I have never been a big Rory fan but never disliked him. I watched his interview after the round and you could see the disappointment on his face. He admitted that he played a nice controlled round but missed a bunch of opportunities. He did give credit where credit was due and and said that he wasn't the best golfer on the course today and congratulated Cam on his great round. I have more respect for Rory. Well done young man.

    Some of the best putting I've ever seen (in a major) by Cam Smith. Tee to green as well. The birdie string on 10 thru 14 was epic.

    I hear the consensus is that Rory was too conservative on his approach shots.

      The Open was not about Rory. He finished 3rd.

      What about Cameron Young, and the way he played for 4 days.....and made the shot of the tournament on 18, in the final round?? And finished ahead of Rory, in 2nd place, btw.

        fatshot
        Not sure how the stats were for this year, but heading into the Open I had read that the last four (or maybe it was 5?) winners at St Andrews all led the field in putting. I guess with greens that large, GIR is meaningless.

          DonM

          DonM I hear the consensus is that Rory was too conservative on his approach shots.

          That, AND the fact that Smith took NINE fewer putts than Rory over 72 holes...!!

                Par4QC Agree, I see people keep saying well, Rory played good he just lost to a great round. Rory didn't even finish 2nd. He let two guys who were 4 shots behind him pass him on an easy scoring day.

                  fatshot That, AND the fact that Smith took NINE fewer putts than Rory over 72 holes...!!

                  Which goes back to proximity to the hole.

                      garyt1957 Which goes back to proximity to the hole.

                      In some cases, but Smith wasn't kicking in birdies all day long.
                      He did make great first putts on 15 and 18, which sealed the deal.
                      Rory was nowhere close on his makeables, starting with the first hole
                      :/

                        Par4QC What about Cameron Young, and the way he played for 4 days

                        He quietly stole the 2nd place show. He doesn't buzz the media, I guess. I'm impressed, but I'm just one in a zillion spectators.

                        The Eagle on #18 was epic. I'll be watching him closely.

                            sdandrea1 He quietly stole the 2nd place show

                            He had his chances too, maybe more than Rory, but his putter let him down too.

                              sdandrea1

                              I had him in my pick 10 contest I do with my buddies. Unfortunately I also picked Morikawa and his missed cut took me out of the competition. Oh well.

                                sdandrea1 Didn't we both pick him in the contest? Perhaps a bit of mis-spelling, but still, didn't we?

                                  Rickochet I have never been a big Rory fan but never disliked him. I watched his interview after the round and you could see the disappointment on his face. He admitted that he played a nice controlled round but missed a bunch of opportunities. He did give credit where credit was due and and said that he wasn't the best golfer on the course today and congratulated Cam on his great round. I have more respect for Rory. Well done young man.

                                  Not surprised by how Rory handled the loss. Rory is a class act.

                                    Cam Smith could not get a putt to drop in the 3rd round. He had a fair amount of good putts that did not fall. Curious as to what it looked like if some had

                                    If ifs and buts were candy and nuts every day would be Christmas.

                                    Scheffler surprised me; 4 (maybe 5 ..?) good looks at birdie on his first 4 (or 5) holes, missed them all and looked like he kind of lost belief after that. He started a few back and probably knew he needed a fast start; when he didn't get it ...

                                      golf_bhoy yeah. He just could not gather momentum. Cam hammered down the whole final round.

                                        Rory tried holing out otherwise he would have tied 2nd or odds are he would have. Meaningless to try and birdie the last when you need to eagle it. 18 wasn't the problem, it was parring the last par 5. His approach he pushed slightly to the right leaving him in a tough spot. He hits it a few yards further left and he birdies that no problem. He played really good, did exactly what he intended on doing, less parring that par 5, otherwise it's a playoff. He lipped out, what 2-3 times. Cam Smith shot -8 to win....I'd say he won it. Hard to criticize a near flawless round of golf,..but yeah he buggered the 2nd shot on the final par 5!