Stenson takes 1-stroke lead into final round of British Open

Stenson and Mickelson were never separated by more than two shots over 40 consecutive holes until the Swede’s final birdie.

Henrik Stenson kept hitting the best shots of his life, one after another, because there was no other way to beat Phil Mickelson in an Open showdown that ranked among the best in golf.

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.

Phil making the par putt on 12 and then Henrik in the last few holes just said “I’m taking it”. Tom Watson was the emerging star, 10 years younger, who won his second major earlier that year by holding off Nicklaus to win the Masters. It had echoes of Tiger Woods demolishing the rest of the field at the US Open in 2000 to win by 15 shots. Oh, and his 63 was just the 29th time someone’s gone that low in a major.

J.B. Holmes shot a 69 to finish a distant third at 6-under. I’m really happy for him.

Explaining what happened during his post-round press conference, McIlroy said: “I think it was just I let one go right on the previous hole, the 3-iron, and I did the exact same thing there”. I knew he wasn’t going to back down at any point, and in a way that makes it easier for myself.

Stenson carried a two-shot lead into the 72 hole, where he rolled in a birdie putt after Mickelson made par. “But it’s not something you want to run around and shout about”.

“He’s been one of the best to play the game, certainly in the last 20 years”.

Today was the 10th time that Stenson has finished in the top three in major competitions but claimed that he was used to success coming only after so many failed attempts. Stenson made a matching birdie, pulling off a nifty up-and-down from the thick grass left of the green. “For some reason, I felt like this is my time – and it was”. Footage from the Open Championship and the Ryder Cup are the first memories I had as a kid.

“I know that I wanted to be more of Tom in that case than Jack, but unfortunately…” I’m happy that he did. “I am disappointed that it was at my expense”.

With his family watching, cancer survivor Matthew Southgate was in tears as he approached the 18th green at Royal Troon. They played the front nine between them with seven birdies, an eagle and one bogey. He then produced a stunning putt for another birdie at 15 and at the long 16th Mickelson saw an eagle putt stop dead on the edge of the hole. That’s quite a comeback for the Swede who had slumped to world number 230 in 2012 and who lost £10 million in the Alan Stanford financial scandal in 2009. He won his first career European Tour title in May that year, but by mid-summer his game had suffered a sharp decline.

“If I didn’t believe”, he said after his record-setting performance, the gleaming Claret Jug at his side, “I wouldn’t be sitting here”. It’s a dream come true. I was 11 when I started playing.

“This trophy is wonderful”, Stenson said. Jesper in particular twice.

“It’s probably the best I’ve played and not won”. He now heads to the US PGA Championship at Baltusrol – scene of his first major win in 2005 – with a spring in his step and a chance of victory. The two live in the same golf community, Lake Nona, in Orlando. “I knew that he would ultimately come through and win”.

Nicklaus, 76, won The Open three times as part of his 18 major championships. He is a very hard worker and it’s nice to see his commitment pay off. “They were really pushing me on”.

This is what Mickelson is going to do: He’s going to pick himself up, turn up at Baltusrol for the PGA Championship at the end of the month (the PGA was moved up from mid-August because of the Olympics) and probably vault himself back into contention by the weekend.

Stenson didn’t appear nervous the evening before the biggest day of his golf career.