Swede’s sweet revenge at The Open, Royal Troon

Revenge was sweet for the Swede Henrik Stenson in the Open Championship at Royal Troon (14-17 July) as he holed his putt for birdie at the 18th hole with the greatest of ease to get to the magical score of 20-under par (68-65-68-63) and seize the Claret Jug from under the nose of 46-year old American Phil Mickelson.

 

Many thought Tiger Woods was unbeatable a few years ago, and would remain so for the foreseeable future.  The great American golfer broke nearly every record in the book in his prime forcing the rest of the world to get fitter and train harder.  It paid off.  Another of Tiger’s records has now been eclipsed.  Not by some new young whizz kid, but by a player of his own age.  Someone who had won ten times on the Tour,  but had never won a Major, until now that is.  Forty-year old Henrik Stenson from Gothenburg played breathtaking golf on the final day of the Open Championship in Scotland recording an unbelievable all-time low score of 20-under par.   It’s the lowest score in any Major ever.  He is also the first male Swedish golfer ever to win a Major.

 

Awesome head-to-head clash with Mickelson

 

Three years earlier he had finished runner-up to Mickelson in The Open at Muirfield.  Although Stenson got off to a shaky three-putt start for bogey at Royal Troon on Sunday, he settled down with back-to-back birdies on the second and third holes and went on to shoot a further eight birdies in his closing round of 63.  Mickelson, in search of his sixth Major title, shot an admirable 65.  The golfing gladiators were on fire.  They played a phenomenal game together.  With the closest in the chasing pack six shots behind them, from the very first tee-shot it was a head-to-head clash between these two very on-form players.  A class act of superb golf, peppering the flag time after time with the purest of shots and entertaining the golf fans with delightful backspin stunts with balls screwing-back like boomerangs on the greens.  The players were in their element.  The crowds in Ayrshire were loving it.  The viewers at home too.  As golf commentator Peter Alliss so aptly described it on the BBC, it was “a wonderful show of mastery”.  Yes, simply breathtaking.

 

Many, many congratulations to Henrik Stenson, the Champion Golfer of the Year!

 

Wendy Hoad

 

 

Nice to know…

LEADING FINAL SCORES:  1. H. Stenson 264; 2. P. Mickelson 267; 3. JB Holmes 278; 4. S. Stricker 279; T5. R. McIlroy, T. Hatton, S. Garcia 280; 8. A. Johnston 281; T9. D. Johnson, S. Kjeldsen, B. Haas 282.

THE CUT:  81 players made the +4 cut.  Among the 7 players missing the cut by one stroke: E. Els, R. Ramsey, R. Streb. 

 

 

PICTURED:  Open Champion Henrik Stenson with the Claret Jug.