The last time he got this close was in 2013, when he was edged out of another British Open – by Mickelson.
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Phil Mickelson of the United States, right, shakes hands with Henrik Stenson of Sweden, on the 18th green after they completed their third round of the British Open Golf Championships at the Royal Troon Golf Club in Troon, Scotlan…
In all likelihood, the guy who captures this particular match will lift the Claret Jug.
Mickelson dismissed the notion that Sunday would be a straight head-to-head, although Stenson suggested he would have one eye on the American, one on the course. “I know Phil’s not going to back down, and I’m certainly not going to back down either”. So it should be an exciting afternoon….
Stenson finished with a 3-under 68 and a 12-under 201 total as he battled Mickelson throughout the day in the final group.
This was all about Stenson and Mickelson, two powerful players with different styles and different credentials, mainly the number of majors. – Stenson on his bid for his first major.
Johnson moved to 5-under and was in sight of Stenson and Mickelson when he took a triple-bogey 7 on No. 11 that ran alongside a railway line. Stenson fired right back at the 14th, with a birdie to Mickelson’s bogey, the same result as at 17.
In a head to head with Stenson that went to and fro Saturday, Mickelson shot 1-under 70 for his third straight round under par. It gave the 40-year-old Swede his first 54-hole lead in a major, by one shot over Mickelson, who is going for his sixth major. “It’s going to take some good golfing to do that, but I’m certainly willing to give it a try”.
Between the two, there are very different career paths coming to a crossroads. His game was nowhere near as sharp as his opening-round 63 that tied a major championship record.
The San Diegan, who has dropped to 19th in the world rankings, hasn’t won since the British in2013. The lie was OK, he chipped out sideways and nearly matched the birdie of Stenson, which dropped Mickelson out of the lead for the first time since his 14th hole on Thursday.
Ranked sixth in the world, Stenson’s last win came last month in the European Tour’s BMW International Open.
“I think that’s a bit unfair to me but don’t feel sorry for me”.
But when was the last time two golf heavyweights went at it head-to-head in an Open Championship, 36 holes (at least) in a row?
Mickelson didn’t swing as well as the first two days. But he admitted to pressing early on the front nine on Saturday, and he got quick with his swing. “That’s when I started to get jumpy and anxious”.
“I was off. I didn’t have my best stuff”, Mickelson said afterward.
The 27-year-old Johnston, whose nickname is “Beef”, is at 5-under 208 through three rounds, breaking par in all of them. He sprayed his 2-iron, a reliable club this week, to the left off the tee and got a break when it stayed out of a gorse bush. He didn’t have a backswing, but he managed to punch the ball 100 yards down the fairway and got up and down for his ninth straight par. Mickelson lost the lead by missing the green to the left and making bogey.
He made a 25-foot birdie putt on the 13th hole for a two-shot lead.
The two were separated by more than one shot only once all day, when Mickelson holed a 20-foot birdie at the 13th. Mickelson missed the green at the par-3 and made bogey, while Stenson hit a great tee shot and drained an 8-footer for birdie.
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And even with the tee moved forward on the 11th, Porteous made bogey there for the third day running after going to the turn in 33 and picking up another shot on the 10th. “I’ve always thought that it’s better to be one ahead than one behind, because that means Phil’s got to play better than I do”.
