ST. ANDREWS (Scotland) – PLAYERS champion Cameron Smith established an unofficial PGA TOUR putting mark on his way to taking the halfway lead in the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews. During the second round of the Old Course, Smith putt 253 feet. His highlight was a 64-foot four-inch eagle putt at the par-5 14th hole. This mark is higher than any other round on the PGA TOUR. On Friday, Smith shot an 8-under 64 to move him to 13 under. This was two ahead of Cameron Young and three ahead Rory McIlroy (with 36 holes left) and Viktor Hovland (with 36 holes remaining). Brent Geiberger holds the official TOUR record. He made 240-feet and four-inches worth putts during the opening round of 2005 Booz Allen Classic. The Open Championship does not use the TOUR’s ShotLink equipment. Statistic are the responsibility of the tournament hosting R&A. They are not considered official TOUR statistics. Smith described the eagle shot that launched him into a quest for a Claret Jug. “Once it started to break pretty good, around 10, 15 feet out, it seemed like it would have a chance,” he said. It’s not a hole you want to hit, it’s a putt you make to get an easy birdie. Smith won the PLAYERS Championship in March with a one-putt victory. Smith, now five-time winner of the TOUR, set a Strokes Gained Putting tournament record at TPC Sawgrass. He made 401-feet and 10-inches of putts for this week, slightly less than his personal best of 415 feet. He’s only needed 28 putts this week at St. Andrews. Smith also putted from 47, 28, and 21-feet on Friday’s front nine, but Smith claimed it was his lag-putting which was the real key. He said that he had lots of good lag putting, and lots of good two-putts. This despite only holing from six feet on 10 holes. “I just look at the hole and try to see the ball drop in the front.” This is always my last thought. Take a long, hard, and focused look at the hole to feel the putt. I don’t practice. It’s just me and what I feel.
By: Ben Everill
Title: Cameron Smith sets unofficial PGA TOUR putting record at The Open
Sourced From: www.pgatour.com/news/2022/07/15/cameron-smith-sets-unofficial-pga-tour-putting-record-at-the-open-st-andrews.html
Published Date: Fri, 15 Jul 2022 17:05:00 -0400
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