ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — Cameron Smith, the Australian golfer who has emerged as one of the game’s most skilled craftsmen on the greens, used a back-nine run of birdies on Sunday to storm up the British Open leaderboard and, after two dozen disappointments, win his first major championship.
Smith shot a sparkling 64 and finished at 20 under for the tournament.
Smith’s success, a stirring final-round effort that still only gradually dawned on the spectators along the Old Course at St. Andrews, came with a steady assault on the four-shot lead that Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland opened the day guarding.