Sunday, July 17, 2016

This one's for Sweden, says Stenson

FROM THE R and A WEBSITE
With one of the most stunning performances in the history of The Open, Henrik Stenson claimed the Claret Jug for his own at Royal Troon today and then declared, “This one’s for Sweden."

It has been a long time coming for Stenson and the country of his birth, but in the end the wait to win The Open was more than worthwhile.

Jesper Parnevik, his countryman, had twice come close, but this time there was to be no faltering over the finishing stretch. Anybody who witnessed Stenson’s battle royale with Phil Mickelson – who threw everything he had at the 40-year-old Swede – will never forget what unfolded on the famous Ayrshire links. Put simply, it defied belief. Stenson played 36 holes with Mickelson over the weekend and likened it to a prize fight.

They traded shot for shot, blow for blow, and pulled away from the rest of the field as if they weren’t there. The winning margin was three strokes, which is something in itself, but the gap between Stenson and J B Holmes, in third, was an incredible 14.
If Mickelson, who started the day one stroke behind, had been offered the 65 he scored before setting off in the final round, he would almost certainly have taken it. No one could have predicted that Stenson would better it by two and claim victory by three, setting a record-breaking score for the Championship of 264.
Parnevik, who led by two heading into the final round at Troon in 1997, but lost out to Justin Leonard, was watching from afar and rooting for his countryman.

“Good luck this weekend Henrik Stenson,” Parnevik tweeted. “Finish off what I never did. Sweden has waited long enough.” He need not have worried.
“I felt like this was going to be my turn,” said Stenson, who had previously had three second place finishes and six thirds in Major Championships.
“Right now I’m running on adrenalin. It makes it even more special to beat a competitor like Phil. He’s been one of the best to play the game. So to come out on top after such a fight with him over these four days makes it even more special.”
Needless to say, Stenson felt intense pride at becoming the first Swede to become Champion Golfer of the Year. “I feel very privileged to be the one to hold this trophy,” he said.
“There have been many great players from my country who have tried and there have been a couple of really close calls. This is going to be massive for golf in Sweden.”
One of the most popular and humorous players on tour, Stenson never wastes the chance for a joke. Asked to place his win in the context of other life experiences, he compared it to passing his driving test.

“Given that I failed my driving test probably as many times as I was second or third at Major Championships, that one has to be higher than this,” he joked.
More seriously, he added: “No. I think the birth of my three children and then winning The Open.” To which a voice called out: “Good answer.” It was his wife Emma. Not for the first time, his timing had been immaculate.

Mickelson says that's the best he has ever

played without winning

Phil Mickelson can hold his head high as he boards the plane to go back home to the United States

The 46-year-old left-hander produced some marvellous golf as he closed The 145^TH Open with a seven under par 65 only to be out-gunned by playing partner Henrik Stenson’s record-breaking form.

“That’s probably the best I’ve played and not won,” declared the 2013 Champion Golfer of the Year. “It’s disappointing but at least I don’t have to look back and regret something I’ve done.
“It was a challenging day but I’m happy for Henrik,” he added. “He’s a really great champion. We’ve been friends for some time. I’ve always thought he was one of the best ball-strikers in the game and that Major Championships should suit him.
“I always knew he would ultimately come through and win. I’m happy that he did but disappointed he did it at my expense.”
Mickelson’s second place finish marked the 11^th time he had been runner-up in a Major Championship and took him past Arnold Palmer on that list but still behind well behind Jack Nicklaus who has no fewer than 19 of those near-misses to his name.
The popular American will get his next chance to claim a sixth Major Championship at the US PGA Championship in two weeks’ time but in the meantime he was keen to praise The R and A for the manner it had set up Royal Troon for the Championship.
“I think the R and A sets the golf course up to be as fair as possible and to try to identify the best player, regardless of what the final score might be,” he said.
“Sometimes it’s 20 under. Sometimes people don’t go that low under par.
“The fact is if someone shoots incredible golf he deserves to score 20 under par,” he added. “You shouldn’t have to mess with the course too much to control the score.”

