151. Open: Cameron Smith ready to defend title Claret Jug | Golf news

Cameron Smith returns as defending champion at The Open after winning by one shot at St Andrews last year; The Australian could become the first golfer since Padraig Harrington to win the Claret Jug in back-to-back years; Watch live on Thursday from 6.30am on Sky Sports Golf

Cameron Smith is determined to ensure a successful title defense at The 151st Open after being left on the verge of tears by returning the Claret Jug to Royal Liverpool.

The Australian won his maiden major title with an impressive win at St Andrews last July. He made five consecutive birdies for a final-round 64 on the ninth to finish ahead of Cameron Young.

Smith handed the trophy back to the R&A on Monday ahead of this week’s competition. The 29-year-old admitted that the experience was more emotional than he had previously expected.

“I thought I was going to do well, but I was actually holding back tears,” Smith said at a pre-tournament press conference. “For a little while, I guess it crept up on me.

“I didn’t want to let it go. But it was just a moment that you don’t think about, and then all of a sudden it’s there, and yeah, you want it back.

“I’ve been telling all my guys, ‘It’s only a week and we’ll drink from it again.’

Smith joined LIV Golf after the PGA Tour season ended and has two wins at the Saudi-backed course, including an event at the Centurion Club earlier this month, and the 29-year-old will be looking to build on a top-10 finish. placed in his last four major starts.

“I think I’m a better golfer now than I was last year,” Smith added. “I think the things that I had to clean up are moving forward. It’s still a little bit of a work in progress.

“I was saying to someone this morning that the five-iron and up has always been a bit of a struggle for me and it’s an area of ​​the game that we’ve probably worked harder on than we have in the past.

“I feel like it’s there, it all just has to come together. I think the first lap I did at Centurion a couple of weeks ago was the first time I felt like everything came together, and then the driver, again, wasn’t my best friend there for the weekend.

“I managed to get through a good week, so yeah, it’s there. It just hasn’t been there for all four rounds. But it feels really close.”

Last year’s winner entered the final round of 2022 four strokes behind Rory McIlroy, who finished third after a final-round 70, and Smith is open to the idea of ​​a final-round duel between the pair again this week.

“There’s a lot of guys here who in the week can be there on a Sunday afternoon and I’m sure Rory [McIlroy] is one of them,” Smith explained.

“He [McIlroy] has been playing some great golf the past few months here. Looks like he finally got one on and it may have opened the cartridge for him for sure. But yeah, that would be a great story for sure.”

Watch The 151st Open all week exclusively live on Sky Sports. Live coverage of the opening round starts on Thursday 20 July at 6.30am on the Sky Sports Golf channel.