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.

Cameron Smith sits atop The Open Championship leaderboard after shooting an 8-under 64 in Friday's Round 2 at St. Andrews.

"I don't know if I'll be physically able to play by (the next Open at St. Andrews). To me, this felt like it might have been my last British Open here at St. Andrews. He said it could potentially be his final Open Championship at St. Andrews since the major won't return to the course until 2027. Woods failed to make the cut at the Old Course at St. Andrews, admitting he doesn't know if he'll be back when the Open returns. He added an eagle on the 14th hole to seal his top spot. He had six birdies and two bogeys to shoot four under. Young is in second place after shooting a 3-under 69.

Taking to Instagram on Thursday, the “Playing A Round” podcast host, 29, revealed that she's rooting for the Australian golfer at the Open Championship, ...

“It’s going to be a game of chess this week, and no one’s been better at playing that sort of chess game on a golf course than Tiger over the last 20 years.” In addition to Smith, Spiranac also told her Twitter followers that she’s cheering for Tiger Woods as he continues his return to the sport following last year’s horrifying car crash. Smith did get off to a fiery start in Thursday’s opening round, finishing the day in third at 5-under.

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.

A generous gift from Elon parents Clay and Cameron Smith P'22 will endow a scholarship in the Elon College Fellows program. Their gift is part of the Elon ...

Now in its final year, Elon LEADS is the most ambitious fundraising campaign in the university’s history. Clay Smith is Founder and CEO of M.C. Smith Realty, a commercial real estate investment firm. “We feel Elon has provided the necessary tools for our daughter to succeed and that she’s 100 percent prepared for the next chapter in her life,” Clay said. This gift to Elon means a lot to us and I know it’s going to be very meaningful for upcoming students as well.” Each program includes distinctive Fellows courses and faculty mentoring, housing options such as a Fellows living-learning community, and paid research assistantships or internships that challenge students to set and achieve their goals. Their gift is part of the Elon LEADS Campaign whose top priority is increasing scholarship funding.

Cameron Smith has already established himself as one of the best golfers on the PGA Tour. In case that wasn't clear though, he decided to make some history ...

Smith isn't the only elite golfer at the top of the leaderboard heading into Saturday. With the first two rounds of The Open officially in the books, Smith has set the record for the lowest 36-hole score at St. Andrews. Overall, Smith tied Collin Morikawa and Adam Scott for the fourth-lowest 36-hole score in Open Championship history.

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.

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.

Smith predicts that this weekend The Old Course will be even more of a firm and fast challenge.

“I feel like I put myself in a good position going into the weekend. “Rather be in second than tenth,” he said of being in contention yet again. “I just get up there and really feel it.” “Once it started breaking pretty good, about 10, 15 foot out, I thought it would have a chance,” he said. Smith described his putting technique as trying to see the ball just drip in the front door of the cup. “Got off to a really hot start,” he said.

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 a record-setting first two rounds, Smith is well on his way to challenging Woods' record.

To break the final score record, he would have to go at least 132 (averaging a score of 66 per round). To break the par record, he would need to shoot at least 8 under the rest of the tournament. Since the Open expanded to four rounds, that is the lowest score anyone has posted at St. Andrews. For Smith to break Woods' record, he would have go to 7 under during the next two days. In 2016, Henrik Stenson, at the Royal Troon, finished his win by shooting 20 under par. The Sporting News takes a look.

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.

Smith predicts that this weekend The Old Course will be even more of a challenge as it could get really firm and fast.

“I feel like I put myself in a good position going into the weekend. “Rather be in second than tenth,” he said of being in contention yet again. “Once it started breaking pretty good, about 10, 15 foot out, I thought it would have a chance,” he said. “I just get up there and really feel it.” Smith described his putting technique as trying to see the ball just drip in the front door of the cup. “Got off to a really hot start,” he said.

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.

For a minute, it looked as if Cameron Smith were about to run away and hide with the Claret Jug.

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. I think the golf course is going to get a lot harder and a lot faster. Smith, who never has won a major, has shown he’s unafraid of being in the lead and closing out a tournament. When he made eagle on the par-5 14th hole, that got him to 8-under for the second round and 13-under for the tournament, with a three-shot lead at the time. There’s a lot of Aussies in the crowd, it seems like. In 14 of the past 15 major championships, the winner has been within three shots of the lead through 36 holes.

Let's just say the Aussie was really on a roll during the second round at St. Andrews.

Keeping that kind of putting up over the weekend is a tall order. Smith's total of 253 feet worth of putts for the day is the most on record during a PGA Tour round. According to datagolf.com, the reigning Players champ gained a ridiculous 6.2 strokes putting alone on Friday, accounting for 80 percent of the 7.69 shots he gained on the field overall.

Cameron Smith, during the second round of the Open Championship at St. Andrews, may have set a putting record.

465-yard, par-4 13th: 2 feet (par) 480-yard, par-4 4th: 2 feet (par) It’s here where you’re maybe wondering his secret, and GOLF’s Luke Kerr-Dineen took a nice look into that here. “They’ve been keeping statistics on the PGA Tour since 2004. According to the Open’s online scoreboard, Smith rolled in 255 feet of putts, which is about 15 feet more than Brent Geiberger’s record number from 2006, when he made 240 feet, 4 inches of putts. A lot of fun can be had with the length of putts Smith dropped over his Open Championship second round on Friday at St. Andrews. You can add this one, too.

Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson and world number one Scottie Scheffler all ended the second round in a position to challenge for the Claret Jug over the weekend ...

And it was a nice result," he said. We'll see what happens from there," Scheffler said. "That was pretty cool. I just need to do it for one more day." "That's the only thing I can do, and I've done that well for the last three days. Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland appear poised for a Sunday shoot-out to decide who leaves St Andrews with the Claret Jug after the duo ended the third round of the 150th British Open in a tie for the lead on 16 under par.

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Cameron Smith is nothing if not confident but the bravado that helped him win the PLAYERS Championship might have cost the ...

It flew in the face of Smith’s comments a day earlier when he was praising his patience over the opening two rounds. “I was just trying to hit it up over the stuff somewhere left of the pin. “Just one of those days unfortunately. But rather than take his medicine and pitch the ball a few yards away from trouble, he decided to attempt a miraculous shot. “I just miss hit it… That’s just a crazy shot…

Cameron Smith backed up a historic Friday on the greens at St. Andrews with a putting performance he'll hope to soon forget.

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