Open champion Cameron Smith revealed his third-round slump provided all the incentive he needed to get his act together and claim victory with a stunning 64 at St Andrews on Sunday. 

The leader after 36 holes, it was widely thought Smith had blown his chances with a scruffy 73 on Saturday which left him four shots adrift of leading duo Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland.

However, a run of five birdies in a row after the turn in his final round put Smith in the ascendancy and he never looked back, showing nerves of steel to save par on 17 before making another gain at the last to render playing partner Cameron Young's eagle immaterial. 

The Australian roared to his maiden major after undercutting crowd favourite McIlroy's Sunday score by six strokes, while he was a huge 10 shots better than Hovland across the concluding 18 holes.

Speaking about Saturday's backslide, Smith – who finished on 20 under, a shot ahead of Young – said: "I think I was really frustrated with how the round went.

"I just really put it down to links golf. I think you really have those days on these courses where you get a bit of a weird bounce here and there and puts you in a bad spot.

"So, I shrugged it off pretty good, I think, last night. I really didn't dwell on it too much.

"But to go out there and really stick my head down and keep making birdies and keep making putts, yeah, it was really cool. I think that [Saturday's disappointment] definitely helped."

Smith will have to wait before he can properly celebrate with his close family and friends, as his dad made what proved to be an ill-advised decision not to head over to Fife to see his son in action at the 150th Open Championship.

"I don't have any family here. I've got all my team here," he said. 

"My dad was actually meant to come over, and he pulled out in the last minute basically. I had a quick chat with him before. He's kicking himself now.

"I really wish he was here, too. It would have been such a cool week, even without this, to be at the home of golf. Dad loves his golf as well. It would have been awesome."

The Champion Golfer of the Year – whose score of 268 is a record in an Open at St Andrews – had some warm words of praise for McIlroy, who missed out on a second Claret Jug and first major since 2014.

"He's obviously a great player," said Smith after finishing two strokes clear of the Northern Irishman.

"He's one of those guys that you can't help but stop when he's hitting balls on the range, and he just keeps knocking on doors every week, it seems like.

"He's probably the most consistent player out here.

"He's going to get a major, I'm sure, very soon. He's just really solid. For me, I've played with Rory a few times, and there's really nothing that you can fault."

Asked about the mullet hairstyle that makes him so distinctive and whether he would keep it, the 28-year-old added: "I think it's going to stay, mate!"

Rory McIlroy admitted he had allowed himself to dream of Open Championship glory before Cameron Smith snatched the Claret Jug away at St Andrews.

Northern Irishman McIlroy had the bulk of the crowd support as he attempted to win a fifth major, and a first in eight years, but he could not convert a lead into victory.

Having started the day in a share of first place with Viktor Hovland, McIlroy at one stage powered into a two-stroke lead at 17 under par, yet charging Australian Smith surged past him after a run of five birdies from 10 to 14, and that was that.

McIlroy attempted to respond but found little, accepting his putter had gone cold once he completed a two-under round of 70 to reach 18 under for the championship, enough only for third place. American Cameron Young sneaked up to second, one behind Smith whose closing 64 gave him a 20-under winning score.

McIlroy said: "It's not life or death. I'll have other chances to win the Open Championship and other chances to win majors. It's one that I feel like I let slip away, but there will be other opportunities."

He had wondered how it would feel to again win The Open, having triumphed in 2014 at Royal Liverpool.

"Of course. I'm only human. I'm not a robot," the 33-year-old said.

"Of course, you think about it, and you envision it, and you want to envision it. My hotel room is directly opposite the big yellow board on 18. Every time I go out, I'm trying to envision McIlroy at the top name on that leaderboard and how did that feel?

"At the start of the day, it was at the top, but at the start of tomorrow, it won't be. Of course you have to let yourself dream. You've got to let yourself think about it and what it would be like, but once I was on the golf course, it was just the task at hand and trying to play the best golf I possibly could."

