Phil Mickelson makes an early move on day four of The Open

Henrik Stenson seized the leaderboard of the British Open during Round 3 duel on Saturday.

No losers here, but only one victor. “I’m sorry that it came at my expense”.

This head-to-head matchup will surely be remembered alongside the “Duel in the Sun” at Turnberry between Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus in 1977.

“I just wish I’d got off to a better start which would have given me more of a cushion going into the back nine”.

The thought Mickelson said he was left with: “What do I need to do?”

There was yet more drama when Mickelson had an angry exchange with a photographer after finding sand with his approach at the last. They began with Stenson at 12 under par, Mickelson at 11 under par and the rest of the field at least five shots back. “I’ve worked hard these first three days to put myself in this situation and I’m going to try my hardest to finish the job”. “Usually that’s good enough”. I had to get the head re-glued.

He would’ve been the oldest victor of the Open since 1867.

Mickelson gave it his best shot in his bid at 46 to become the fourth-oldest major victor in history.

Obviously I’d like to be looking at something at the end of tomorrow but I don’t want to think about outcomes just yet.

“Today could have been a day that got away from me, instead I shot under par and kept myself right in there. I’m disappointed ultimately with the outcome, but I’m really happy for Henrik, he played flawless golf”.

Stenson has always been one of the better players on the PGA Tour, but he’d never been in the final group of a major before this one. Many times, in fact.

“The key moment was really 10”.

Then he went out and birdied the first hole to Henrik Stenson’s bogey, and took the lead in the final round of the 145th Open Championship. Johnny Miller did it first in 1973, rallying from six shots down to capture the U.S. Open by a single stroke. Americans JB Holmes and Steve Stricker finished third and fourth, but they were distant. “We played some great golf and I’m delighted to come out on top”.

But this was even better.

The short-game master, however, conjured some typical late magic to get up and down and remain one behind Stenson.

Lefty’s 25-foot birdie putt on the 13th hole gave him a two-shot lead.

Stenson made his. Mickelson didn’t. He called his friend Stenson “a great champion”.

Maybe Hollywood needed the footage for whenever they decide to make Phil The Thrill, starring Chris Hemsworth and directed by Quentin Tarantino.

Stenson’s -20 score is the lowest in the history of The Open, beating Tiger Woods’s record score of -19 at St Andrews in 2000.

Colin Montgomerie, who played the first tee shot of the championship on Thursday and is competing in his home town, was handed the first tee time on Sunday at 7.40am. Two holes later, Mickelson was in danger of losing the lead when he pushed his 2-iron toward trouble and was fortunate the ball deflected off a piece of prickly gorse. He hasn’t won another tournament since, and at age 46, it appeared time was running out.

“We’re only getting started, aren’t we?” he said, a newfound confidence in his voice.