Cameron Smith

After an emotional Woods made an early exit from almost certainly his last competitive appearance on the Old Course, Smith carded a flawless 64 to reach 13 ...

Just trying to stay in the moment and hit some good shots.” “There’s still a lot of golf left to play,” he said. “To be honest, I don’t even remember the third round from seven years ago,” Johnson added. “I don’t pay attention to it.” “It was very emotional for me,” Woods said. That year the Open was held at St Andrews.

The Australian shot an eight-under-par second-round 64 at St Andrews to reach the halfway point of the final major of the year on 13 under.

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Rory McIlroy is three shots off the lead at St Andrews.

“There’s still a lot of golf left to play,” he said. “To be honest, I don’t even remember the third round from seven years ago,” Johnson added. “I don’t pay attention to it.” “It was very emotional for me,” Woods said. “I played well coming in, stuck to my game plan well,” McIlroy said. “That was pretty cool out there,” a typically understated Smith said.

Australia's Cameron Smith leads on 13 under par, two ahead of Cameron Young, but the defending champion Collin Morikawa missed the cut.

He was disappointed not to make the most of opportunity at the last, where he could only make a par four. McIlroy’s day-three partner will be his Ryder Cup teammate Viktor Hovland. The Norwegian holed out with a wedge from the semi-rough for a two at the par-four 15th. McIlroy sat two under for the day and eight under for the championship when taking to the 8th tee. Harrington’s exit at plus three was especially striking; he had been minus five for the tournament after two second-round holes. “Shut the fuck up!” replied the US PGA champion with a laugh. There is a calmness around McIlroy at the moment which infers something special is about to happen. I just did it in the reverse way in how I thought I would do it. The scale of support for him from the galleries as shadows lengthened really was quite something. So I have to try my best out there to be really patient, with the pace of play, and with the golf course as well. His eagle putt at the 14th, converted from 60ft, took him to minus 13 and gave him leaderboard breathing space. Having to hit shots away from the pin sometimes hurts the ego a little bit, but it’s just what you have to do around here.” As Norman’s position at the forefront of LIV Golf attracts controversy, Smith has emerged as his country’s most regular major challenger.

Cameron Smith, who has already won the Players Championship and rose to as high as No. 3 in the world, leads The Open by 2 strokes.

For now, McIlroy is trying to add his name to among the greats who have won an Open at St. Andrews. He has finished in the top 10 in the previous three majors this year. So I've just got to go out and do the best I can and worry about myself, and hopefully that's good enough." With four major wins early in his career and always a promise for more, he is seen as one of the better candidates to fill at least some of the void when Woods isn't around. Phil Mickelson missed out on the "Celebration of Champions" exhibition on Monday, the champions' dinner on Tuesday and the weekend. "I just need to go out and play my game and play my golf over the next two days, and that's all I can do," McIlroy said. He opened with three straight birdies and then began to pull away around the loop at the far end of the course. It would be easy to assume, given his experience in majors, that he's right where he wants to be. He missed a birdie chance on the 18th. Collin Morikawa became the first defending champion to miss the cut since Darren Clarke in 2012. "I feel like I've been in this spot a lot over the past couple of years, and things just haven't quite gone my way yet." His 8-under 64 at The Open gave him his first lead in a major, by 2 shots over PGA Tour rookie Cameron Young. Rory McIlroy was lurking another shot behind. McIlroy got one of the loudest cheers -- for a shot, not a farewell -- with his 25-foot birdie on the tough Road Hole at the 17th.

Rory McIlroy is three shots off the lead at St Andrews.

“There’s still a lot of golf left to play,” he said. “To be honest, I don’t even remember the third round from seven years ago,” Johnson added. “I don’t pay attention to it.” “It was very emotional for me,” Woods said. “I played well coming in, stuck to my game plan well,” McIlroy said. “That was pretty cool out there,” a typically understated Smith said.

After an emotional Woods made an early exit from almost certainly his last competitive appearance on the Old Course, Smith carded a flawless 64 to reach 13 ...

Just trying to stay in the moment and hit some good shots.” “There’s still a lot of golf left to play,” he said. “To be honest, I don’t even remember the third round from seven years ago,” Johnson added. “I don’t pay attention to it.” “It was very emotional for me,” Woods said. That year the Open was held at St Andrews.

It's a performance that has earned him the 36-hole scoring record for Open Championships at the Home of Golf, a shot better than Greg Norman, Nick Faldo and ...

He had a slow start to his round but came home in 33 to keep himself within three shots of the lead. So too did Tiger Woods, who was given an incredible reception walking down the 18th fairway that resulted in a outpouring of emotion rarely seen from the 15-time major champion. Many fancied Smith heading into the week.

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – PLAYERS champion Cameron Smith set an unofficial PGA TOUR putting record on the way to taking the halfway lead at the 150th Open ...

“I’m just basically looking at the hole and trying to see the ball just dropping in the front there. The now five-time TOUR winner set a Strokes Gained: Putting tournament record at +11.521 at TPC Sawgrass where he made 401-feet, 10-inches worth of putts for the week, slightly behind his personal best of 415-feet. At THE PLAYERS Championship in March, Smith one-putted eight of his last nine holes on the way to the biggest victory of his career to date.

