Phil Mickelson has described winning the 142nd Open Championship at Muirfield as “probably the greatest and most difficult win of my career.”
Starting the day five shots behind home favourite Lee Westwood, Mickelson surged through a crowded leaderboard with a stunning five-under 66, equalling the lowest round of the week.
The 43-year-old finished three under par and the only man in red figures, three shots clear of Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, with overnight leader Lee Westwood a shot further back in third alongside compatriot Ian Poulter and Masters champion Adam Scott.
World number one Tiger Woods, chasing a 15th major title and first since 2008, began the day two off the lead but was never a factor after three early bogeys and finished in a tie for sixth after a round of 74.
Mickelson is now three quarters of the way to the career Grand Slam after previous wins in the US Masters and US PGA, and could easily have completed it here given the events of last month.
He had celebrated his 43rd birthday by taking a one-shot lead into the final round of the US Open at Merion, only to card a closing 74 and lose out to Justin Rose.See Monday’s Courier for full coverage of the final-day dramaThe left-hander’s fifth major title came just seven days after he won the Scottish Open at Castle Stuart, after which he rated the prospect of lifting the Claret Jug as “the biggest accomplishment of my career if I were able to do it”.
Having done just that thanks to four birdies in the last six holes and the lowest final round of his major career, he said: “I’m playing some of the best golf of my career. It’s the best I’ve ever putted. Today will be one of the most memorable rounds of golf I’ve ever played.
“It’s probably the greatest and most difficult win of my career. It is great to be part of any Open Championship and to win at Muirfield feels amazing.”
Previous Open winners at Muirfield include Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, Nick Faldo and Ernie Els.
Mickelson said: “The range of emotions I feel are as far apart as possible in the last month after such a tough loss. You have to be resilient in this game and take losses and use them as motivation to work harder and come back stronger.”
Mickelson’s triumph meant more heartache for Westwood, who took a two-shot lead into the final round as he sought his first major title at the 62nd attempt.
The 40-year-old, aiming to become the first English winner of the Open since Faldo in 1992, briefly led by three shots after a birdie at the fifth, but that would be his last birdie of the day in a round of 75.
“Phil must have played really well. Five under was a good round of golf this afternoon,” Westwood said. “You birdie four of the last six round here any day is good going, but to do it today in the last round of a major is an even better finish.”
And what a finish it was.
Finding the green in two on the par-five 17th – two massive hits into the wind on the 575-yard hole – set up the simplest of two-putt birdies, but Mickelson was not finished yet.
His approach to the 18th flirted with a greenside bunker but rolled perfectly round behind the hole to leave a birdie putt from 12ft that never looked like missing, and for the second week in succession he was able to hug his wife Amy and children Evan, Amanda and Sophia in celebration.