145th Open Championship:
Overnight leader Henrik Stenson fired a career-tying-low, 8-under-par 32-31=63 in the final round of the 145th Open Championship at Royal Troon Golf Club to post 20-under 264, good for a three shot victory over five-time major champion Phil Mickelson, and his first major title in his 42nd major appearance.
The 40-year-old claims his fifth PGA TOUR title in his 154th career start, first since the 2013 TOUR Championship, and becomes the first Swede (male) to win a major. He wins in his 12th Open appearance having finished T3 or better three times prior, including runner-up to Mickelson in 2013 at Muirfield.
Stenson, making his first Royal Troon appearance, won the epic duel in historic fashion, setting or tying numerous major championship records along the way, including: Low aggregate in major history, eclipsing 265 by David Toms at the 2001 PGA Championship; tying the major scoring record in relation to par (20-under, Jason Day, 2015 PGA Championship); and becomes just the second golfer all-time to shoot a final-round 63 in a major and go on to win (Johnny Miller, 1973 U.S. Open).
Stenson’s 264 aggregate also breaks the lowest score in Open Championship history (267- Greg Norman, 1993, Royal St. George’s); breaks Tiger Woods’ Open record in relation to par (19-under, 2000, St. Andrews); breaks the lowest winning score at Royal Troon by EIGHT shots (272- Justin Leonard, 1997); and his 63 is the lowest final round by a champion in the history of The Open (64- Norman, 1993).
This was the 9th playing of The Open at Royal Troon. The 7,190-yard, par-71 layout played over-par in all four rounds with a cumulative scoring average of 73.161. Stenson was the first player in the nine editions to post all four rounds in the 60s (68-65-68-63) and just the fourth player all-time to do so, first since Woods in 2000 (St. Andrews).
Stenson led at the three-quarter pole by one, sleeping on his first-ever 54-hole lead in a major. He played in the final twosome with 46-year-old Mickelson in both rounds on the weekend. The closest player to the pair entering the finale was five shots back (Bill Haas).
Stenson circled 10 birdies, including four over his final five holes, against two bogeys. Mickelson shot bogey-free 65 (1 eagle, 4 birdies). The separation between second (Mickelson) and third place (J.B. Holmes) in the end was 11 SHOTS, the largest-ever margin between second and third place in major championship history.
While Stenson is just the second player on TOUR this season to win in his 40s – and second consecutive – joining Greg Chalmers (Barracuda), four of the last six Open champions have been 40 or older at the time of their victory.
The win comes in just his 11th start of the season and is his third top 10, brushing aside solo second at the Shell Houston Open. The Florida resident collects 600 FedExCup (FEC) points for the win, catapulting from 49th in the FEC standings to 14th and nudges one spot to 5th in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR).
Winner’s Weekly Stats (ranking of 81 players):
Eagles: 1 (T2)
Birdies: 25 (1st)
Bogeys: 7 (T4)
Par-3 Scoring: 2.69 (1st)
Par-4 Scoring: 3.84 (1st)
Par-5 Scoring: 4.33 (T2)
Driving Distance: 296.9 yards (11th)
Driving Accuracy: 41/56 (5th) at 73.21 percent
Greens in Regulation: 56/72 (1st) at 77.78 percent
Total Putts: 110 (T4); by round: 31-28-24-27
Scrambling: 11/16 (7th) at 68.75 percent
Strokes Gained: As we’ve said before, unfortunately, there is no SG data collected in the four majors.
Golf Channel Perfect Picks ($2,615,622):
Group 1: Rory McIlroy (T5): $310,798
Group 2: Henrik Stenson (Won): $1,549,590
Group 3: Tyrrell Hatton (T5): $310,798
Group 4: Steve Stricker (4th): $444,436
Draw:
In total, 81 (of 156) players made the cut on 4-over 146 with 36 (of 77) EARLY/late advancing (one WD), versus 45 (of 77) LATE/early (one WD).
Of the four top-finishers in Golf Channel, two emerged from either side:
Rory McIlroy (T5): EARLY/late
Henrik Stenson (Won): LATE/early
Tyrrell Hatton (T5): LATE/early
Steve Stricker (4th): EARLY/late
Golf Channel aside, if you look at those that finished in the top 10 overall (11 players), NINE of the 11 were LATE/early, with only Stricker and McIlroy bucking the trend.