Cameron Smith sets a record half-way aggregate at St Andrews, while ignorance was bliss for the early Open clubhouse leader Dustin Johnson.

“I think one thing that cannot be questioned is the quality of players that are there. As was the overnight rain that took the menace out of the Old Course’s baked fairways. First round leader Cameron Young rolled in a ten-footer at the last for a 69 to book a Saturday pairing alongside Smith in the final group. Johnson is a fabulous talent, among players of the modern era behind only Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson in PGA Tour victories. I feel like I put myself in a good position going into the weekend. Sergio Garcia was round in 66 on day two to reach three under par, Lee Westwood opened with a 68 on Thursday and Ian Poulter a 69. Had a lot of support the first couple of days and really can’t wait for the next couple.” There’s a lot of Aussies in the crowd, it seems like. “I spent a bit of time talking to folks back home and watched two or three before I went to sleep. He just follows the money and lets everyone else negotiate the fallout. Smith began his second round with a hat-trick of birdies, signalling an aggressive intent to make the Claret Jug his first major trophy. He carried that from into the Masters a month later where he contended early before Scottie Scheffler hit the turbo on day two.

Cameron Smith made plans to binge-watch Peaky Blinders late into the night after putting himself into a strong position to win the Open on Friday.

I'm just trying to have a really big sleep in. I think I'm going to be a little bit tired. "I think I'll probably try and stay up as much as I can.

Rory McIlroy is three shots off the lead at St Andrews.

“There’s still a lot of golf left to play,” he said. “To be honest, I don’t even remember the third round from seven years ago,” Johnson added. “I don’t pay attention to it.” “It was very emotional for me,” Woods said. “I played well coming in, stuck to my game plan well,” McIlroy said. “That was pretty cool out there,” a typically understated Smith said.

The Australian takes a two-shot lead into the weekend with the likes of Cameron Young, McIlroy, Viktor Hovland and Dustin Johnson all in hot pursuit at St ...

Everybody, it feels like, is against us, and that’s OK. It’s kind of banded us together.” That good grace wasn’t extended to Phil Mickelson. The 52-year-old missed the cut after a torrid back-nine and slunk away as little more than a footnote with a weary thumbs up. The present waits for no man, though, not even Tiger Woods, and the biggest shift in golf’s landscape since his emergence remains at the forefront of this tournament. He will still need to fend off the Northern Irishman, though, who is tied with Viktor Hovland at 10-under but had almost fallen off the first page of the leaderboard by the time he finally got his second round underway at 2.59pm. McIlroy has contended and then faltered at all three majors this year but, after a steady if unspectacular start, he burst into life at the turn after driving the green at the 10th hole. Even that cheer couldn’t compare to the febrile atmosphere that greeted Tiger Woods earlier in the afternoon. A round of 64 took him to 13-under-par and ensured The Players champion of a two-shot lead over Thursday’s overnight leader, Cameron Young. The likes of Johnson, Scottie Scheffler and Tyrrell Hatton might have expected to be in closer pursuit after standout rounds in the morning wave, but Smith managed to push back the tide and then some. An early gust of wind and rain on Friday threatened to reveal the Old Course’s teeth but, in the end, all that false dawn achieved was to highlight the elderly links’ dentures.

Cameron Smith is perhaps the best putter in golf, and one of the best ever. Yet he doesn't use practice strokes — here's why.

This is a modal window. This is a modal window. By taking that long look at his target, Smith effectively takes a moment of zen to calm everything down, clear his mind, and focus only on the target. “I don’t take a practice stroke,” he says. Perhaps the most interesting thing about Smith’s approach is that it doesn’t involve any practice strokes. It becomes a surprise when he hits a put — any putt — that doesn’t end up in the hole.

It gave the Australian a two-stroke lead over Cameron Young, with Rory McIlroy and his Ryder Cup team-mate Viktor Hovland one further back.

Norway’s Hovland was having a mixed back nine, which included two birdies, two bogeys and a par when he reached the 455-yard 16th. Different Cameron. Same result. “I know I’ve got the game. Different day. I just need to go out and play my game and play my golf over the next two days and that’s all I can do,” he said. Round of the day

Cameron Smith insists patience will be a virtue if he is going to win The 150th Open this weekend but is confident he has the game and the temperament to ...

There is a lot of Aussies in the crowd, it seems like. But I've always done a really good job of just doing the same thing, going through the same process every morning, making sure I feel the same - get on the range, hit the same shots. So just be patient and make good putts.

It gave the Australian a two-stroke lead over Cameron Young, with Rory McIlroy and his Ryder Cup team-mate Viktor Hovland one further back.

Norway’s Hovland was having a mixed back nine, which included two birdies, two bogeys and a par when he reached the 455-yard 16th. Different Cameron. Same result. “I know I’ve got the game. Different day. I just need to go out and play my game and play my golf over the next two days and that’s all I can do,” he said. Round of the day