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Faldo hails Cam's 'legendary' Open victory

Sir Nick Faldo has led the tributes to Cameron Smith after his epic British Open triumph, saying the Australian's "legendary" win will be forever remembered.

CAMERON SMITH celebrates winning Australian PGA Championship at Royal Pines Resort in Gold Coast, Australia.
CAMERON SMITH celebrates winning Australian PGA Championship at Royal Pines Resort in Gold Coast, Australia. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Sir Nick Faldo has led the awe-struck tributes to Australia's new British Open golf champ Cameron Smith, hailing the Queenslander as a "legend" for his record-breaking triumph at St Andrews.

Faldo, England's three-time winner of his home major and the 1990 champion at St Andrews, reckoned that Smith had achieved the sport's "holy grail" with his flawless, come-from-behind triumph in the 150th Open.

"It's extra special to win it here. Basically, you are defined as different type of champion because you've won at St Andrews," said Faldo, commentating on Sky TV.

"To win here really is the holy grail, especially this landmark one. Everybody will know and remember who won the 150th Open at St Andrews. Congratulations Cam - I'm in shock!

"I'm obviously very proud of that fact (of being a St Andrews Open winner) too. But Cam's had a hard time with (being away from Australia during) COVID, didn't see his mum, dad and sister for a couple of years but he's battled away."

Smith's final-round 64 - featuring five straight birdies on a back-nine 30 - was the best score to par in Open history.

"That's a legendary round," Faldo said.

"(Third-round leader Rory) McIlroy looked good, he looked happy out there - but this man (Smith) is so gutsy, and had such incredible mental strength to go with a legendary short game.

"Now he's a legend with a wedge and a putter in his hand, isn't he?" added Faldo, amazed at the quality of the bogey-free, eight-under round that turned Smith's four-shot deficit at the start of Sunday's denouement into a last-green triumph.

"It was astonishing. His nerve and skill with the shortest club in the bag is quite astonishing, isn't it?"

Faldo wasn't surprised the Australian had now emulated the great Jack Nicklaus, back in 1978, by winning the Players Championship - golf's unofficial fifth major - and St Andrews Open in the same year.

Asked about what it said of his all-round game that he was able to win on two courses as completely different as Sawgrass and the Old Course, Smith himself shrugged: "I think that's just where I'm at at the moment.

"My game feels really good. I felt like, towards the end of last year, I had a lot of chances and really didn't get over the line. I think that made me more eager, I guess, at the start of the year to really knuckle down and try and get over the line.

"For it to happen three times this year (after also winning the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii in January with a record-shattering 34-under total) is pretty unreal.

"I really wasn't expecting that. I would have been happy with one. So, yeah, just lots of hard work and keeping at it."

But Faldo saw what he believed was a truly extraordinary talent blossoming in all those wins.

"The up and down when he won the Players, his nerve and touch here at 14 and 17 was incredible, and even the one at 18 - that was off the charts," said Faldo.

Cameron Young, the US runner-up who had a close-up view of Smith's short-game masterclass, had no hesitation following his seven-under round in the one-shot loss to declare: "Today is just more proof that Cameron Smith is one of the very, very best players in the world.

"I had a front-row seat to, I'm sure, one of the better rounds played this year.

"I would have signed up for 65 this morning - and to watch Cameron shoot what he did, it was pretty amazing."

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