Kiwi caddie hails Smith’s ‘guts,’ belief in Open win
Cameron Smith’s caddie has hailed his boss’s unshakeable belief and ‘‘guts’’ after the Australian pulled off a British Open win for the ages at St Andrews.
Smith emulated Jack Nicklaus’s magical back-nine sixunder-par 30 at the 1986 Masters to return the famous Claret Jug back to Australian hands for the first time in 29 years.
The 28-year-old seemed to be playing a support role to the main show when Rory McIlroy, with golf’s biggest and most passionate galleries willing him to victory, reached the turn three shots behind the Northern Irishman.
But the unflappable Queenslander hit the go button on the 10th hole to rattle in five successive birdies to snatch the lead – which he refused to relinquish – from McIlroy.
In winning, Smith became the first player since Nicklaus in 1978 to complete The Players Championship and British Open double.
‘‘Just shows his massive belief, his confidence,’’ said Sam Pinfold, Smith’s trusted Kiwi bagman of seven years. ‘‘It’s not cocky; it’s not arrogance; it’s a belief in his game. He’s such a competitor.
‘‘That’s the Aussie Queenslander; think he drew a lot from that. He’s never really pinned as a favourite or as one of the big dogs; and he loves to fight. Put him in a fight – three, four [shots] back — and he’s going to step up his game and go for it.
‘‘Just so proud of him. Deserves it; such a competitor. Just the attitude he’s got, never gives up. So much guts. The whole back nine was just flawless.’’
Beneath the steely exterior, Smith said he could barely breathe down the stretch, trying to win golf’s oldest championship on the sport’s greatest stage and during its landmark 150th edition.
‘‘These last four or five holes aren’t easy around here, especially with the wind up off the left,’’ he said. ‘‘Just stuck to what I was doing. Yeah, just really proud of how I kind of knuckled down today and managed to get it done.’’
Smith’s breakthrough victory shed the world No6’s tag as the best player without a major championship, having finished second at the 2020 Masters, third this year at Augusta National and fourth at the 2015 US Open.
‘‘[I’m] disappointed obviously,’’ McIlroy said. ‘‘I felt like I didn’t do much wrong today, but I didn’t do much right either.
‘‘It’s just one of those days where I played a really controlled round of golf. I did what I felt like I needed to just apart from [not] capitalising on the easier holes around the turn, nine, 12, 14.
‘‘If I had made the birdies there from good positions, it probably would have been a different story.
‘‘But, look, I got beaten by a better player this week; 20 under par for four rounds of golf around here is really impressive playing, especially to go out and shoot 64 today.’’