0

Match Play at The Open Championship

The Open Championship started on Thursday with 156 golfers, hopeful golfers. Hopeful that come Sunday evening as as the sun slipped into the Firth of Clyde that their name would be called as Champion Golfer of the Year.

Well, despite what the talking heads may say this Open Championship has come down to just two golfers. 154 golfers have essentially been eliminated. Yes, there is still eighteen holes yet to play but Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson have separated themselves far enough from the field that this 145th Open Championship has become match play.

Yes, it’s man y mano for Stenson and Mickelson. hank phil 1

With Stenson at -12 and Mickelson at -11 their nearest challenger is Bill Haas at -6 and Andrew “Beef” Johnston at -5 and it would take a Norman-like meltdown for one of them not to win. And while I think one of them could (not likely) blow up and choke away their lead the chance of both of them doing it is so very minimal.

So it’s match play, The Terminator versus Phil the Thrill.

Their play to this point has been eerily similar. Stenson has hit 71% of the fairways. Mickelson 69%. Stenson has hit 74% of his greens in regulation and Mickelson 72%. Both lead the Open, along with others at 15 birdies

And after three rounds a mere stroke separates them. But on paper the divide is greater.

Stenson has eleven European Tour wins along with 4 on the PGA Tour and he won the FedEx Cup in 2013. With Dustin Johnson’s U.S. Open win he is at the top of the latest class of the “best player without a major.” He’s forty years old and on the cusp of his biggest win ever.

Mickelson on the other hand is already in the Hall of Fame. He has garnered 42 PGA Tour wins, five of them majors and 9 other world wide wins. Mickelson has established himself as one of the greats of the game and at 46 he is on the verge of making history as the oldest player ever to win the Open Championship. Sure, Old Tom Morris was two months older than Mickelson when he last won but that was nearly 150 years ago. In the modern era of golf, Mickelson would be the oldest Open Champion.

Much as it was in the third round Henrik and Phil will be face to face with their main rival, a bit of major championship match play as it were.

Who will blink? Who will choke? Who will play the round of their life?

Who will hear their name called as Champion Golfer of the year?

If Stenson hears his name called it will be a break through he has wanted for years, a life changing win that would distinguish him from all those other tour players yet to win a major.

If Mickelson is called as the Champion Golfer of the Year for the second time he’ll have six majors and only eleven men would have more. That’s some very rare company and another significant notch on Lefty’s belt.

Either way, whoever is left standing at the end of this major championship match play and is called as the 145th Champion Golfer of the Year will be a worthy champion.

And a historic match play final is a great way to finish it.

 

Share

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.