Smith in the red but feels Open crown is beyond him

Ian Chadband | July 23, 2023

Cameron Smith’s chances of firing himself into final-round contention to successfully defend his British Open title look to have evaporated during a frustrating hit-and-miss third round at Royal Liverpool.

The Queenslander felt he still had an opportunity, however distant, to lift back-to-back titles as he scented a low score on a damp third-round ‘moving day’ morning in Hoylake to put himself back in the title mix.

But while he did make his move into the red on Saturday, finishing at one under for the championship with a three-under round of 68, he still admitted to feeling a little frustrated that, in almost ideal scoring conditions, he didn’t enjoy an even more striking run up the scoreboard.

Jon Rahm had shown what was possible on a damp morning with just light breezes to contend with, as he surged towards the top of the leaderboard, leaping from two over to six under with a brilliant 63 that leaves him four behind overnight leader Brian Harman.

For Smith, though, five birdies – two coming from 20 foot-plus putts – were offset by two bogeys and a couple of surprise short misses with his putting wand as he reached one-under for the championship, just outside the top 20, before the leaders set out on Saturday afternoon.

“Yeah, still probably a little bit too far back,” Smith shrugged after the round. 

“I think the weather is actually going to get better this afternoon, from what my caddie just told me, so I’m sure the guys will go out and light it up.

“I’m sure I’ll keep going down the leaderboard as the day goes on.

“For sure, it would have been nice to get a few more (birdies) and probably I am a little bit frustrated. 

“But, all in all, it was a really solid day. There’s not much to complain about.”

Smith, the champion at the 150th edition at St Andrews, was glad to have made the weekend at all, after it required a wondrous six-iron approach from 232 yards to 16 inches from the pin on Friday for him just to make the cut.

Spurred by that escape, he began with birdie from six foot at the third, only for the world’s best putter to cause some astonishment at the next when he slid a par putt past from three foot.

He missed another seven footer, this time for birdie at the fifth, before making a 22-foot birdie putt at the next and even more spectacular 25-footer from the fringe at the 11th.

When he finished less than five foot away with his tee-shot at the short 13th, he moved into the red for the first time since the opening morning on Thursday but he bogeyed the 16th after finding hay from the tee.

A birdie at the par-five final hole, though, ensured he would finish at one-under.

His major-winning compatriot Adam Scott had earlier finished with an even-par 71, with three birdies and three bogeys, never quite getting his round going.

But all Aussie eyes were on later starters Jason Day and Min Woo Lee, who were both set to launch their bid for glory after lying joint-fourth overnight.