Yahoo! Low Rounds:
R1: Phil Mickelson (63)
R2: Henrik Stenson (65)
R3: Haydn Porteous, Brandt Snedeker, Steve Stricker, Henrik Stenson (68)
R4: Henrik Stenson (63)
Bogey-free Rounds:
R1: Phil Mickelson (63); Martin Kaymer (66); Tony Finau (67)
R2: Soren Kjeldsen (68); Marc Leishman (69)
R3: NONE
R4: Phil Mickelson (65)
The Runner-up:
Phil Mickelson: The Hall-of-Famer was making his 21st Open appearance, third at Royal Troon, and was the 18- and 36-hole leader. He led by three over two players (Patrick Reed, Martin Kaymer) after an opening 8-under 63 (8 birdies, NO bogeys), and led by one over Stenson following a second-round 69 (4 birdies, 2 bogeys).
The 46-year-old’s 132 aggregate at the midpoint was a new 36-hole scoring record at Royal Troon, previously 133 by two players. He relinquished the lead with a third-round 70 (3 birdies, 2 bogeys), now trailing Stenson by one after the Swede’s 68, which tied the low round of the day with three others.
Playing out of the final pairing with the would-be-champ, he fired a bogey-free 65 (1 eagle, 4 birdies) in an epic duel for the ages, but alas, couldn’t catch Stenson, who for all intents and purposes, seemed destined to win.
Mickelson was chasing his sixth major championship in his 96th major appearance, but settles for his 11th runner-up finish in a major, second all-time to Jack Nicklaus (19). He was also seeking his 43rd TOUR title in his 543rd career start, but remains winless since the 2013 Open, which ironically, he won by three over Stenson.
Mickelson departs Scotland with his sixth top 10 of the season in 17 starts with all six doubling as top 5s and three of those runner-up finishes. This was the 32nd time that he’s led/co-led after 36 holes, and drops to 17-for-32 with his last conversion coming at the 2013 Waste Management Phoenix Open.
The California native and resident jumps to 5th in the FEC standings, 995 points behind leader Dustin Johnson, and moves six spots to 13th in OWGR. He had missed the cut in each of the season’s first two majors. Mickelson led the field in scrambling at 84.21 percent (16/19).
Others:
J.B. Holmes: Twirled a 2-under-par 33-36=69 in the final round to wrap his eighth appearance on 6-under 278, up two places to solo third, a distant 14 strokes behind Stenson.
The 34-year-old had cashed in two prior Opens, and easily supplants his previous best of T14 in 2010 (St. Andrews). It’s also a career best in a major, eclipsing T4 at this year’s Masters, and just his second top 10 in his 25th overall major appearance.
Incredibly, the Kentucky native finished 11 shots back of runner-up Mickelson, and as noted above, the largest-ever separation between second and third-place in major championship history. He did join the top-2 finishers as the only players who posted four sub-par rounds (70-70-69-69).
Holmes began the finale in solo fifth on 4-under, eight back of Stenson. Playing out of the third-to-last twosome, he had just one blemish, a double bogey-6 at the 15th, but outpaced it with birdies on Nos. 4, 6, 7 and a bounce-back on 16.
Holmes took advantage of playing partner Steve Stricker’s double bogey-5 on the 71st hole to slip by him on the leaderboard, with the 49-year-old Stricker finishing in solo fourth on 5-under 279 (67-75-68-69).
It’s Holmes’ fifth top 10 of the season (15 starts) and moves him to 33rd in the FEC standings and up eight places to 16th in OWGR. He led the field in driving distance, averaging 311.6 yards.
What We Learned:
The pre-tourney odds-favorites have won just TWICE this season thru 37 events and Jordan Spieth has both of them, winning the DEAN & DELUCA and the Hyundai TOC.
World No. 1 Jason Day (T22) and No. 2 Dustin Johnson (T9) were the pre-tourney co-faves at The Open at 9/1.
Boo Weekley (T11) and Martin Laird (T62) were co-faves at the opposite-field Barbasol Championship at 20/1 (recap below).
There were 37 first-timers at The 145th Open in a field of 154 pros, two amateurs, and FOUR (of 17) TOUR rookies.
Emiliano Grillo: The 23-year-old Argentine took top honors in BOTH categories with T12 on 1-under 283 (69-72-72-70). He was also top rookie at the WGC-Bridgestone with a two-way T14 on 1-over 281 (67-71-71-72).
The Bradenton, Florida, resident departs with his seventh top 25 of the season in 19 starts and remained 30th in the FEC standings. He led the field in driving accuracy at 78.57 percent (44/56).
Barbasol Championship:
For the second straight week, an Aussie, and veteran PGA TOUR member with limited status, won the opposite-field event. Greg Chalmers, No. 490 in the world at the time, claimed his maiden TOUR title in his 386th start at the Barracuda in Reno, Nevada, entering the week with only conditional status.
It earned the lefty an invite to his fourth appearance in The 145th Open, where he made the cut by three (72-71), but closed in 77-85 to finish DFL (of 81 players) on 21-over 305.
