The last time an Open Championship was decided over 36 holes at St Andrews was 1891 when Scotland’s owns Hugh Kirkaldy triumphed with a score of 166.
Fast forward 131 years and with 131 strokes – 35 fewer than Kirkaldy – Cam Smith holds the halfway lead at the 150th edition of golf’s oldest major and with it the record for the lowest score in relation to par in the game’s oldest major, -13 in this instance.
The problem is, they no longer hand out a belt or a claret jug for two rounds work on the Old Course, as impressive as the Aussie 28-year-old’s cards of 67-64 have been. It’s why the owner of the Players title, a handful of recent near misses in the majors and golf’s most famous mullet (with all due respect to Tommy Fleetwood) is talking about how patience will indeed be a virtue this weekend.
And that’s tough because, in Smith’s own words: “I’m a really impatient person.”
Ok Twitter, who’s making the biggest move tomorrow? ⬆️ #The150thOpen #NTTDATAWall #NTTDATA #drivingdatafurther pic.twitter.com/C3wEQPS0HK
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 15, 2022
“Everyone that knows me hates me for it. 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. I think sometimes a really good shot around here is 60, 70 feet. I think that’s the challenge because we’re used to hitting it straight at the pin, basically. That’s most of golf now.
“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.”
Smith planned to stay up late binge-watching more Peaky Blinders in the hope of sleeping later on his two stroke lead over Cameron Young. He’ll be paired with the PGA Tour rookie, who backed up his opening 64 with a 69 Friday, in the final two-ball out at 3.55pm (6.55pm UAE time) on Saturday so has tried to find a solution to the late start and his now trademark impatience.
You can bet Smith will switch on, especially with Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland lurking at -10 and Dustin Johnson, who doesn’t really do nerves, just a further stroke adrift.
“I think I’ve always done a pretty good job of just treating every round the same, to be honest,” Smith said when asked if he’d allowed himself to think of what it might be like to be named the Champion Golfer of the Year come Sunday
“I think it’s going to be a really cool experience being out there. It has been this whole week. 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. It’s very boring, but it does the trick.”
What won’t be boring is the conditions and those pins tucked by the R&A in hard-to-access places. Smith’s famed wedge work and dead weight putting will be tested to the max.
“I think being off late again tomorrow afternoon it’s obviously going to be a bit firmer, more like the first day, I would say. So I would say it’s going to be pretty brutal out there.
“I think there’s going to be a few more gnarly pins, and I think being smart out there is definitely going to be the key to staying at the top of the leaderboard.”
Smith went bogey-free on Friday and rolled in a 60-footer for eagle on the 14th. Perhaps the only surprise is that he parred in from there. But he’s in pole position and pedigreed for the tough weekend ahead.
A special round of golf from our leader 👏
Watch the best of Cam Smith’s stunning 64 on Friday at #The150thOpen 👇 pic.twitter.com/JC3sBrctZQ
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 15, 2022
“I think I’ve always been a pretty good player in tough conditions. I think most Aussies are, for some reason. I think we’re all brought up to be smart golfers, hit away from the pin sometimes. And that really serves us well, I think, in big tournaments and when the conditions get tough.
“It’s good. It’s obviously a really good spot to be in. 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.
“But like I said before, I’ve just got to be really patient over the weekend. I think the golf course is going to get a lot harder and a lot faster. So just be patient and make good putts.”
