Talking Golf with The Golfguy, Season 7 Episode 7 With Champion Golfer of the Year-Cameron Smith
in Archives, Blog, Open Championship, Podcasts by Jeff Waters

Talking Golf with The Golfguy, Season 7 Episode 7 With Champion Golfer of the Year-Cameron Smith

The Old Course at St Andrew’s Scotland

Thirty times, the oldest major Golf Championship has been contested on the wind-swept and venerated links of the Old Course at Saint Andrews, the Scottish ancestral home of Golf and an exalted shrine to the foibles and peculiarities of Golfers through the world.

The Open Championship returned to Scotland this year to celebrate the 150th edition of the sport’s oldest Championship, dating to 1860 and was first played on the St Andrews links in 1873.

The prize for winning the Open Championship is the Silver Claret Jug, first presented at Prestwick in 1872 and containing the names of Golf’s royalty.

Add the name of Cameron Smith to that celebrated list of players claiming Champion Golfer of the Year.

And the native Australian did it in record style.

In the previous twenty-nine times the Open has been held at the Old Course, no winner has ever finished with 64, a record score on St Andrews at 268, matching the lowest score to par in any Major Championship.

Smith has become the first Aussie to win at St. Andrews since Kel Nagle in 1960 and the first Australian to win the Open since Greg Norman In 1993.

Smith also wins for the third time this year, pocketing $2.5 million in prize money, and moves to No 2 in the world rankings, a career-best.

With seasonal earnings of over $9 million this year, he also becomes a leading candidate for Player-of-the-Year honors, and it is only July.  

Cameron Young finished second after briefly tieing for the lead with an eagle two on the last hole.

At the same time, Rory McIlory limped into the third spot after his putter went cold during the final round after leading the tournament on Sunday morning.

Listen to Cameron’s Championship interview here.

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Jeff Waters, MBA, is a PGA Master Professional and the President/CEO of Rocky Mountain Golf Enterprises, a Utah-licensed and registered corporation that uses golf as a marketing tool. With over fifty years of experience in the golf industry, Jeff has worn many hats in diverse roles, including as a player, teacher, Head Professional, administrator, and small business owner. Jeff's extensive background includes ten years as a competitive player, ten years as a Head Golf Professional, overseeing the entire golf course operation, three years as the Director of Player Development for Salt Lake County Parks and Recreation, managing, directing, and supervising multiple golf course programs, and over thirty years as a golf coach and instructor at Rocky Mountain Golf Academy, teaching the game. His elite professional status as a fully trained and certified PGA Master Professional highlights his commitment to the sport. This prestigious designation is merited by a small and exclusive group of Golf Professionals worldwide. This wealth of experience in both the sport and business of golf has established Jeff as a highly skilled and knowledgeable expert and one of America's most qualified and accomplished Golf Professionals. In addition to his practical experience, Jeff has a robust academic background, including a BS in Political Science from the University of Utah, graduate studies in Economics and Commercial Recreation, at that school, and a Master's in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix. He has also taught undergraduate courses at the University of Utah's College of Health and served as an adjunct professor at Granite Peaks Community School. As a well-known media personality, Jeff's versatility in the golf industry is evident through his work as a celebrated broadcast journalist and radio host. He has traveled extensively nationwide, announcing major sporting events at arenas, ballparks, stadiums, and golf courses for national media outlets and syndicated on the Rocky Mountain Golf Radio Network. A member of the Golf Writers Association of America, Jeff regularly contributes editorial pieces to national print publications and has authored multiple books, essays, and short stories. His work has appeared in numerous domestic and regional periodicals and magazines, such as Utah Golf News, Rocky Mountain Golfer, Golf Today, Utah Fairways, Jackson Hole Golf News, and Utah Golf Magazine. He has also contributed to blogs, podcasts, internet forums, and his website at www.jeffgolfguy.com. Jeff's unwavering dedication and service to the golf industry continue to inspire others, underscoring his deep commitment and affection for the sport, business, and recreation of golf.