McIlroy felt he played well on Sunday until it came to capitalising on chances, particularly in the middle part of the round when many, as Smith showed, made significant gains.

"I wish that I had hit it a little closer with some approach shot shots, and I wish I'd have holed a couple more putts," he said. "The putter just went a little cold today compared to the last three days.

"I've just got to keep putting myself in position, keep putting myself in there. And whenever you put yourself in that shining light, you're going to have to deal with setbacks and deal with failures. Today is one of those times. But I just have to dust myself off and come again and keep working hard and keep believing."

He said he was "beaten by a better player this week".

"But it's been a good week overall," said the world number two. "I can't be too despondent because of how this year's going. I'm playing some of the best golf I've played in a long time. So it's just a matter of keep knocking on the door, and eventually one will open."

Cameron Smith struggled to find the words to describe his first major victory but said he achieved "something I've always dreamt of" after triumphing at The Open.

The Australian lifted the Claret Jug following a wonderful final-round 64 at St Andrews, which saw him finish on 20 under par.

Smith headed into the final round on Sunday four shots back from the leading duo of Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland.

Yet an impressive streak of gains on five consecutive holes after the turn saw him leap to the summit on 19 under.

He then held his nerve as the pressure intensified, saving par with a tricky putt on the 17th before a birdie on the last saw him edge out playing partner Cameron Young by one stroke and McIlroy by two.

Smith, who joined the likes of Tiger Woods and Seve Ballesteros in lifting the Claret Jug at St Andrews, revealed his pride at triumphing on the 150th anniversary of the Open on the iconic Old Course.

"First and foremost, I want to thank the team," he told Sky Sports. "All the hard work we've done over the last couple of years is really starting to pay off. This one definitely makes it worth it.

"It was just absolutely awesome out there. The course was exactly how an Open Championship should be played; firm and fast, tough pins. It was just unreal.

"I had a lot of support out there, especially the Aussie guys – you guys really kept me going out there. This one is for Oz!

"It's just unreal. This place is so cool. To have the 150th Open here and walk away with the win, it's something I've always dreamt of. I didn't even know I was going to get this far, it's just awesome.

"To look at these names on this trophy and then add mine, it's unreal, I'm lost for words. I'm definitely going to find out how many beers fit in this thing, that's for sure!"

Cameron Young admitted his eagle at the last actually made his near miss at The Open a little harder to take.

The American sunk a putt for a two at the 72nd hole, but playing partner Cameron Smith etched his name onto the Claret Jug with a birdie moments later, sealing victory after starting the day four shots behind leading duo Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland.

Young finished on 19 under, one stroke behind Smith, while crowd favourite McIlroy ended up third on 18 under after a closing 70 – five worse than Young's final round, and six more than the imperious Smith. 

His last-hole heroics had given Young a glimmer of hope that a play-off might be forthcoming, though he did not expect the on-song Smith to fluff his lines at St Andrews.

"No, Cameron was not going to miss that," he said.

"It probably hurts a little worse to come up one shot short. If you lose by eight you don't really care.

"But I played well. I would have signed up for 65 this morning, and to watch Cameron shoot what he did, it was pretty amazing. I had a front-row seat to I'm sure one of the better rounds that's been played this year.

"And we both started four back of two guys that are capable of as much if not more than just about everybody else in the world.

"I know Cameron Smith's ranked very highly in the world. I don't know exactly what, but I imagine top five or six. And this kind of just is more proof that he is that good and he is one of the very, very best players in the world."

Young was pleased with how he dealt with the pressure of being in the mix on the final day of a major and hopes to keep putting himself in that position.

"I think I handled it pretty well," he said.

"At this point – not as much as some of those other guys – but I've at least been around the lead a lot this year, so it's not the first time I've been in that situation.

"I think I said at the PGA one of these times I'll shoot five under on the back nine and that will be enough, and here I did that and it wasn't.

"I guess one of these times I'll shoot six on the back nine on Sunday and that will be enough!"

