Smith survives cut with ridiculous clutch shot

1 year ago 112

World No.1 Scottie Scheffler had to marque a pugnacious up-and-down from the bunker for birdie. Defending champion Cameron Smith pulled disconnected a cleanable six-iron from the fairway for a tap-in eagle.

Both came done with large shots astatine the 18th to marque the chopped astatine the British Open overnight, contrary to a slew of different large champions who are going location for the weekend.

Dustin Johnson ne'er had a accidental aft shooting successful the 80s. Justin Thomas couldn’t flooded what helium called “bonehead” mistakes. Collin Morikawa made a precocious tally that was not enough.

The chopped astatine Royal Liverpool was arsenic debased arsenic 2 implicit during the day, and ended with 76 players astatine 3 implicit oregon better.

Australia's Cameron Smith pulled retired his champion changeable of the time erstwhile helium needed it astir connected time 2 (PA Images via Getty Images)

Smith came into the last spread astatine four-over par, needing astatine slightest a birdie. After uncovering the fairway with a bully thrust disconnected the tee, helium deed a superb six-iron from 212 metres retired to conscionable implicit a ft from the spread for his eagle.

“It was a bully shot,” Smith said. “I deed plentifulness of bully shots contiguous that didn’t get benignant of that reward, truthful it was bully to decorativeness disconnected similar that. Given the circumstance, arsenic well, astir apt an adjacent amended shot.”

Smith was connected the chopped enactment aft making a birdie astatine the par-four 12th, but dropped backmost aft a treble astatine the par-four 14th and a bogey astatine the par-four 16th. He finished with a one-over par 72.

“Was conscionable benignant of different 1 of those days,” said Smith, the Open victor astatine St. Andrews past year. “But it was bully to extremity similar that for sure.”

Scottie Scheffler reacts aft his pugnacious up-and-down from the bunker (R&A via Getty Images)

Scheffler made 4 bogeys connected the backmost 9 and arrived astatine the 18th needing a birdie to support live his streak of not missing immoderate cuts this season. He has finished 12th oregon amended successful his past 19 tournaments, though his past triumph was successful March astatine the Players Championship.

Scheffler raised some arms aft hitting it adjacent from the bunker to unafraid his four. He had gotten unlucky erstwhile his 2nd changeable deed adjacent the articulator of the bunker and bounced backmost into it.

Thomas, a two-time large champion, struggled implicit the archetypal 2 days astatine Hoylake and finished astatine 11 implicit for the tournament. He changeable 11-over 82 connected Thursday successful a circular that included a 9 connected the past hole.

“Making 2 doubles and a quad, that’s eight-year-old, nine-year-old benignant of stuff, not idiosyncratic who’s trying to triumph a British Open,” Thomas said.

Dustin Johnson, a Masters champion, changeable a 10-over-par 81 with six bogeys and 2 treble bogeys (Andrew Redington via Getty Images)

Johnson, a Masters champion, changeable 10-over-par 81 aft opening with a three-over 74. He made six bogeys and 2 treble bogeys connected Friday.

Morikawa, the 2021 Open champion, birdied 2 of the past 4 holes but finished astatine four-over par for the tournament. Shane Lowry, the 2019 British Open champion, made 4 bogeys and a treble to decorativeness astatine 7 over.

Tony Finau and Justin Rose ended astatine six over, Ernie Els was astatine 7 over, Phil Mickelson astatine 9 implicit and John Daly astatine 12 over.

Among those who made it connected the enactment were erstwhile large champions Brooks Koepka, Danny Willett, Patrick Reed, Padraig Harrington and Adam Scott. Christo Lamprecht, Patrick Cantlay, Robert MacIntyre and Rickie Fowler besides made it astatine 3 over.

There was hostility implicit the chopped done the last group, with Sami Valimaki entering the 18th astatine three-over par. He made it casual connected himself, though, hitting an outstanding 3rd changeable that landed little than a metre from the cupful for a tap-in birdie.

For a regular dose of the champion of the breaking quality and exclusive contented from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!