(Reuters) – A year after Cameron Smith staged a spectacular comeback to win the British Open, the Australian said he was fighting back the tears as he returned the Claret Jug ahead of this year’s tournament.
Smith came from four shots behind at St Andrews to win the 150th British Open last year, becoming the first Australian to do so since Greg Norman in 1993.
The 29-year-old said the trophy had since become a permanent fixture in his office until he parted with it on Monday ahead of the year’s final major, which tees off at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake on Thursday.
“It’s nice to be back, I just had to hand back the trophy there. I thought I was going to do all right but I was actually holding back from tears. A bit of a moment that crept up on me,” Smith told reporters.
“It wasn’t hard to hand it back, I wasn’t like not letting it go. But it was just a bit of a moment that I guess you don’t think about and then all of a sudden it’s there.”
When he was told he could win it back on Sunday, Smith laughed and added: “That would be nice. That’s what I’ve been saying to all my mates. It’ll only be a week and we’ll be drinking out of it again.
“You never know, sometimes you can play your best golf at major championships and you can run fourth or fifth. Hopefully it’s another week like last year and I’m back with the trophy.
“Hopefully I can get it back. I want that thing back so bad.”
Smith said the most fun he had with the trophy was when he returned home and celebrated the victory at his local club.
“For a little country club outside of Brisbane to have the Claret Jug in it was a pretty cool moment,” he added.
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