Jos Buttler acknowledged England are "not producing what we are capable of" after India won the ODI series 2-1 at Old Trafford.

England followed the trend of a bowler-dominated series, losing early wickets after being put into bat by Rohit Sharma in the decider on Sunday.

But new white-ball captain Buttler led the recovery with 60 alongside Moeen Ali (34) before Craig Overton's 32 helped the hosts post 259 all out.

England appeared well-placed to defend the total when Reece Topley dismissed Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit and Virat Kohli to leave India reeling at 38-3.

Yet Rishabh Pant combined with Hardik Pandya (71) for an unbroken stand of 133 as the wicketkeeper-batsman crafted his maiden ODI century, guiding the tourists to a five-wicket victory with 47 balls to spare.

Pant dazzled with his 125 off 113 deliveries, but Buttler missed a glorious stumping chance when the left-hander was on just 18 and paid a heavy price.

"It was a good wicket once you got yourself in, so we were a bit light with the bat. But the start we made with the ball gave us a chance and that missed stumping cost us," Buttler said.

"Pant is a really good player. If you give good players a chance they will hurt you and had we taken those chances we had a good hold with a long tail. But with the score we put up we had to take all our chances.

"We are not quite hitting our straps as a batting unit, but we are not far off. We are just not producing what we are capable of. So hopefully individually and collectively we can find a solution.

"These guys are fantastic to work and there is still a lot of enjoyment. Hopefully we will find our best cricket soon.

"I am an experienced cricketer but a young captain, so I am not worrying too much. I have lots to learn, and I need time to do that."

Hardik set the tone with the ball for India with career-best ODI figures of 4-24 that included the all-rounder having the final say in a short-ball battle with Liam Livingstone (27) by getting him caught on the boundary.

Livingstone and Hardik exchanged words throughout the contest and, despite the India star's wry smile upon the England batter's dismissal, he says the pair's relationship is amicable.

"White ball cricket is something very close to me," Hardik said after India completed 2-1 series victories over England in both the T20I and ODIs.

"I cherish my white-ball game. We all know England are such a good team. For us it was important to check ourselves out with our plans and the World Cup ahead.

"It was an ideal chance for us to step up and show what we have. It was important for me to come in and stop the runs and bowl as many dots.

"We took two wickets early, but they recovered well and were cruising. I love short balls. I don't fancy people taking me on, it always gets me into the game.

"I don't mind getting hit for six sixes as long as I take wickets. I am good pals [with Livingstone] but at the end of the day that's his game. He takes his chances on."

Hardik was also quick to hail the efforts of Pant, saying: "Today he played the situation. Our partnership changed the game and the way he finished the game was special."

LeBron James showed no rust on Saturday in his return to competitive basketball at the Drew League, while former team-mate Kyrie Irving was a no-show after being expected to take the court. 

James had 42 points, 16 rebounds and four steals while teaming with Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan at the Drew League, a pro-am event held every summer in the Los Angeles area. 

It was James' first action since missing seven of the Los Angeles Lakers' final eight games due to a sprained ankle. James appeared in just 56 games in 2021-22 as he dealt with ankle, knee and abdominal injuries. 

However, he managed to average 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists for a Lakers team that missed the playoffs with a 33-49 record. 

"I'm 100 percent healthy," James told ESPN on Saturday in his first appearance at the Drew League since 2011. 

Irving, meanwhile, was expected to play in the event but instead attended a camp hosted by Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy. 

"They were pretty sure he was coming," Drew League Commissioner Dino Smiley told NBA.com of Irving's representatives. "But you know how Kyrie is. I guess he changed his mind in the middle of it."

James and Irving won an NBA title with the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, and rumours have been swirling that they could be reunited in Los Angeles. 

Irving recently exercised his $36.5million player option for next season with the Brooklyn Nets, but with Kevin Durant requesting a trade out of Brooklyn, the Nets could be looking to move Irving as well. 

