[Golf Topic] 'The Open Champ' Smith "I'm Number 2~"... McIlroy 3rd Place

Cameron Smith

[Asia Economy Golf Specialist Reporter Kim Hyun-jun] ○..."Instantly rises to world ranking No. 2."

‘The Open Champion’ Cameron Smith (Australia) received 9.03 points in the weekly official golf world rankings announced on the afternoon of the 18th (Korean time), soaring instantly to 2nd place. He accumulated points by winning the final major of the 2022 season, The Open (total prize money $14 million), which concluded early that morning at the Old Course at St Andrews, Scotland (par 72, 7,313 yards). This is his third win of the season following the Sentry Tournament in January and ‘The Players Championship,’ known as the ‘5th major,’ in May, marking his 6th career victory with a winner’s prize of $2.5 million (33.13 billion KRW).

Players who have won both The Players Championship and The Open in the same year include Jack Nicklaus (1978), Hal Sutton (1983), Tiger Woods (USA, 2001), Martin Kaymer (Germany, 2014), making Smith the fifth to achieve this feat. Starting tied for 3rd place, 4 strokes behind, he shot an impressive 8-under-par, setting the lowest score in The Open history at the Old Course at St Andrews with 20-under-par 268 strokes, drawing even more spotlight. He broke Woods’ 2000 record (19-under-par).

Scottie Scheffler (USA) remains No. 1, while Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) dropped to 3rd place. ‘Playoff (PO) Champion’ Patrick Cantlay (USA) is 4th, and Jon Rahm (Spain) is 5th. In Korea, ‘Shriners Champion’ Im Sung-jae (24) is ranked 24th, ‘Asian Tour money leader’ Kim Joo-hyung (20, CJ Logistics) is 40th, ‘AT&T back-to-back winner’ Lee Kyoung-hoon (31) is 44th, and Kim Si-woo (27, CJ Logistics) holds 59th place. Kim Joo-hyung has begun a full-fledged challenge in the world league as a temporary member of the PGA Tour.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.