A St Andrews Open classic was the lid of the golf pressure cooker – an exciting championship that tried to divert attention from an unprecedented power struggle for the operation of the game.
But Cameron Smith has stepped up the heat, not only with a brilliant golf that brought the Australian’s first major title, but also for his reluctance to counter the rumors he is about to desert in the LIV Golf Invitational Series.
What a coup it would be for Greg Norman’s Saudi-funded ensemble if he tried the new world number two, who also won this year’s Players Championship, the flagship tournament of the PGA Tour.
Simply stating that his “team deals with this kind of thing,” Smith offered no consolation to the assaulted leaders of the golf status quo. The 28-year-old has become the sport’s most popular property and his Australian compatriot Norman is surely preparing a huge offer.
During the week of the 150th Open, rumors swept the Old Course. Several major names were linked to enrollment in Norman’s lucrative separation series.
The Open ends the men’s senior season; a punctuation mark. The PGA and DP World Tours must fear what will be written next in the history of the sport.
The future of events like the Ryder Cup seems far from certain and it is widely rumored that European captain Henrik Stenson is one of the next to accept millions from Saudi Arabia.
“Continued speculation,” is how the European tour described the rumors, but Stenson has had plenty of opportunities to swear allegiance to the role he signed up for only last March. He has remained silent when his continent needed him most.
How different could the men’s professional golf landscape look when Smith defends the Claret Jug at Royal Liverpool next year? How far away will the memories of last week’s epic Old Course seem?
The champion gave us a splendid performance to avoid Cameron Young and review Rory McIlroy, to whom this Open provided another bitterly disappointing result.
Last Sunday was not the day the Northern Irishman left his putter in the fridge. The inability to make a single putt on any of the 18 greens left him vulnerable despite an efficient and quietly implemented smart game plan.
McIlroy only went into two bunkers all week and from one of them he looked for the eagle. He hit all the greens of regulation on the final day, playing with a calm sense of purpose that suggested he would break his eight-year-old duck at the majors.
But his failure to turn the bird chances into holes 12 and 14 proved crucial. Yes, he had rejected Viktor Hovland, who seemed the main threat at the start of the game with his Ryder Cup teammates locked together, four from the pitch. But he was powerless to do anything with the Australian he was carrying.
At 15th McIlroy took a long look at the standings. He confirmed that Smith was ahead of one and that the man who had led him by three on the turn was staring desperately at 16th Street to see how the new leader was approaching his next approach.
It must have been a disgusting sound as the galleries applauded the arrival of Smith’s ball on the green. McIlroy could feel the Claret Jug fade away despite his own shrill support.
St Andrews is not the most atmospheric Open venue. Crowds are restricted to the outer perimeter and the best views come from the grandstands, especially around the loop from the seventh to the 11th hole.
But a record attendance of 290,000 people ensured that the 150th edition never lacked a sense of opportunity that was proportionate to its historical importance.
Anything less. It was a fantastic show.
And what about the Old Course itself? Fears that today’s Avens golfers weren’t largely unfounded because the fast, firm conditions still presented a tough test.
Twenty below par was a winning score that matched record, but parity is a theoretical figure and 72 for the Old Course is generous. Depending on the wind, the ninth, 10th, 12th and 18th can play as long as three holes.
But with a wind switch they become complicated by four holes, as reflected in the tab. Either way, the course still demands strategy, power and accuracy. Smith stood out in every department, especially with his wedges, to recover from Saturday’s potentially ruinous 73.
Where the Old Course failed in a modern environment was its inability to allow 156 competitors to roam in a timely manner. Not completing the first round at 22:00 after starting the day at 06:35 is ridiculous.
But it’s an inescapable uneasiness with two par-fives that comes in two, holes par four pilotables, greens and shared fairways and holes like the seventh that crosses the 11th.
It may be a heresy, but in open terms it is not fit for its purpose the first two days. Rounds of more than six hours, with the longest holes taking 40 minutes to complete the show.
As several observers pointed out during the endless rounds on Thursday and Friday, “LIV has to laugh.” They play only 54 holes with 48 players, no cut and shotgun exit.
It’s a different view of the game and a pale shadow of the tried and tested methods for determining men’s golf hierarchy. But LIV is here and it doesn’t go away.
His third tournament is next week at Donald Trump’s home in Bedminster, New Jersey. It will not be a quiet week and new recruits can be introduced.
LIV is rotating the plate to the maximum. His influence remains the big topic of conversation, despite a glorious Open at the golf house.
The pressure cooker may be about to explode. Anyone can guess how the resulting mess could return to a sense of order.