ESPN has reported that the Nets and Lakers have been in talks about a deal that would send Irving to Los Angeles and Russell Westbrook to Brooklyn. 

"In order to get great talent, you have to give up a lot of great talent and value in draft picks," Lakers president Jeanie Buss told NBA.com. "Every team is sophisticated and smart. Nobody is just asleep at the wheel. 

"Everybody is just trying to make their team better. Some teams are pivoting from a path they were on and want to deal because they have players that don't fit what their plans are. So it's a fluid situation. You always have to stay on top of it."

Cameron Smith surged to victory at The Open with a stunning final-round 64, edging out Rory McIlroy and Cameron Young to claim his first major.

The Australian started Sunday's round four shots back from leading duo McIlroy and Viktor Hovland but kept his cool to triumph over Young by one stroke on a thrilling day at St Andrews, finishing on 20 under.

He extinguished McIlroy's hopes of ending an eight-year major drought at the 150th edition of golf's oldest major, where record crowds were treated to a memorable tournament, even if they were denied the champion the majority wanted to see lift the Claret Jug.

McIlroy's closing 70, during which he passed up a series of birdie chances, was only enough for third spot as Young eagled the last to take second and Hovland faded to finish six shots off the pace, alongside Tommy Fleetwood.

The focus initially was firmly on the final pairing, who sat on a four-shot advantage, and it was Hovland who blinked first, three-putting for a bogey five on the fourth and McIlroy's lead was two when he birdied the fifth. 

But as Hovland stalled, it was Smith who led the charge of the chasing pack, making gains in five consecutive holes after the turn to move to the summit on 19 under. 

He showed nerves of steel to hole a tricky putt for par on the 17th and then made a birdie at the last after Young had found the hole for an eagle.

That left McIlroy needing a two at the par-four last to force a play-off as fans poured onto the 18th fairway at the home of golf, but he could only manage a par as a new major champion was crowned.

Jasper Philipsen secured his first Tour de France victory on stage 15 as race leader Jonas Vingegaard recovered from a crash but lost another Jumbo-Visma team-mate.

Primoz Roglic withdrew due to injury before the 202.5-kilometre ride – the second-longest of this year's Tour – between Rodez and Carcassonne on Sunday.

Steven Kruijswijk became the second Jumbo-Visma to abandon after crashing with 135km to race before Vingegaard came down, but was able to maintain a lead of two minutes and 22 seconds over defending champion Tadej Pogacar.

After the drama of crashes during the climbing section of the stage, Alpecin-Deceuninck rider Philipsen edged out green jersey holder Wout van Aert and Mads Pedersen to sprint to victory.

"It makes it super unbelievable," said Pedersen, who had previously finished in the top three eight times in Le Tour sprints without victory.

"I know what losing is like in the Tour de France. I was close many, many times. That it worked out today is incredible. I can't believe it.

"I felt Wout was coming close, but I also knew the finish line from last year. We got boxed in a little bit before the final corner and I knew it was not long anymore after the last corner.

"I knew I had to make up some positions. It was good that I could pass Mads. It's been a massive search for this victory.

"We've worked really hard for it. I'm super proud we can finally finish it off after a tough Tour. We had to wait till stage 15 with the team, but everyone still believed it was possible. I'm super happy."

Vingegaard's rapid recovery to protect yellow jersey

All may have looked lost when yellow jersey leader Vingegaard was involved in a crash that also included Jumbo-Visma team-mate Tiesj Benoot.

But the Dane (4:05) smashed the previous King of the Mountains record on Cote du Lac de Saint-Ferreol, held by Daryl Impey since 2016 (4:18), to maintain his lead over Pogacar and Geraint Thomas.

Yet with no Roglic or Kruijswijk, Le Tour may be blown wide open with a week remaining.

