Karzmer: British Open duel an all-time classic

I think last Sunday’s duel between Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson in last week’s British Open Championship will go down as one of the greatest final rounds in major championship history.

Who can find out who finished in third place without looking it up? The answer: J.B. Holmes. I had to cheat and pull it up on my phone.

As a golf fan, I can’t overexaggerate the high quality golf shots these two champions throughout Sunday’s entire final round. Think about the stats.

Eighty-one of the best players in the world played on Sunday. I counted 22 rounds under par. Only one player —Rory McIllroy— got it to four under. Mickelson shot six under. Stenson nine under.

Stenson beat Mickelson by three strokes and third-place J.B. Holmes by 14. I remember Tiger Woods dominating the 1997 Masters (won by 12) and the 2000 U.S. Open (won by 15), but I can’t remember a duel like this in my lifetime where two players separated themselves by more than ten shots over the rest of the field.

To be honest, I was rooting for a Mickelson victory. I think he deserves his “1986 Nicklaus” moment and wins another major to cap off his great career. Obviously, it wasn’t to be, but I’m so glad he got beat by great golf versus losing another major because of a late mistake on his part.

Fans remember all too well the errant drive at the 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot. And the missed short putts down the stretch at the 2004 U.S. Open at Shinnecock. I still get goosebumps when I watch Payne Stewart make that magical putt at the 1999 U.S. Open to beat Mickelson by one, I think the golf world would agree that Mickelson has “lost” more major opportunities than just about anyone over the last twenty years.

This Open Championship was different. Mickelson was determined. And from the birdie at the first hole to the last putt on 18, I couldn’t have asked Mickelson to have played any better. Stenson simply beat him with one of the best rounds in major championship history.

1977’s “duel in the sun” between Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus at the British Open. The 1997 Masters between Greg Norman and Nick Faldo. The 1999 U.S. Open between Payne Stewart and Phil Mickelson. The 2004 Masters between Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson. The 2005 Masters between Tiger and Chris Dimarco. Mickelson’s collapse on the 72nd hole at the 2006 U.S. Open. And Tom Watson in the 2009 British Open.

Every once in a while our game gives us magical moments that just seem to stick in our minds. Watson’s emergence from the crowd in 1977. Faldo and Norman’s hug on 18. Stewart’s magical putt on the 72nd hole. Phil Mickelson’s “major jump” on the last green. Tiger’s “stop and go in” chip shot on 16. And even in excruciating defeat, Mickelson and Watson’s near misses in the US and British Opens. Luckily for all of us golf fans, Sunday’s entire final round deserves to be added to that list.

Jonah Karzmer is a former golf professional who writes a Sunday golf column for The Vindicator. In his spare time he sells commercial insurance and loves getting feedback on his weekly columns via email at Jonah@thekarzmerinsurance.com.