WHAT THE TOP 11 FINISHERS EARNED
The total prize fund for the Open was raised to £6.5million.
Here's what the top 11 finishers earned from the R and A:

1 Henrik Stenson £1,175,000
2 Phil Mickelson £675,000
3 J B Holmes £433,000
4 Steve Stricker £337,000
T5 Rory McIlroy           £235,666
T5 Tyrrell Hatton           £235,666
T5 Sergio Garcia            £235,666
8 Andrew Johnston        £170,000
T9 Dustin Johnson         £134,500
T9 Soren Kjeldsen         £134,500
T9 Bill Haas                   £134,500

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Labels: OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

Swede sets record low aggregate - 20 under par - after closing 63

Henrik Stenson's brilliance claims Open glory

after thrilling duel with Phil Mickelson

SKYSPORTS.COM

By Keith Jackson at Royal Troon

Sweden's Henrik Stenson, 40, produced one of the most stunning final rounds in Open history and ended his long wait for a maiden major title after getting the better of 46-year-old left-hander Phil Mickelson from San Diego, California in a memorable battle at The 145th Open.

The vast crowds at Royal Troon were treated to a masterclass of golf by the leading pair that revived memories of the "Duel in the Sun" between Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus a few miles down the Ayrshire coast at Turnberry in 1977.
It was Sweden's Stenson - the first Scandinavian to win the Open - who prevailed as a major record-equalling 63 gave him a three-shot victory on 20 under par, a record low aggregate for golf's oldest major.
Mickelson's stellar 65 would have been more than enough to lift the Claret Jug on most occasions, but he could not quite keep pace with the ice-cool Swede, runner-up in the 2013 Open, as the man from Gothenburg who lives at Lake Nona, Florida, birdied four of the final five holes to settle an enthralling battle in what was a fitting finale to the historic first Open on Sky Sports.

Henrik Stenson shot a final round 63 to win The Open, his first major championship, as he edged out Phil Mickelson in a thrilling final round

A measure of the sheer brilliance of the final pair was that J B Holmes won the race for third place - a full 14 shots behind the champion - as the remainder of the field became irrelevant in the hunt for the title.
The runaway leaders set the tone for the day over the first four holes, with a two-shot swing at the opener when Stenson three-putted from the front of the green while Mickelson converted an excellent pitch for birdie to reclaim the lead.

Henrik Stenson celebrates a birdie at the 14th to spark a run of four over the last five holes

But Stenson atoned for his error with a 12-foot putt on the second after Mickelson grazed the edge of the hole with his chip, and the Swede was back in front on the next as he drained another putt from similar range.
Stenson made it three birdies in a row at the long fourth, but Mickelson went one better as he smote a delightful second to six feet and the eagle putt was never in doubt.
The pair finally exchanged pars at the fifth and both made well-crafted birdies at the long sixth, and after the seventh was halved in par, Stenson edged back in front at the Postage Stamp - backing up a wedge to 12 feet with a perfect putt.
Both enjoyed cast-iron pars at nine to turn in 32, and their remarkable form continued at the 10th - one of the toughest holes on the course - as Stenson holed from 12 feet for birdie before Mickelson followed him in.

Phil Mickelson regained the lead on the front nine, but he could not match Stenson's remarkable finish

But the intimidating 11th claimed its final victim of the week when Stenson three-putted from the fringe, although he looked set to be gifted back the outright lead when Mickelson got into bother for the second day running after a wayward drive at 12, only to emulate his third-round escape act when he sank a 15-foot putt to salvage a par.
Mickelson came within a whisker of getting the shot back at the next before he found himself trailing again with four to play as Stenson rolled in his longest putt of the day to get to 17 under.

The Swede's red-hot putter earned him his eighth birdie of an incredible round at 15 to double his advantage, which he retained with a sublime up-and-down from the fescue grass to the left of the long 16th to match the birdie of Mickelson, whose eagle putt settled on the edge of the hole.
Stenson refused to buckle at the par-three 17th as he sent a towering iron to seven feet and stood aside to watch Mickelson block his to the left of the green, although the 46-year-old kept his slim hopes alive with a nerveless putt for par and Stenson opened the door a little further when his birdie putt lipped out.

Stenson almost found one of the deep fairway traps with his final tee shot, but his ball pulled up a few feet short of the bunker and he took advantage with another precise blow to the heart of the green.
And after Mickelson two-putted from long range for par, Stenson's 15-footer for an incredible 10th birdie of the day dropped in the side of the cup and sealed the title of Champion Golfer for the Year, while also making him the first Scandinavian in history win a major title.
Americans filled four of the top 10 places - 2nd, third, fourth and ninth.
Rory McIlroy and Tyrrell Hatton finished strongly to be the highest placed British players in joint fifth place on 280. McIlroy signed off with a 67 and Hatton with a 68. Also on 280 was Spain's Sergio Garcia who had a last round of 69.
Andrew "Beefy" Johnston - the Bearded One - fourth at the start of the last day sagged to a final round of two-over 73 and eighth place on 281.