Henrik Stenson, the new Open champion, last night admitted that it was his time to lift the Claret Jug after a remarkable conclusion to the 145th staging of golf’s oldest major at Royal Troon.
In scenes reminiscent of Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus’s epic Duel in the Sun shoot-out at Turnberry almost 40 years ago, Stenson staved off the challenge of the 2013 champion Phil Mickelson on the Ayrshire coast with a sparking eight-under 63 for a record-busting 20-under 264 and a three stroke triumph.
After a trio of the top-three finishes in the Open, and seven top-fives in all the majors, Stenson finally got his hands on one of golf’s grand slam titles to become the first Scandinavian male player to win a major.
The Swede sent record tumbling along the way. His winning tally beat the Open record of 19-under set by Tiger Woods at St Andrews in 2000 while it beat the best in any major set by David Toms in the 2001 US PGA Championship. Stenson finished 14 shots clear of third-placed JB Holmes.
Following a series of near misses, Stenson was in jubilant mood after finally making his breakthrough.
“I felt like this was going to be my turn,” said Stenson after his course-record equalling round which featured a haul of 10 birdies. “It’s not something you want to run around and shout but I felt like this was going to be my turn. I knew I was going to have to battle back if it wasn’t but I think that was the extra self-belief that made me go all the way this week.
“It hasn’t sunk in yet but I’m very happy, very proud of the way I played. It was a great match with Phil. It seemed like it was going to be a two horse race and it was all the way to the end. I knew he wasn’t going to back down at any point and in a way that made it easier for myself.
“I knew I had to keep on pushing and keep on giving myself birdie chances. He wasn’t going to give it to me so I had to pull away. I’m just delighted I managed to do that with a couple of birdies at the right time on the final stretch.”
Stenson had been locked in a titanic tussle with Mickelson and he surged over the line with four birdies on his last five holes to prevail in one of golf’s greatest battles.
It was an emotional moment for Stenson, who dedicated his conquest to his close friend and one-time mentor, Mike Gerbich.
He added: “I’ve known him for many, many years and he was a very keen golfer and a great man. He’d been battling cancer for a long time but I had news on Tuesday that the end was near and unfortunately he passed away on Wednesday morning over in the US.
“He’s always been there as a great supporter of mine, in the good days and the bad days. This one is dedicated to him, for sure. I felt like he was there with me this week.”
At the age of 40, Stenson has now propelled himself into the rarefied air of a major champion and with the US PGA Championship at Baltusrol just 11 days away, the Ryder Cup player is keen to add to his collection.
“We’re only just getting started aren’t we,” he said with a smile. “You never know what might happen once you open the floodgates. It’s going to be a much busier week than I expected now but I’ll be going out to the PGA and trying my hardest.”
Mickelson, who beat Stenson down the stretch to win the Claret Jug at Muirfield three years ago, gave it his all on a captivating day but even a bogey-free 65 was not enough to win a second Open crown.
“I don't remember being in a match like that where we've separated ourselves from the field by so many strokes and it's probably the best I've played and not won,” said Mickelson, who has finished runner-up six times in the US Open down the years. “I think that's probably why it's disappointing. But 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, usually that's good enough to do it, and I got beat. I got beat by 10 birdies. It's not like other guys were out there doing the same thing.
“I played what I feel was well enough to win this championship by a number of strokes and yet I got beat by three.
“It’s not like I have decades left of opportunities to win majors, so each one means a lot to me and I put in my best performance today.
“But while it's disappointing to come in second, I'm happy for Henrik. He's a really great champion.
“We've been friends for some time and I knew that he would ultimately come through and win one. I'm happy that he did. I'm disappointed that it was at my expense.”
Asked about the comparisons between that Duel in the Sun Open of 1977, which Tom Watson eventually won, Mickelson added: “I would have liked to be more Tom than Jack.”
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