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Cameron Smith fires final-round 64 to win 150th Open Championship

Stuart Kerr/R&A / R & A / Getty

Cameron Smith was unstoppable Sunday at St. Andrews, shooting an 8-under 64 to win the 150th Open Championship by one shot over Cameron Young.

Smith closed with a back-nine 30, chasing down third-round leaders Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland and matching the tournament scoring record at 20-under.

That total also beat the previous lowest winning score in an Open at St. Andrews, which Tiger Woods set at 19-under in 2000.

With the triumph, Smith joins Jack Nicklaus as the only men to claim the Players Championship and The Open in the same year.

PLACE PLAYER ROUND 4 SCORE TOTAL TO PAR
1 Cameron Smith 64 -20
2 Cameron Young 65 -19
3 Rory McIlroy 70 -18
T4 Viktor Hovland 74 -14
T4 Tommy Fleetwood 67 -14
T6 Brian Harman 66 -13
T6 Dustin Johnson 69 -13
T8 Bryson DeChambeau 66 -12
T8 Patrick Cantlay 68 -12
T8 Jordan Spieth 68 -12

This is the 28-year-old's first career major win and sixth on the PGA TOUR. A player under 30 has now won all four majors in a season for the first time in men's golf history, according to Twenty First Group's Justin Ray.

"I think to win an Open Championship in itself is probably going to be a golfer's highlight in their career," Smith said on the Golf Channel broadcast. "To do it around St. Andrews I think is just unbelievable. This place is so cool. I love the golf course, I love the town."

Smith made eight birdies Sunday in a bogey-free round that included an incredible stretch of five straight birdies to start his back nine.

"To do it the way I did today was pretty cool," Smith said. "To be back and really apply pressure, keep holing putts, yeah, it was awesome."

Both 54-hole leaders McIlroy and Hovland were unable to go low Sunday and fell back to third and a tie for fourth, respectively, despite entering the day with a shared four-stroke lead.

Hovland made just one birdie in the final round en route to a 2-over 74. McIlroy was marginally more successful, making a pair of birdies but settling for 16 pars.

The 33-year-old Northern Irishman will look to break his eight-year major drought in 2023. McIlroy believes that fifth major will eventually come.

"I can't be too despondent because of how this year's went and this year's going," McIlroy said, according to ASAP Sports. "I'm playing the best golf I've played in a long time. So it's just a matter of keep knocking on the door and eventually one will open."

The other three majors of the men's season were won by Scottie Scheffler at the Masters, Justin Thomas at the PGA Championship, and, most recently, Matt Fitzpatrick at the U.S. Open.

The next major will be the Masters Tournament in April 2023, while the Open Championship heads to Royal Liverpool in July 2023.

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