This week, Aaron Baddeley, No. 245 in OWGR, entered the week playing on Past Champion status, and departed with his fourth TOUR title in 354 career starts (345 pro), first since the 2011 Northern Trust 135 events ago. It’s his fifth top 10 of the season in 23 starts.
The 35-year-old entered the final round in a two-way T2 on 13-under, three shy of 54-hole leader Jhonattan Vegas after opening his second appearance (T10/2015) in 70-66-64.
Playing out of the final threesome, he authored a 5-under-par 31-35=66 to match Si Woo Kim‘s 72-hole aggregate of 18-under 266, and then eliminated the second-year pro with birdie-3 (28’0”) on the fourth hole of sudden death. He improves to 1-1 in sudden death, having lost the 2003 Sony Open in extra time.
The New Hampshire native and Scottsdale, Arizona, resident had a birdie chance from 13’8” on the 72nd hole to win in regulation but missed. Earlier, he squashed a lone bogey-5 at the 15th with birdies on Nos. 4, 7, 16 and 17 and an eagle on the par-5 fifth.
In the playoff, the duo matched pars on the first two tours of the par-4 18th, and pars on the par-3 17th, before Baddeley claimed the title on the third playing of the 18th.
Baddeley, a pre-tourney 33/1 outright, entered the week off consecutive top-20 finishes (T17, Barracuda; T12, QL Nat’l) after missing four of his last five cuts.
With the win, he earns a two-year exemption on TOUR and secures invites to the 2016 PGA Championship and the 2017 Hyundai TOC. He deposits 300 FEC points, vaulting from 86th in the FEC standings to 41st, and jumps 111 places to No. 134 in OWGR.
Winner’s Weekly Stats (ranking of 72 players):
Eagles: 2 (T3)
Birdies: 23 (T3)
Bogeys: 7 (T19)
Double Bogeys: 1 (T37)
Driving Distance: 300.6 (3rd)
Driving Accuracy: 39/56 (T27) at 69.64 percent
Greens in Regulation: 56/72 (T7) at 77.78 percent
Putts per GIR: 1.643 (6th)
Proximity: 34’1” (54th)
Scrambling: 9/16 (59th) at 56.25 percent
SG: Off-the-Tee: 0.810 (33rd)
SG: Approach-to-the-Green: 1.210 (41st)
SG: Around-the-Green: 4.139 (3rd)
SG: Tee-to-Green: 6.158 (8th)
SG: Putting: 5.245 (8th)
Top 10 Players Weekly Performance | |||
2016 through Barbasol Championship | |||
To select another tournament, please return to Statistics---> Top 10 Performers | |||
Barbasol Championship | |||||||
Player | |||||||
300.8 (3) | 69.64% (T27) | 77.78% (T7) | 34' 1" (54) | 56.25% (59) | 1.311 (8) | 8/ 44; 18.18% (26) | |
291.3 (T23) | 58.93% (T60) | 75.00% (T22) | 34' 3" (56) | 83.33% (T7) | 1.848 (5) | 12/ 47; 25.53% (7) | |
300.6 (4) | 73.21% (T19) | 77.78% (T7) | 31' 1" (30) | 81.25% (9) | 1.000 (14) | 6/ 43; 13.95% (T46) | |
303.4 (1) | 66.07% (T41) | 72.22% (T39) | 33' 9" (50) | 60.00% (T49) | .759 (19) | 12/ 40; 30.00% (2) | |
290.3 (29) | 75.00% (T13) | 77.78% (T7) | 28' 9" (11) | 87.50% (T2) | -.758 (65) | 5/ 42; 11.90% (T52) | |
296.9 (10) | 78.57% (T5) | 79.17% (T3) | 27' 7" (3) | 73.33% (19) | .081 (39) | 9/ 48; 18.75% (T20) | |
284.5 (T51) | 73.21% (T19) | 65.28% (68) | 28' 3" (T4) | 88.00% (1) | 2.003 (4) | 8/ 35; 22.86% (13) | |
293.9 (17) | 80.36% (T3) | 76.39% (T14) | 28' 6" (T8) | 70.59% (T24) | -.285 (52) | 7/ 40; 17.50% (T29) | |
292.1 (22) | 73.21% (T19) | 73.61% (T29) | 30' 6" (25) | 68.42% (27) | .377 (30) | 7/ 39; 17.95% (T27) | |
290.5 (27) | 67.86% (T35) | 75.00% (T22) | 28' 5" (7) | 61.11% (T45) | .537 (25) | 6/ 35; 17.14% (31) | |
Tour Average | 287.0 | 66.20% | 70.37% | 33' 4" | 61.83% | N/A | 677/ 4,384; 15.44% |
Source: PGA TOUR Media
Runner-up:
Si Woo Kim: Fired a career-low, 8-under-par 32-31=63 in the final round to conclude his tourney debut on 18-under 269, and then lost in the four-hole playoff (18-18-17-18).
