Jack Nicklaus thinks Stenson-Mickelson tops his own “duel in the sun”

The 40-year-old birdied four of the last five holes, including holing a 45-foot putt on the 15th, to clinch his first major title.

On Sunday, Nicklaus was taken back 39 years as he watched Stenson and Phil Mickelson battle shot-for-shot, with Stenson riding 10 birdies to an 8-under-63 and finishing three strokes ahead of Mickelson, who shot a bogey-free 65.

NOTEWORTHY: This was the third time a major championship yielded two rounds of 63 for the week with Mickelson (first round) and Stenson (final round).

Henrik Stenson earned his first major and did so in a fashion that will long be remembered. Footage from the Open Championship and the Ryder Cup are the first memories I had as a kid.

That, along with 20 miles of Ayrshire coastline, might be all that separates two of the most compelling duels in 156 years of the British Open. That was the extra self-belief that made me go all the way this week.

He gave Sweden a long-awaited major in men’s golf, 19 years after Jesper Parnevik lost a 54-hole lead at Royal Troon.

“I threw as much at him as I could, and he didn’t make any mistakes”, Mickelson said of Stenson on the NBC broadcast. Lefty’s play was sharp all week and his grit was in top form when misses did come, showing a resolve to stay the course and make crucial par saves when called upon.

“But”, he quickly added, “I’m disappointed that it wasn’t enough today”. In contrast, the so-called “Big Four” of Dustin Johnson, 32, and twenty-somethings Jason Day, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy never really challenged in Troon, even if the latter ended up in a tie for fifth. I guess I’m a third Scottish now, aren’t I? “I’ll explain some of them in the book”. “I’m proud of and happy for Henrik”.

“It’s probably the best I’ve played and not won”, Mickelson, who won the British Open at Muirfield in 2013, told reporters. On that day, Tom got me, 65-66. “I got beat by 10 birdies”. “I’m still trying to find my bearings here”.

The shot-for-shot showdown stirred up comparisons to Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus at Turnberry in 1977, nicknamed the “Duel in the Sun”. A number of top players who have pulled out of the Games have cited the virus, which is linked to microcephaly – small heads – in babies, as their reason for not going. “I think it would be pretty cool to have that next to some of the other nice trophies I’ve managed to win”.

“I know that I wanted to be more of Tom in that case than Jack”.

“But I really feel good now. It’s bitter-sweet, I guess”.

Woods hasn’t played a competitive round in 11 months; Stricker is semiretired; and though Mickelson, who played lovely in a British Open loss, and Englishman Westwood have their flashes of strong play, none were in position to qualify for their respective country when the deadline arrived a week ago.

“I’ve always thought he is one of the best ball-strikers in the game and that major championships are perfectly suited for him”. It was tough. I knew it was going to be tough, and it was a battle until the end.