Was This The Best Open Championship Ever
By: Derek Clements | Mon 15 Jul 2024
Anybody who witnessed The Duel In The Sun at Turnberry in 1977, when Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus went toe to toe for four days, would have believed they had witnessed the finest tournament in Open Championship history.
But Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson gave it a run for its money at Royal Troon in 2016. Boy did they ever.
Stenson carded a joint record eight-under-par 63 to win The Open by three shots after an enthralling final-round tussle with Mickelson.
The Swede, 40, birdied four of his final five holes to win his first major with an Open Championship record score of 20 under par at Royal Troon.
Mickelson, 46, had an eagle and four birdies in a 65, while fellow American JB Holmes was third on six under.
The pairing of Stenson and Mickelson over the final 36 holes drew an obvious comparison with the 1977 Open.
Stenson finished runner-up to Mickelson at the 2013 Open at Muirfield.
At Royal Troon, Stenson began the day a shot ahead on 12 under, only to lose the lead by the end of the first hole, as he bogeyed and Mickelson birdied.
Stenson responded by knocking in five birdies in his next seven holes to edge one clear of Mickelson who managed one birdie and eagle.
They were level again when Stenson bogeyed the 11th but he was back in front with a birdie on the 14th and went two clear for first time when he rolled in a 45-foot putt across the 15th green.
A third successive birdie on the 16th was matched by Mickelson and the American then rolled in an excellent par-saving putt on the 17th to stay two adrift going down the last.
But the five-time major winner left his approach to the 18th 30 feet short of the cup while Stenson fired to 15 feet and rolled in to match the 63 Mickelson opened with on Thursday.
Rory McIlroy and England's Tyrrell Hatton tied fifth on four under.
They finished on the same mark as Spain's Sergio Garcia, and one behind American Steve Stricker.
Like McIlroy, Jordan Spieth saved his best round of the week for Sunday, the American's 68 lifting him to two over.
Crowd favourite Andrew 'Beef' Johnston birdied three of his first four holes to get to seven under before the 27-year-old Londoner faded to a two-over 73 and eighth on three under.
Defending champion Zach Johnson ended one under, alongside English duo Andy Sullivan and Matt Southgate, the Essex golfer who conquered testicular cancer.
England's Masters champion Danny Willett closed with a level-par 71 for seven over.
Stenson’s 20-under total eclipsed Tiger Woods' 19-under-par record total in winning The Open at St Andrews in 2000.
It also equalled Jason Day's record in a major, which the Australian world number one set at the 2015 US PGA Championship.
The world number six's 63 also beat two-time Open champion Greg Norman's 64 at Royal St George's in 1993 as the lowest final round by a champion, while his aggregate score of 264 beat the Australian's four-round total of 267, set the same year.
His 63 equalled the lowest to win a major, emulating Johnny Miller's score to win the 1973 US Open at Oakmont.
Stenson becam the fourth man over 40 in six years to win the Claret Jug - following Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke (Sandwich, 2011), Ernie Els (Lytham, 2012) and Mickelson (Muirfield, 2013).
"I had to play at my best to get it over the finish line," he said. "I lost a dear friend on Wednesday morning in the United States from cancer and I feel like he has been with me all week, Mike this one is for you."
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Tags: The Open Championship The Open Royal Troon
