The Open Championship: Emotional Smith hands Claret Jug back to R&A at Royal Liverpool

Cameron Smith changed into “holding lower back tears” as he exceeded the Claret Jug lower back to the R&A on Monday after arriving at Royal Liverpool for the Open Championship.

The Australian gained ultimate year’s Open at St Andrew’s and is attempting to emulate Eire’s Padraig Harrington, the final to win successive titles in 2006-07.

“I didn’t assume I would ever provide it returned, it become an unhappy second, crept up on me a bit bit,” he advised jomotoday Game.

“as soon as you have got something as extraordinary as which you don’t want to let cross of it.”

Smith scorched round the antique direction in a bogey-free 8-under-par sixty-four to win the 150th Open Championship through one shot from American Cameron Young, with Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy in 0.33.

And the laid back 29-12 months-vintage joked that he has been telling his buddies: “It’s going to best be per week and we’re going to be drinking out of [the Claret Jug] once more.

“With any luck, it’s some other week like the final 12 months and I’m returned with the trophy.”

Smith, who has been in England “for a few weeks”, comes into The Open in decent form, having won the maximum recent LIV golfing event at Centurion golf membership.

And whilst he says he is still as a great deal in the dark as all people about how the proposed merger between LIV golf’s funders – Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund – and the PGA excursion will develop, he’s keen to hold his focus on the golf.

“LIV apart, I’m determined to strive for my satisfactory every week and just try to be a better golfer than I was ultimate week,” he stated.

“I suppose as a golfer, I suppose I am surely a better golfer now than I was closing 12 months.

“but I have never attempted too much to fear approximately what humans notion of me and I suppose LIV was in reality well received in Australia.

“They were in all likelihood the 2 most important things to me. I assume when I went all the way down to Australia to play the PGA and the Open, at the cease of the yr there has been no public sort of uproar of me switching excursions.

“They have been just happy to look me there gambling golfing. That changed into exceptional.”

requested if turning into a chief champion had changed him in any manner, he spoke back with a grin: “I assume the man or woman is the same. I think my vintage boy would deliver me a clip across the ears if I was any exclusive.”