Australia’s Cameron Smith was the most stable in the finals and won the last major tournament of the year. He stopped at 20 strokes under par with the draw 67-64-73-64. America’s Cameron Young is closest to -19 after four days on the venerable Old Course at St. Andrews Scotland.

Hovland started Sunday with a joint lead (-16) with Rory McIlroy. They had a four-shot lead, but didn’t keep up with Smith’s super game. The Australian recorded eight birdies (five of them in a row).

Hovland is nowhere near that form. He only got one birdie (hole 12) and made three bogey (hole 4, 13 and 16). Birdieputten sat much better the day before.

Will learn

The Oslo golfers ended the match with a draw 68-66-66-74. It was held to share fourth place with England’s Tommy Fleetwood. He was fighting to become Norway’s first men’s major winner, but on Sunday Hovland fell behind early.

– It’s a bit awkward, but it’s not the last time I have a chance to win a major title. It’s just to learn as much as possible, Hovland told Norwegian media afterwards.

He thought it was “bitter” and “frustrating” that the game didn’t get any better when the title would be awarded. The whole thing is a step in the right direction for a man who missed the cut in two tournaments in a row before this weekend’s winning game.

– It’s kind of hard to think about it now, but it’s really cool. It’s been a big dream to be in that position (in management before the last day).

Hovland raised $654,000 for the effort in Scotland. This equates to NOK 6.65 million.

Stritt

His first setback on Sunday’s round came early. Then the 23-year-old hit a medium shot and missed a long birdie putt. He had to hit from five meters to save the pair, but that didn’t work either.

Bogey sent McIlroy ahead with one stroke. On the next hole, the northerners placed the eagle, but had to settle for a birdie and a two-hit hatch.

Hovland recorded bogey number two after first saving himself with a bunker shot. He missed a putt par from eight yards, and three holes later came another bogey.

This time Hovland was punished for the rough ending.

Best career

Despite the disappointing finals, Hovland delivered a career best in a major context. Joint 12th place from last year’s British Open through Sunday was the peak result.

Smith won a major tournament for the first time and collected $2.5 million in prize money. That’s just under NOK 25.5 million.

This year is very special to be left as the winner of the 150th anniversary of the British Open.