Francesco Molinari of Italy plays his shot from the 1st fairway during the final round of the British Open Golf Championship at the Royal Troon Golf Club in Troon, Scotland, Sunday, July 17, 2016.
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Stenson’s previous best finish in a major was a tie for second at the 2013 Open at Muirfield, which Mickelson won for his most recent major victory.
No losers here, but only one victor.
Stenson shot an 8-under 63 on Sunday to finish the tournament at 20-under and claim his first major championship.
The final round of the British Open Championship featured one of the great duals in golf history, but it was Henrik Stenson that proved to be too much for Phil Mickelson. But so far, so good.
It was reminiscent of the “Duel in the Sun” just down the Ayrshire coastline at Turnberry in 1977, when Tom Watson beat Jack Nicklaus by one shot after a weekend of punches and counterpunches.
For the second day running and for the third time this week, Stenson birdied the par-three 14th to edge ahead once more, Mickelson having missed his long-range attempt. Mickelson said it was the best golf he ever played without winning.
For Mickelson, there was no second-guessing the way he played.
“Yeah, I mean we had it before Padraig (Harrington) won at Carnoustie: ‘When are we going to have a European major winner?’ Then he managed to do that, and then there’s always another question”, Stenson said.
“I don’t have a point where I can look back and say, “I should have done that” or ‘Had I only done this.’ I played a bogey-free round of 65 on the final round of a major. It could have been a day that got away from me, so I’m proud of that”.
He would’ve been the oldest victor of the Open since 1867. “I’m delighted I was able to do that”. So I think timing was good throughout the front nine. “Played close to flawless golf and got beat”.
Stricker carded four birdies and two bogeys going out, and a birdie on the back nine to share the day’s best 68 with Stenson, while Holmes had four birdies on the front nine, and two bogeys on the back for a 69. Even so, he came up with the rights shots at the right time until Stenson passed him late in the afternoon. Miller did it at Oakmont in 1973.
The two-man duel was scintillating stuff, a back-and-forth match that will go down as among the greatest in history. That left him in a tie for sixth place, nine strokes behind leader Henrik Stenson.
And the former Players champion looked to have put the nail in the coffin with a sublime tee shot on the par-three 17th.
The pair were tied for the lead again when Stenson three-putted the 11th and Mickelson ensured he stayed on level terms by holing from 18 feet for par on the next after twice tangling with the thick rough.
That was the decisive blow.
While Stenson and Mickelson are fighting for first place, the field has tremendously failed to catch up with them.
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Rickie Fowler turned even with two birdies and two bogeys, but a quadruple bogey at 11 and two more bogeys led to a 76 and 5-over. It was reminiscent of the 1997 PGA Championship at Winged Foot, when Davis Love III and Justin Leonard shared the 54-hole lead and were seven clear of everyone else.
