to ice the tournament by holing that nasty par putt.
But that's Cameron Smith. He sees things other players don't. He might be the most unflappable, single-minded player out there.
With professional golf in a state of unprecedented unrest, Smith's immediate playing future is uncertain. But this is a win that is worth staying in the moment for.
Lifting that Claret Jug elevates Smith to another stratosphere within golf and within Australian sport. And he did it in the most enchanting way possible.
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