In a duel for the ages, Henrik Stenson blistered Royal Troon for a final-round 63 and bested Phil Mickelson by three shots on Sunday to win the 145th Open. In the process, Stenson broke Greg Norman’s record for the lowest four-day total in an Open and tied Jason Day's mark for the lowest score in relation to par in major championship. Here’s what happened on one of the most entertaining Sundays in Open history:
Leaderboard: Stenson (-20, Mickelson (-17), J.B. Holmes (-6), Steve Stricker (-5), Rory McIlroy (-4), Tyrell Hatton (-4)
What it means: This is Stenson’s first major title and 15th career victory across the PGA and European tours. He is the first Swedish male in history to win a major title. As Stenson alluded to with 18 holes to play on Saturday night, the win serves as a bit of revenge after he finished runner-up to Mickelson at Muirfield in 2013. Stenson and Mickelson left in the field in the dust when they combined to shoot 8 under on the front nine with matching 4-under 32s. Mickelson did his best to keep pace, but Stenson finally separated himself with back-to-back birdies at 14 and 15, the latter a 51-foot make from off the fringe that the Swede walked in before a big fist pump. He maintained his two-shot lead when both players made four the par-5 16th. From there, he made a two-putt par and a lengthy birdie at 18 to play his way into the record books. Stenson shattered Norman's 267 total set a Royal St. George's in 1993 with a four-day score of 264. He also tied Jason Day's record of 20 under par in a major, set last year at Whistling Straits. The lowest previous score to par in a major was set by one Tiger Woods (-19) at St. Andrews in 2000. At 40 years old, Henrik Stenson won his first major title in the most convicing way possible. In finale, just like Mickelson on Thursday, Stenson tied the record for the lowest round in a major, with 63.
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Round of the day: Stenson opened with a three-putt bogey at the first and rebounded with five birdies across his next seven holes, making three in a row on Nos. 2-4. After trading a birdie and a bogey at Nos. 10 and 11, Stenson staked his claim to the claret jug with three straight birdies on Nos. 14-16, finally shaking free of Phil after an hours-long battle. After a two-putt par at 17, Stenson missed the Norman bunker on the home hole by at most a yard, his ball coming to rest just short of the mouth of the bunker. He found the green with his approach and poured in the birdie putt to make his mark on Open and major history.
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