Cameron Smith storms past Rory McIlroy to win 150th British Open

Smith used a run of five consecutive birdies to card an 8-under-par 64, overtake Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy and win The Open by one stroke for his first major title Sunday at St. Andrews in Scotland. The Australian posted a four-round score of 20-under 268, tying the major championship record for lowest score relative to par.

Cameron Young, his playing partner, eagled the 18th hole to place second, with McIlroy finishing third two shots behind. Smith fired a 64 Friday to take the 36-hole lead, but a 73 on Saturday sent him tumbling four shots behind McIlroy and Norway's Viktor Hovland. After two birdies on the front nine Sunday, Smith made a push after the turn with five straight at Nos.

10-14 to pass McIlroy and touch 19 under. He rolled in putts of 16, 11 and 18 feet at the 11th through 13th holes to tie McIlroy, then got up and down at the par-5 14th to grab the solo lead. Smith's strength became McIlroy's weakness on Sunday.

The crowd favorite two-putted all 18 holes, leaving several birdie opportunities behind him. McIlroy's bogey-free 70 was only good enough for third place at 18 under. He notched top-10 finishes at all four majors this year, but he couldn't cure his major title drought dating to 2014.

Smith preserved his one-stroke lead with a par save at the par-4 17th, the "Road Hole." His second shot missed short, and he had to putt around a pot bunker up onto the green to set up a 10-foot par putt. Young, the PGA Tour rookie making his Open debut, drove the 18th green and drained a 17-foot eagle putt to turn up the pressure on Smith. The Australian got up and down for a short birdie, and McIlroy couldn't pull out a magical eagle at No.