“It’s not like I have decades left of opportunities to win majors, so each one means a lot to me”, Mickelson said.
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The fourth round was one of golf’s great duels as Stenson and Mickelson battled it out over 18 holes for the Claret Jug. “Because you look back and say, ‘Well, what do I need to do?'”
There is little doubt Mickelson felt unlucky with how well he played on the final day, with not a single bogey in his six-under-par round of 65. Had they been playing combined best-ball, their score would have been 59.
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.
Stenson entered the final round with a one-shot lead, but bogeyed the first hole while Mickelson birdied.
When he followed that up with a monster birdie putt from off the 15th green, there were two shots between the leaders for the first time.
QUOTEWORTHY: “A 65 in the final round of a major is usually good enough to win”. “It’s going to be quite an experience, I think”, he said last week. “I put in my best performance today”. “I knew I had to keep on pushing, keep on giving myself birdie chances”.
Stenson’s four-round aggregate of 264 is a major record in its own right. The only time Mickelson was never a serious factor in the closing holes was when Jordan Spieth won by four shots at the Masters previous year. “What a great match today”. “I certainly was thinking about that”.
“He’s been battling cancer for a long time and I had news on Tuesday that the end was near and unfortunately he passed away on Wednesday morning over in the U.S”. He joked: “I guess I’m a third Scottish now, aren’t I?”
Like Stenson and Mickelson, Watson and Nicklaus played the final two rounds together at Turnberry.
Stenson shot a blistering 63 for a major record-equaling total of 20 under par as he edged the 46-year-old Mickelson by three shots on a scintillating final day of the British Open in Scotland.
The luck of the draw was significant, with Stenson and Mickelson both out early on Friday, before windy afternoon conditions caused havoc for the late starters.
But Stenson showed his steel by nailing 10 birdies in his sensational final round – including a 20-footer at the last – to win their heavyweight final group showdown by three shots.
With five holes remaining he was bang on Stenson’s shoulder at 16 under par.
One of those was the 1977 British Open when the North Palm Resident and Tom Watson hooked up in what became known as the “Duel in the Sun” and will go down as one of the most memorable days in golf history.
That “97 Open was here in Troon”. No one older than 48 has won any major championship. “Go out and finish what I didn’t manage to finish” and I’m really proud to have done that.
Woods finished on 19 under in 2000 and 18 under in 2006, while Nick Faldo carded an 18 under way back in 1990.
Mickelson was a runner-up for the 11th time in a major, but never like this. “I’ve known him for many, many years and he was a very keen golfer and a great man”.
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“I got beat by 10 birdies …”
