Cameron Smith sets new Open record as Tiger Woods makes emotional early exit

Australia’s Cameron Smith stepped into the spotlight vacated by Tiger Woods to post a record halfway total in the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews.

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 under par, beating the previous best – held by Nick Faldo, Greg Norman and Louis Oosthuizen – by a shot.

Smith birdied his first three holes, picked up three more around the turn and then holed from 60 feet for an eagle on the 14th to raise the prospect of equalling the lowest round in men’s major history, Branden Grace’s 62 at Royal Birkdale in 2017.

And although he was unable to make any further gains, the 28-year-old from Brisbane still enjoyed a two-shot lead over American Cameron Young, who added a 69 to his own opening 64.

Four-time major winner Rory McIlroy had started his back nine with three birdies in a row to move to within three shots of the lead on 10 under par.

“That was pretty cool out there,” Smith said. ” A lot of things went right but to do it here was awesome.”

Smith started the year with a record 34-under-par winning total in the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii following a thrilling duel with then world number one Jon Rahm.

And two months later he claimed the biggest victory of his career to date in the Players Championship at Sawgrass. Jack Nicklaus is the only player to win the Players and Open in the same season, in 1978. That year the Open was held at St Andrews.

A winner on the Old Course in both 2000 and 2005, Woods could only add a 75 to his opening 78 to finish nine over par and miss the cut in the Open for just the fourth time in his career.

As promised, Woods did not pause for commemorative photographs as he crossed the Swilcan Bridge, but it was clearly an emotional moment for the 46-year-old, who removed his cap to acknowledge the applause and waved to the packed grandstands.

“It was very emotional for me,” Woods said. “I have been coming here since 1995 and I don’t know when the next one comes around, in what, 2030, if I will be physically able to play by then.

“I felt like it might be my last British Open at St Andrews and the ovation and warmth was an unbelievable feeling.

The earliest the Open could return to St Andrews is 2026, although 2027 would be more likely given the previous tradition of staging it on the Old Course every five years.

Two-time major winner Dustin Johnson was four shots off the lead after adding a 67 to his opening 68, with world number one Scottie Scheffler and England’s Tyrrell Hatton a shot further back.

“I don’t read anything so I wouldn’t know what you were saying or if there was anything negative being said,” Johnson said. “I don’t pay attention to it.”

Johnson was similarly unconcerned by memories of the 2015 Open at St Andrews, when he held the halfway lead but shot two rounds of 75 at the weekend to finish tied for 49th.

“To be honest, I don’t even remember the third round from seven years ago,” Johnson added. “I’ve played a lot of golf since then, and that was a long time ago.”

“There’s still a lot of golf left to play,” he said. “Although I’ve won around here in the past, the golf course is very different to how we play in October and the pin positions are a lot tighter.

“If I play good golf, then, sure, we’ll have a chance, but it’s definitely not a time to get ahead of ourselves.”

Scheffler could emulate Woods as the last player to win the Masters and the Open in the same year but said: “Thinking about prior wins isn’t going to help me play good this week. Just trying to stay in the moment and hit some good shots.”