At the end of the Round 3 highlights posted on the Open Championship’s official YouTube page, you can hear one of the commentators make a prophetic statement about the final round:

“I think we’re going to have a sensational day’s golf tomorrow on the Old Course…..”

Indeed, perhaps it was meant to be considering all the buildup to the 150th edition of golf’s oldest major championship. A notable anniversary in any event – sports or not – brings an extra sense of anticipation in the months and weeks leading up to it. The NFL went to great lengths to promote Super Bowl 50 during the 2015 season, then again in 2019 to celebrate 100 years of the league. The NBA recently celebrated its 75th season, and are surely making plans for a bigger celebration in 25 years.

When it comes to the majors in golf, it seems to vary more how organizations choose to mark notable anniversaries. There’s little question Augusta National will soon be arranging for a grand celebration of the 100th Masters, and the 100th US Open was marked by one of the greatest individual performances when Tiger Woods won at Pebble Beach in record-setting fashion. But the 100th PGA Championship, for me at least, didn’t seem to bring with it a lot of pomp and circumstance. Apart from Brooks Koepka winning his third major in 14 months, and that this would be the last scheduled PGA Championship in August before the schedule reshuffling, it seemed like just another major – significant but not one that marked 100 years.

But the Royal & Ancient weren’t going to let the 150th playing of the Open Championship proceed under the radar.

After all, where else would have they held it but St. Andrews, the “Home of Golf.” And the Old Course certainly delivered its share of drama last weekend.

When all was said and done, it was Cameron Smith – who entered St. Andrews having already won twice on the PGA Tour this season alone – who posted a Sunday 64 to finish 20-under par (tying the lowest score to par in any major) and win the Claret Jug. His final round, which featured five straight birdies from the 10th through 14th holes, saw him overtake 54-hole leader Rory McIlroy, who ultimately finished third.

And the story of McIlroy is one that will be remembered for years to come. The Northern Irishman has won four majors, including the 2014 Open at Royal Liverpool, but a portion of his career has been defined by close calls. At the 2011 Masters, he had the lead entering Sunday before a final-round 80 took him down to T15. In 2022 at St. Andrews, McIlroy shot 70 in the final round; far from what could be described as a meltdown, but it still opened the door for Smith to win (and Cameron Young, for that matter, to finish second).

It capped off a year where McIlroy can say he finished in the top ten of every golf major in a calendar year; he was second at the Masters, eighth at the PGA Championship, and tied for fifth at the US Open. In fact, he’s posted a top 10 finish in at least one major every year since 2009. He has the talent to add to his current tally of four majors, and when he does so, it will celebrated by the thousands of fans at the course, and millions watching at home.

But the common phrase in sports is that a player or team “won” the event in question or “lost” it. In the case of the 2022 Open at St. Andrews, Cameron Smith clearly won it. And that is what the 150th Open, the first major to have been played that many times, should be remembered by the golf community.

Who would’ve imagined the summer 2022 season would play out for the England cricket team the way that it has so far?

Entering their three-Test series with world champions New Zealand, England were on a dismal run of results, including a 4-0 Ashes loss in Australia; it’s now been more than 11 years since the Three Lions won a road Test against their bitter rivals. Joe Root had resigned as captain, clearly overwhelmed by the pressures of the role, even when his individual level of play stayed high. That put Ben Stokes – a man who months ago was taking an “indefinite break” from the sport – in a spot where he had to rally a team for four total Tests against the two participants in last year’s World Test Championship Final.

No pressure, right?

Perhaps the signs were evident from the very first match with the Kiwis, who were bowled out for 132 in the first innings as England went on to win by five wickets. And that’s been the theme of the summer for the Three Lions; when things get tough, they dig deep and do whatever’s necessary to reach the desired result. Jonny Bairstow, in particular, has experienced a career revival at the crease, with four centuries in his last five innings. The only reason that streak is not 5-for-5 is because England finished their run chase of 296 in the third Test with the Kiwis before Bairstow had a chance to reach three figures; that didn’t stop him from ending the match with a towering six. Bairstow’s run continued with centuries in both innings against India, as England chased down their highest target in history to officially draw the series, a feat that would’ve seemed impossible had the final match been played in 2021 as originally scheduled.

And Ben Stokes has shown that he is capable of leading the team forward as captain. His talent was evident from his early appearances, and his performances during both the World Cup and the Ashes in 2019 provided proof that a knighthood will soon be coming. His feats, along with the “play-to-win” mentality brought forth by Brendon McCullum’s Baz-ball, has the Three Lions in a much better position then many would’ve thought even three months ago.

That’s not to say there’s absolutely no room for improvement. Yes, England have showed real character in their run chases to win all four Tests, but not all fourth-innings chases will be smooth sailing under McCullum and Stokes. There are also questions to be asked of individual players; Zak Crawley struggled mightily against New Zealand and only did marginally better against India. And do England have a reliable lineup of seamers behind James Anderson & Stuart Broad when they retire before the end of the decade?

Those questions can’t be ignored in the wake of four impressive results. The helpful news, though, is that England has more than a month now to prepare for their next Test series against South Africa. If they can continue making adjustments, they will be well on their way to proving the last month-plus was no fluke; England Test cricket will be on the way back to a point of pride.