Phil Mickelson is looking to put his past woes behind him this week at The Open.
The return of the Open Championship to Royal Troon this week will stir iconic memories for former champions, but will only serve as heartbreaking reminder to Phil Mickelson. The six-time major champion has captured the claret jug once in his esteemed career, at Muirfield in 2013.
But the left-hander came agonisingly close to lifting the silverware again three years later.
He was involved in one of the great finales to a major when he went head-to-head with Henrik Stenson at Troon, with both players rising to the occasion.
Mickelson began the day one shot off the Swede, a deficit he immediately overturned with a stunning birdie on the first. But despite going on to shoot a six-under par 65, he was duly undone by Stenson’s stunning 63 and missed out by three shots.
The American racked up an unwanted record in the process. His overall score of 267 was, at the time, the lowest ever total for a runner-up in a major championship.
And eight years on from their duel for the ages, Stenson has been recollecting ahead of Thursday’s first round. And he’s revealed that despite Mickelson being more than gracious on the day, he later learned from the player’s caddie Steve Loy that missing out had haunted him.
The pair spoke at the US PGA Championship at Baltusrol later that year, where Loy seemingly confided in the now 48-year-old. “Phil was a little shocked by the whole outcome, which is understandable,” Stenson told Golf Monthly.
“Phil said that it was the first time in his career that he had played that well yet not walked away with the trophy. We were both part of a great duel and a great moment in the history of The Open. Obviously I could talk about that Open for hours, but I am not sure Phil wants to.”
