Mickelson missed the green to the left and failed to hole a par putt from 18 feet.
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This was all about Stenson and Mickelson, two powerful players with different styles and different credentials, mainly the number of majors – five for Mickelson, none for Stenson.
No losers here, but only one victor.
Five-time Major victor Mickelson had beaten Stenson into second place when he lifted the Claret Jug at Muirfield in 2013, and despite a flawless 65 to finish 17 under he was unable to usurp the Swede this time around.
He added the gloss in front of the packed grandstands with a 10th birdie to cap one of the most remarkable days of major championship golf.
Right on his heels, nearly to the very end, was Mickelson.
Mickelson had led by a shot from Stenson overnight and the 46-year-old left-hander played well for much of his third round, with birdies at three, 13 and 16.
SHOT OF THE DAY: Stenson holed a 50-foot birdie putt at No. 15 for a two-shot lead with three holes to play. Usually, that’s good enough to do it, and I got beat. “I’m disappointed that it was at my expense”.
SWEDISH DELIGHT: Stenson is the first Swedish man to win a major.
Stenson finished at 20-under 264 overall, breaking both the Open scoring record of 267 set by Greg Norman at Royal St. George’s in 1993 and the major championship mark of 265 by David Toms at the 2001 PGA Championship.
“I knew he wasn’t going to back down at any point, and in a way that makes it easier for myself”, Stenson said.
For Mickelson, there was no second-guessing the way he played. Two holes later, Mickelson was in danger of losing the lead when he pushed his 2-iron toward trouble and was fortunate the ball deflected off a piece of prickly gorse.
At least Lefty won’t have long to lament his 11th runner-up finish in a major, which is second only to Nicklaus – there’s that name again – with 19. Mickelson spoke earlier in the week about not having as much pressure knowing he already has won them.
In a way, maybe even a little more.
“I’ve always thought it’s better to be one ahead than one behind”, Stenson said. “I’m proud of the way I played”.
He would’ve been the oldest victor of the Open since 1867. This is the first time he’s ever taken a lead into the final round of a major.
One minute they were slugging it out in one of golf’s fiercest battles, the next minute Henrik Stenson stood over Phil Mickelson in triumph with the Claret Jug won. “I put in my best performance today”.
The format for the Olympic golf, which has been criticized by some players for not incorporating teams or something other than stroke play, will be 72 holes for 60 players in the men’s and women’s fields.
Stenson, 40, leads a major championship all by himself for the first time and has never been out front going to the final round.
He looked like he’d done it all before.
Now, they have one more round, this time with a claret jug at stake.
The final stroke in this masterpiece was a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole that curled into the cup on the final turn.
While there has never been a Scandinavian victor of a major, there has been an American champion in each of the last six Opens played at Troon.
Phil Mickelson can count the heartaches and disappointments. He shot a final-round 67 to end at 4 under par to record his eighth top-10 finish in his last 11 majors.
The two-man duel was scintillating stuff, a back-and-forth match that will go down as among the greatest in history.
Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson are locked in a memorable duel at Royal Troon. But either way, I’ve shot three rounds under par.
Stenson tied it up with a birdie of his own at the second hole, rolling in a 15-foot putt. Stenson made a matching birdie, pulling off a nifty up-and-down from the thick grass left of the green.
That was the decisive blow. “Hopefully I’ll get dialed back in tomorrow”. He won the PGA the last time it was played at Baltustol in 2005.
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“We’re only getting started, aren’t we?” he said, a newfound confidence in his voice.
