The Open 2013: Phil Mickelson wins fifth major title to win 142nd Open at Muirfield by three strokes

A brilliant birdie-birdie finish from Phil Mickelson saw the American win his first Open Championship and a fifth career major.

Phil Mickelson wins The Open
Job done: Phil Mickelson celebrates his birdie on the 18th hole Credit: Photo: PA

Muirfield does discriminate – it only allows in the greats. And there is absolutely no doubt of Mickelson’s credentials after yesterday. The left-hander’s 66 to win the 142nd Open Championship has already taken its place in the pantheon of golf’s rounds.

It equalled the best score of the week and was the best score of the day. But while being full of admiration for the American, who joins Severiano Ballesteros and Byron Nelson on the major roll call with five, it was difficult for the galleries not to feel for Lee Westwood.

The Englishman held the overnight lead by two and a par round would have earned him a play-off with Mickelson. In the event, and yes, the pressure, he could only produce a 75 as his long-game deserted him.

Westwood could not even claim outright British honours. Ian Poulter shared third with his Ryder Cup team-mate on one-over alongside Adam Scott and one behind the runner-up Henrik Stenson after a sensational charge which electrified the crowd as they awaited the climax.

The mood turned out to be one of awe rather than excitement. Mickelson birdied four of the last six to prevail by three on three under, and on this brutal stretch that is plainly ridiculous.

On his 20th effort, the 43-year-old finally cracked the links code and in doing so became the oldest winner of the Claret Jug since Roberto De Vicenzo lifted the prize in 1967. Because of his history with seaside golf, and because of what this meant to his standing in the game, it can be legitimately asked if the Open has ever witnessed a better final back nine than Mickelson’s 32.

While everyone else had been cowed into caution by Muirfield’s glorious menace, the game’s gunslinger took it on – and stood proudly, in every sense of the expression. Mickelson became the first to complete the Scottish Open-Open double, this replicating his feat of winning The Masters in 2006 having won on tour the week before.

So the old one-two are back on top and Tiger Woods, after his 74 took his barren major period deep into a sixth year, is rather frantically looking over his shoulder. In the past decade Woods has won six majors and Mickelson five. Lefty leapfrogs Rory McIlroy in the rankings with only his nemesis blocking him for the world No 1 spot he has remarkably yet to fill.

He could do so at the USPGA in three weeks’ time and then, after his beloved Masters, it would be all roads to Pinehurst, where Mickelson could become just the sixth player to win the career Grand Slam. Just imagine he did it, after six runner-up placings in the US Open.

But for now golf will look back on an enthralling major. So much for Poulter claiming after his first round that the greens needed only windmills and clowns’ faces. He decided to play some crazy golf and a few hours later Mickelson followed him. By this stage, Westwood had forsaken his lead with a front nine which he will want to forget very soon.

But then, after six holes, it all seemed so promising. His playing partner, Hunter Mahan, had fallen back and after a birdie on the par-five fifth had negated a bogey on the third, Westwood held a three-shot advantage. The crowd sensed such a joyous continuation of the great British summer of sport. It was all to go up in so many puffs of sands.

Westwood found four plugged lies in bunkers in the next three holes and fell back to one under. Scott and Stenson had joined him and with Poulter, courtesy of an eagle on the ninth and three birdies in succession from the 10th, even the list of candidates had suddenly stretched. Westwood was hanging on.

In truth, he had not located his A-game all week. While Ian Baker-Finch, the 1991 Open champion, has switched on the light in just one putting session with Westwood, his work with the long-game coach Sean Foley will obviously take longer. The Canadian had urged Westwood to put the ball further forward in his stance but here he reverted to old ways.

There were chances to reclaim his lead and not let Mickelson get too far ahead. On the 12th he missed a 12-footer, and after a dreadful tee-shot on the par-three 13th led to a bogey, there was another 12-footer on the 14th for birdie. When he missed that he walked off the green and saw on the leaderboard that Mickelson had moved to two-under with a two-putt birdie on the 17th. This had followed birdies on the 13th and 14th.

Mickelson credited the first as crucial. “That putt was going to make the round go one way or the other,” he said. When the 15-footer on the 18th dropped he raised his arms and pumped them. Mickelson knew, Muirfield knew.

Westwood was on the 15th and his fate was sealed. Questions will be asked if he will ever win a major and with eight top-threes in his last 21 attempts his image as golf’s “nearly man” will obviously gain weight.

Westwood will not worry. The work will carry on.

As it will for Woods. His recent weekend record in majors is becoming one of the more startling of golfing stats. Thanks to a 72, 74 here he is 23-over for his last 14 weekend rounds. He looms in contention but when everyone expects him to put his foot down on the gas his game inexplicably squeals into reverse. Woods said the usual things about “giving myself opportunities” but things have changed, he has changed. His pursuit of Jack Nicklaus’s 18 majors now seems more unlikely than ever.

Scott will merely wonder about another let-down on the back nine of an Open. The Masters champion bogeyed the last four when he was three clear at Lytham last year and bogeyed four in succession here from the 13th when one shot ahead.

Poulter, meanwhile, will grab his usual wheelbarrow of optimism and rightly, too. He popped in his Ryder Cup eyes when the going got tough and produced exactly when he had to. It was another plus point for British golf in addition to 18-year-old Matt Fitzpatrick lifting the Silver Medal honours as top amateur.

But essentially, this was all about Mickelson, the golfer who no longer just thrills but kills. Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Tom Watson, Lee Trevino, Sir Nick Faldo, Ernie Els... Phil Mickelson fits Muirfield perfectly.