Stenson wins The Open

Troon. — Henrik Stenson emerged victorious from a titanic duel with Phil Mickelson to win the 145th Open Championship at Royal Troon yesterday after firing a final round of 63 that equalled the lowest round score in major history.

Not since the legendary ‘Duel in the Sun’ waged by Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson at Turnberry in 1977 has golf’s oldest and most prestigious championship seen a final day quite like this one.

Mickelson threw everything he had at Stenson, who held a one-shot lead overnight, firing four birdies and an eagle in a quite brilliant round of 65, but even that was not enough.

Stenson matched Mickelson blow-by-blow, carding 10 birdies of his own in a round that will go down as one of the greatest of all time. Not only did it clinch Stenson a long-awaited first major at the age of 40 – and a first ever major for a Swede – but it also held off one of the all-time greats in Mickelson, who was chasing a sixth major and second Open title.

His winning total of 20 under par was three clear of Mickelson, and clinched fittingly by a 25-foot birdie putt at the 18th hole. Barely believable was the score of third-placed JB Holmes, who was a full 14 strokes behind Stenson on six under.

This was golf from another planet. It had echoes of Tiger Woods demolishing the rest of the field at the US Open in 2000 to win by 15 shots. Stenson’s final round also had echoes of Greg Norman’s own final-round 64 to win The Open at Royal St George’s in 1993.

But this was even better. It equalled the lowest round score in major championship history and, as if there were not enough mind-boggling facts already, it was the second such score the past week, following Mickelson’s own 63 on Thursday.

“Wow, this will take a little while to sink in,” said Stenson as he held aloft the coveted Claret Jug. “I’m still trying to find my bearings here.

“I want to thank Phil for a fantastic battle. We played some great golf and I’m delighted to come out on top.”

Like two prize fighters in a ring, the two men traded blow after stunning blow, reeling off birdie after birdie to turn the final day of golf’s oldest major into a two-way procession.

The rest of the field were nowhere with American JB Holmes (69) taking third position on 278, 11 strokes behind Mickelson as the leading pair evoked memories of the spectacular ‘duel in the sun’ Turnberry Open of 1977 when Tom Watson edged out Jack Nicklaus in another epic head-to-head.

Steve Stricker (69) of the US was in fourth place on 279, one in front of Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, Tyrrell Hatton of England and Spaniard Sergio Garcia. — DailyMail/AFP.