TROON, SCOTLAND. When Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus went head-to-head 39 years ago at Turnberry during their epic meeting it was quickly dubbed, “The Duel in the Sun” for the sunny dry weather the event featured. Both men were at the height of their games and it was Watson besting Nicklaus with stunning play on the weekend rounds—shooting consecutive 65s to edge the Golden Bear by one stroke while setting a record Open aggregate total of 268 at that time. Few ever thought such an incredible shot-making display would ever be rivaled—let alone surpassed.
Henrik Stenson earned his first major and did so in a fashion that will long be remembered. The 40-year-old Swede entered the final round one stroke ahead of American Phil Mickelson. The margin between the top of the leaderboard and the next golfer after Lefty was six strokes further back. At the end of Sunday’s final round the 3rd place finisher would be 14 strokes behind Stenson—the first Swede to ever capture a major championship. In the 1977 Open it was Hubert Green—the 3rd place finisher at the Turnberry Open—who finished 10 shots by Watson and amusingly said, “I won the golf tournament. I don’t know what game those other two guys were playing.”
