In this July 9, 1977, file phot, Tom Watson, of the United States, acknowledges applause and cheers from the gallery after wi.
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The next closest competitor to Nicklaus was Hubert Green. He was 14 shots behind.
Mickelson may have paid the best compliment by claiming that he had never played better without winning, saying: “It’s probably the best I’ve played and not won”.
Watson and Nicklaus had the same score through 54 holes, shooting the same score each round – including third-round 65s.
“We were on the 7th tee on Sunday, I was drawing on a cigarette”.
On that day, it was a two-man battle.
Nicklaus doesn’t watch a lot of golf on television, but he considers himself fortunate to have watched “every second” of this one.
Phil Mickelson said he could not have done any more in the final round at Royal Troon after Henrik Stenson produced a record-breaking performance to deny the American a second Open title.
It was like watching two prizefighters battle for the heavyweight belt.
After all the controversy about players” reluctance to play in the Olympics in the build-up to the Open, and whether they should have a responsibility to help grow the game, a man known as “Beef’ gave the sport a shot in the arm.
Down by one shot at the outset, Mickelson immediately reversed the score when he striped his approach to 1 foot at No. 1 and Stenson three-putted. The two traded blows back and forth, dazzling with their mind-blowing shotmaking abilities.
267: Phil Mickelson 63-69-70-65.
Stenson acknowledged that it will take some time for his victory to sink in, not least because of the manner of it.
A Sunday singles match-up would be mouth-watering after the titanic Troon tussle, although Stenson is not so sure. He had a round for the ages in a pairing for the ages, which resulted in a tournament for the ages.
Stenson and Mickelson laughingly lapped the field. In 2013, the Swede won the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup and the European Tour’s Race to Dubai, becoming the first player to win both.
And, the question has been asked, how does it stack up against Watson and Nicklaus’ “Duel in the Sun”.
Phil Mickelson (left) congratulates Henrik Stenson for winning the British Open Golf Championships at the Royal Troon Golf Club in Troon, Scotland, Sunday. I played a bogey-free round and shot 65 in the final round of a major, usually that’s good enough to do it.
Rory McIlroy enjoyed a good final day by scoring -4 to finish the tournament on -4, but despite an impressive start the likeable Andrew “Beef” Johnston fell down the rankings.
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“It certainly crossed my mind a little bit out there today, that match when Jack and Tom went head to head there in 77”, Mickelson said.