STAGE RESULTS

1. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 4:27:27
2. Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) +0:00
3. Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) +0:00
4. Peter Sagan (Team TotalEnergies) +0:00
5. Danny van Poppel (BORA–hansgrohe) +0:00

CLASSIFICATION STANDINGS 

General Classification

1. Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) 59:58:28
2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE-Team Emirates) +2:22
3. Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers) +2:43

Points Classification

1. Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) 378
2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE-Team Emirates) 182
3. Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 176

King of the Mountains

1. Simon Geschke (Cofidis) 46
2. Louis Meintjes (Intermarche–Wanty–Gobert Materiaux) 39
3. Neilson Powless (EF Education–Easypost) 37

Jose Mourinho will be able to roll up a shirt sleeve and show off his achievements after having his European trophy feats tattooed on his right arm.

The Portuguese has celebrated 20 seasons of success in UEFA club competitions by being inked, and he has revealed the designs are closely linked to the clubs where he enjoyed that success.

Mourinho is the only boss to have won the full set of the Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League, while he was also a UEFA Cup winner with Porto.

He won the Champions League with Porto in 2004 and with Inter in 2010, adding the Europa League in 2017 while boss of Manchester United, and landing the inaugural Conference League with Roma last season.

Mourinho, the self-styled 'Special One', also won the UEFA Cup, the forerunner of the Europa League, in the 2002-03 season during his tenure at Porto.

The 59-year-old, who demanded "respect, respect, respect" for his three Premier League titles after United's painful defeat to Tottenham in August 2018, no longer needs to point to the record books to show off his European feats.

"This is my tattoo. The joy of the Roman people led me to do it," Mourinho wrote on Sunday, posting the designs on Instagram. "Then I thought about something special, something that would honour all the clubs where I won European competitions.

"At the same time, I wanted a unique tattoo, one that, so far, I am the only one who can have it."

Mourinho hinted earlier in the week that he had been to see a tattooist, revealing a patch on his upper right arm that has been hiding the design.

Each trophy is pictured, with the Europa League and Conference League flanking the coveted Champions League silverware, and the colours of each of the clubs where he achieved the success are included on the cups.

Despite having a record start to his career, Minnesota Vikings star Justin Jefferson doesn't think he is the best wide receiver in the NFL – at least not yet. 

Jefferson gave that accolade to Davante Adams of the Las Vegas Raiders during an interview with Complex this week, but the two-time Pro Bowler was quick to say he expects to come out on top following the 2022 season. 

"I'll say after this year I'll be the best receiver in the NFL," Jefferson said. "I definitely have to give it to Davante Adams of now, him being so crazy and dynamic on the field. 

"His route running is crazy, so I definitely have to give it to him right now, but I'm pretty sure after this year, it's going to be me." 

Jefferson has the numbers to back up that prediction, as his 3,016 receiving yards are the most for a player in their first two seasons in the NFL. His 196 catches are tied with Michael Thomas of the New Orleans Saints for the most in a wide receiver’s first two campaigns. 

After being selected with the 22nd overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Jefferson had 88 receptions and set an NFL rookie record with 1,400 yards to go along with seven touchdowns. Last season, he totalled 108 catches for 1,616 yards and 10 TDs. 

Jefferson's 1,616 receiving yards in 2021 were the second-most in the NFL behind Los Angeles Rams star Cooper Kupp (1,947) and slightly ahead of Adams, who had 1,553 yards in his final season with the Green Bay Packers before being traded to the Raiders in March. 

"It's definitely tough to outdo 1,600 yards," Jefferson said. "It's not normal for people to get that many yards consistently, back-to-back like that. 

“Really just working on my weaknesses that I felt that I had throughout the season, always working on my game. I'm always working on route running, always can work on catching the ball, so just trying to better my craft at all of those different categories." 

If Jefferson can better his craft, he believes he will be the best wide receiver in the league. 

"I think I have to do it three years in a row for everybody to believe so," he said. "Some people don't think that after two years, you deserve to be at the top of the league. 

“And then me, I feel like I'm going to surpass 1,600 yards, too. So I think that I'll become the best receiver after this year."