Phil Mickelson claimed the fifth major of his career – and his first British Open – with a stunning late charge at Muirfield on Sunday as Australian Adam Scott suffered through a disastrous back nine in his final round. Mickelson, though, fired four birdies in his final six holes to tame the testing Scottish links as he emerged from the pack to lift the famous claret jug. The left-hander had started the final day with plenty to do, five shots off the pace set by overnight leader Lee Westwood. However a back nine that consisted of four birdies and a bogey helped Mickelson to his first British Open win through a five-under 66 round that saw him finish on three under overall for the tournament. Mickelson&aposs first major win since the Masters in 2010 completed a perfect week in the United Kingdom for the 43-year-old American who also claimed the Scottish Open title in a sudden-death play-off just seven days previously. Mickelson ultimately finished three shots ahead of Swede Henrik Stenson in second, while Westwood&aposs bid for his maiden major title came up agonisingly short once again. The Englishman&aposs final round unravelled as he carded a closing 75 to finish tied for third, meaning he has now ended in the top three at golf&aposs flagship tournaments six times in total – including second at the British Open in 2010 – but is still searching for an elusive career-defining triumph. Westwood finished alongside Ian Poulter and Scott, whose form suffered through something of a meltdown on the back nine of his final round. Scott started poorly with bogeys on the first and fourth holes but stormed back into contention with four birdies either side of the turn. But things all went wrong for Scott on the 13th as he posted four consecutive bogeys before earning the slightest of consolations by picking up another stroke on the 18th. Scott finished with a one-over 72 score for the round that saw him finish at one over overall but with a losing margin of four strokes that late run of four bogeys proved definitive to his chances. Further down the leaderboard, Geoff Ogilvy completed a solid four rounds at the difficult Muirfield course with a one-over 72 on Sunday on his way to 10-over for the tournament. Ogilvy finished one stroke ahead of fellow Aussie Marcus Fraser, who also finished with a one -over 72 on Sunday, and six strokes ahead of Peter Senior (77).
Author: Omnisport