The second-year pro was making his 26th start of the season and was chasing his maiden TOUR title in his 34th career event. He departs with a career-best P2, supplanting solo fourth at the 2016 Sony Open; his third top 10 of the season; and jumps to 45th in the FEC standings.
The 21-year-old began the finale on 10-under (T11), six back of 54-hole leader Vegas. Playing out of the fourth-to-last threesome, he carded eight par breakers, seven birdies and an eagle on the par-5 16th, highlighted by a 16'10" birdie-2 on the 71st hole.
Unfortunately, the Web.com Tour grad squared a lone bogey-5 (failed scramble) on the 72nd hole, allowing Baddeley to match his aggregate with just a par on the final hole of regulation. Kim was T42 at the midpoint (70-68-65-63).
Others:
Michael Johnson: Making his pro and PGA TOUR debut, the sponsor invite smoothed a bogey-free 6-under-par 32-33=65 in the final round to post 17-under 267, up one spot to solo third, one shot out of the playoff.
The Auburn alum was competing on his former home course as a Tiger, Grand National’s Lake Course, in front of a pro-Tigers crowd in Opelika, Alabama. For the week, he totaled 21 birdies (six in R4), one double bogey-5 in R3, and just two bogeys, one each in R1 and R2, finishing No. 1 for the week in the latter.
The 23-year-old is the third player this season to finish in the top 5 in their pro/TOUR debut, joining Bryson DeChambeau (T4, RBC Heritage) and Jon Rahm (T3, QL Nat’l). The top 10 gets him an exemption into this week’s RBC Canadian Open.
Richard H. Lee: The No. 1779 in OWGR twirled a bogey-free, 6-under-par 32-33=65 in the final round to reach 15-under 269, up 11 places into a four-way T4, good for his first top 10 since T4 at the 2014 Puerto Rico Open (28 months ago) and a top-10 exemption into this week’s RBC Canadian Open.
The University of Washington alum is playing this season on a Non-exempt Medical Extension. He missed eight months (end of 2014 into June, 2015) following surgery on his left thumb. The 29-year-old had 11 events to earn 458.00 FEC points or $742,470, and entered the week with three remaining after missing all eight of his cuts in 2015-16. His last made cut was a T52 at the 2014 John Deere Classic.
Lee, making his tourney debut, began the final round on 9-under (T15), seven off the pace but just two shy of the overnight top 10. His 65 matched a career low on TOUR (245th round), which he has shot six other times, most recently at the 2014 AT&T Pebble Beach/R1. The Chicago native was bogey-free over his final 39 holes.
Jhonattan Vegas: Overnight leader bobbed and weaved to a 1-over-par 37-35=72 in the final round for a four-day total of 15-under 269, down three spots into a four-way T4, three shots out of the playoff.
The 31-year-old co-led after an opening 65; led by SIX following a career-low, course- and tournament-record 11-under 60 (406th career round); and still led by three following a 1-over 72 in the two-day third round that ended Sunday morning.
The Venezuelan, playing this season on Past Champion status, carded one eagle and two birdies but overshadowed them with five bogeys, including a walk-off bogey-5.
He was chasing his second TOUR title (127th career start), having won the 2011 Bob Hope Classic (now CareerBuilder), which he co-led after 54 holes. Vegas’ six-stroke lead after 36 holes was the largest on TOUR this season, dropping to 1-for-4 when the leader/co-leader at the midpoint, and drops to 1-for-2 from the 54-hole perch.
On the plus side, his top-10 finish gets him into this week’s RBC Canadian Open.
Low Scores by Round:
R1: Jhonattan Vegas, Angel Cabrera (65)
R2: Jhonattan Vegas (60) *career low, course and tournament record
R3: Aaron Baddeley (64) *moved him from T16 to T2
R4: Robert Garrigus (62)
Up Next:
The TOUR heads to Glen Abbey GC in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, for the RBC Canadian Open. World No. 1 and RBC Ambassador Jason Day is the defending champion after besting Bubba Watson by one stroke on 17-under 271.
Canada’s David Hearn was the 54-hole leader (by two over Day) but shot an even-par 72 for solo third, two back.
Stay tuned to this space for all the latest player news and opinions as the TOUR readies for its 38th tournament of the season. Inclusive of this week, there are just FIVE events remaining before the start of the FEC Playoffs.
