Henrik Stenson of Sweden takes his club prior to hitting his tee shot at the 12th hole during the final round of the British Open Golf Championship at the Royal Troon Golf Club in Troon, Scotland, Sunday, July 17, 2016. Stenson’s score of -20 represented a new record for golf’s oldest major, beating the Open record of 19 under set by Tiger Woods in 2000, as well as firing only the second 63 in the final round of a major by the eventual victor after Johnny Miller in the 1973 US Open at Oakmont.
Advertisement
“The clubhead came loose on it earlier in the week so I had to get it re-glued, so it is partly to do with that and partly the throw itself, ” said the 27-year-old, who told Press Association Sport last year his fine for launching his three iron into a lake at Doral during the WGC-Cadillac Championship was reduced from 25,000 United States dollars to 5,000 (£3,700) for apologising on TV.
“I’m happy with the way I played, but disappointed it wasn’t enough”. “I played a bogey-free round of 65 on the final round of a major”.
He needed to be at his best to beat playing partner Phil Mickelson, whose 65 saw him finish three shots adrift, with the killer blow coming when Stenson holed a 45 foot birdie putt on the 16th green.
Mickelson had another chance to make up ground at 16, but his long eagle putt just missed.
While this weekend functioned primarily as a showcase for Stenson and Mickelson, some of golf’s other top performers closed the tournament well.
The Swede took the lead on the first hole with a birdie and stayed in contention with two more before dropping a shot on the sixth.
All he wanted was the silver Claret Jug.
The birdie on the 18th hole to seal up the championship and his first major victory was his 10th (!) birdie on the round, which tied The Open record for most birdies in one round.
An 18-foot birdie putt on the par-three 14th was one highlight, along with with a 50-foot birdie putt from off the green on the 15th.
Spare a thought for Mickelson, whose final score of 17 under would have been good enough to win 140 of the previous 144 Opens.
The closest competitor was a huge 11 strokes back, as JB Holmes came in third place at 6-under.
The Spaniard has always been considered the best player never to win a major – and there is no doubt he will be striving hard again today.
This is a course on which Americans have excelled over the years, supplying the last six winners.
A two-shot swing on the first hole – Mickelson birdie, Stenson bogey – gave Mickelson a stroke advantage. Indeed, from a scoring standpoint, he was the best ever in a major championship.
“I can understand where some heads have gone”, he said.
Golf’s top four players have withdrawn from the Olympics, but the Rio Games will have at least two of this year’s major champions – Stenson and Masters victor Danny Willett of England.
Advertisement
Now it’s on to the PGA Championship in less than two weeks, the schedule compressed because of the Olympics.
