Cameron Smith carved his name into Australian sports folklore with his historic win at the British Open on Sunday – and greats of all sports are queuing up to congratulate him.
A stunning eight under 64 on the final loop propelled the Australian to his first major title as he finished 20 under par.
Four strokes behind after the start Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland he came back on the back nine with five straight birdies, holding off his rivals for a historic and memorable win at The Home of Golf at St Andrews.
“I was beaten by the better player this week. Shooting 64 to win an Open Championship at St Andrews is one hell of an achievement so hats off to Cam, he’s had an incredible week,” said McIlroy.
Smith celebrates with the crowd at St Andrews after winning the 150th British Open
Along with Dustin Johnson, Henrik Stenson and fellow Australian Jason Day, he is now the only golfer in history to have scored 20 under par in a golf major.
His score of 268 was the lowest ever recorded at St Andrews, beating Tiger Woods’ mark in 2000 by a stroke.
Paige Spiranac predicted Smith’s victory and was full of praise for the Australian
Message selection came from Paige Spiranac, the former pro golfer-turned-influencer-podcaster who was also named the “World’s Sexiest Woman” by Maxim.
Spiranac congratulated Smith and herself while also sending a cheeky message to her 3.2million followers.
“Congratulations to Cam Smith on a historic win. And congratulations to myself on picking him to win,” she tweeted.
“Now think how much money people would make just by turning on the sound during my videos.”
Fellow Australian and former world No. 1 Adam Scott was full of praise for his compatriot and expects the win to be the first of many for Smith.
“It just confirms what we’ve probably all been talking about with the players and throughout the year, that he’s just made for the big stage,” said Scott.
“If he focuses on these big events, he will win.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if he won a lot of big events throughout his career.”
Scott is a former world No. 1 and believes Smith has what it takes to reach the top of the sport
Day also believes Smith has the ability to take his game to the next level and become a true sporting great.
“The biggest thing for Cam right now is to move forward and strive to improve because that’s the ultimate goal in this game and that’s to keep improving every year,” he said.
“Hopefully he just keeps getting better and I’m sure he will because he’s very level headed considering he’s only 28 years old.
“But then winning a PGA Tour event changes his career as he now has the benefit of a two-year tour waiver, prize money and the ability to schedule a schedule for the rest of this year and the next two years.
“It’s a great luxury and although he hasn’t received the world ranking points or the Masters invitation and they will come, he’s in a very good place.
“And Cameron has so much talent that I’m confident he can go all the way in this game and win at the highest level of the game.”
Smith with The Claret Jug in a press conference after winning the Open at St Andrews
As the old golf adage goes, drive for the show, putt for the dough. And former Masters champion Trevor Immelman said Smith’s short game was the catalyst for the famous win.
Smith had eight birdies, including six on the back nine, while McIlroy only had two birdies on his card.
‘[Smith’s putting was] some of the best we’ve ever seen under that pressure,” said Immelman.
American podcaster and sports media pundit Bill Simmons compared Smith’s clutch performance on the back nine to that of four-time NBA champion Steph Curry — an athlete known for performing under pressure.
“Cam Smith’s final 10-11 holes are some of the best golf I’ve ever seen. It was like watching Steph get hot in a playoff game,” he said.
Athletes of all stripes responded with praise for Smith’s win, including cricket commentator Jim Maxwell, Australian doubles tennis champion Todd Woodbridge and former AFL player Neil Cordy.
“I’m so glad I got up to see Cam Smith. It was one of the best rounds of golf I’ve ever seen,” Cordy tweeted.
