Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy and Cam Smith staged a furious battle down the stretch at St. Andrews to close out a remarkable British Open.

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Cameron Smith came through a thrilling final-round tussle with Rory McIlroy and Cameron Young to claim a maiden major title with a dramatic one-shot victory ...

Smith added another from 20 feet at the 13th to pull level with McIlroy, who continued his run of pars, while Young birdied the same par four and Hovland nudged him from close range at the 12th to lift the pair back to within two of the lead. McIlroy had squandered a five-foot birdie chance at the third but moved ahead when Hovland made a three-putt bogey from 70 feet at the next, with the Northern Irishman making a two-putt birdie at the par-five fifth to double his advantage. Young responded to a close-range bogey at the first by making back-to-back birdies from the third to move to 13 under alongside Smith, who had birdied the second, as the final pairing of McIlroy and Hovland opened with three consecutive pars.

Rory McIlroy was firmly on course to lift the Claret Jug for the second time as the 150th Open Championship headed for a tense climax.

— The Open (@TheOpen)July 17, 2022 — The Open (@TheOpen)July 17, 2022 McIlroy won the Open at Royal Liverpool in 2014, but an ankle injury suffered playing football meant he was unable to try to retain the Claret Jug at St Andrews the following year.

Smith produced a stunning final round to capture the 150th Open Championship and inflict more major misery on a shell-shocked Rory McIlroy.

Smith calmly converted his birdie putt and looked on as McIlroy was unable to deny him and claim an overdue fifth major. An inspired Smith then took the outright lead by extending his birdie streak to five by two-putting from the back of the green on the par-five 14th, something which proved beyond McIlroy in the group behind. However, the 33-year-old was unable to produce a moment of magic and had to settle for a par that meant Smith could celebrate an extraordinary victory at the Home of Golf.

The Hollywood golfer asked the Manchester United legend for his signature when Keane was on Ireland duty a number of years ago.

I’ve asked someone for an autograph as a kid and they didn’t give it to me and I’ve never liked them since. “It’s a nice thing to be able to do but I’ve had it go the other way as well. “I’m a better player than I was 12 months ago. “So I was sort of surprised how that little moment last week became so big because it’s quite a regular occurrence on tour. “But I remember I went and asked for his autograph at the Portmarnock Links Hotel when he was with the Ireland squad and he said no – and it just sort of stuck with me. Basically every golfer on tour does it.

America's Cameron Young eagled the last to get to 19 under after a 65, with Norway's Viktor Hovland and England's Tommy Fleetwood at 14 under. McIlroy's sole ...

Both Camerons, especially Cameron Smith went on that run in the back nine, I really had to dig deep to make some birdies but I just couldn’t. He also birdied the 10th hole and is two under for the day, but missed too many birdie chances in the face of fast-finishing Smith. He finished third after a two-under-par 70. McIlroy’s sole birdie of the front nine was on the par 5 fifth hole, where a fine iron shot made the green in two, where he two-putted for birdie.

McIlroy held a two-shot lead midway through the final round at St Andrews, but it was not enough to end his eight-year drought in one of the game's biggest ...

McIlroy won the Open at Royal Liverpool in 2014, but an ankle injury suffered playing football meant he was unable to try to retain the Claret Jug at St Andrews the following year. Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy has missed out on a win at The 150th Open Championship at St Andrews. McIlroy held a two-shot lead midway through the final round at St Andrews, but it was not enough to end his eight-year drought in one of the game's biggest tournaments.

Cameron Smith shot a scarcely believable final round of 64 to win The Open, and beat Cam Young and overnight co-leader Rory McIlroy in the process.

As the Aussie went -20, McIlroy knew he would need an eagle on the last to force a playoff. He went for broke with his iron approach, but it was not to be. McIlroy was struggling to go up through the gears, once Smith got the jump on him. Smith's streak of five consecutive birdies was coming at the same time as Rory McIlroy was going close, but not close enough, with birdie putts. The front nine saw McIlroy calm and in control of his game. The Northern Irishman was playing within himself and it looked to be working well.

Even someone watching golf for the first time in their life on Sunday could have summed up why Rory McIlroy didn't win the 150th British Open.

In fact, McIlroy's final two-putt par on 18 left him in solo third behind Cameron Young, who eagled the hole moments before. And not literally, because, he obviously converted a lot of tap-ins—18 of them, in fact. Maybe during another year, but not one with a record-tying score of 20 under.

Cameron Smith stuns St Andrews by snatching the 150th Open by one stroke from Cameron Young, as overnight leader Rory McIlroy finishes third.

"It's unreal to look at the names on this trophy and then see mine. The Claret Jug is Smith's because he had a magnificent day. "I didn't feel like I did many things wrong, but the putter went cold on me throughout the round," said the 33-year-old, who had 36 putts in his 70 shots.

Rory McIlroy was left to rue another missed opportunity to end his long major drought after squandering a two-shot advantage during his final round at The ...

"I want to finish the season off well. I want to finish the season off right. Again, it's one of the best seasons I've had in a long time. "I've got a bit of time to rest and recover and try to take the positives, learn from the negatives, and move on," McIlroy added. "I'll rue a few missed sort of putts that slid by, but it's been a good week overall," McIlroy added. "It's just one of those days where I played a really controlled round of golf.

McIlroy's eight-year major drought goes on, as his final-round of 70 was usurped by a stunning round from Cameron Smith.

“Of course you think about it, and you envision it, and you want to envision it. Of course you’ve got to let yourself dream. “It’s just one of those days where I played a really controlled round of golf. And whenever you put yourself in that shining light, you’re going to have to deal with setbacks and deal with failures. At the end of the day, it’s not life or death. “(I’m) disappointed obviously,” McIlroy said.