Which brings us back to Mickelson. Five strokes back after the third round, there was barely a whisper from the media. It was only after he birdied the ninth hole on Sunday to turn in two-under and find himself well in the reckoning that the BBC decided to it might be a good idea to start showing some of his play. And what play it was.
Muirfield has the amazing knack of producing brilliant champions, and Mickelson, who waltzed in with that majestic 66 – the equal low round of the tournament – is definitely that. Four birdies in the final six holes – and a near miraculous par save at the treacherous par-three 16th – is the stuff of legend. Nobody is meant to be able to do that, least of all an unpredictable American who in his first 17 appearances at The Open had claimed only one top-10 finish.
Once the dust had settled an hour after Mickelson had holed that curling 10-footer on the last to a standing ovation, Dan Jenkins, the famed American writer who has covered nearly every major championship since the 1950s, told me he classed Mickelson’s performance in the same league as Nicklaus’ own come-from-behind effort to win the 1986 Masters. Jenkins isn’t prone to hyperbole – and nor is Phil.
"This is a day and a moment I will cherish forever," the Champion Golfer of the Year said while still clutching the Claret Jug an hour after the presentation ceremony. "It took me a while how to figure out to play links conditions – it has been the biggest challenge for me to overcome – but now that I have done I couldn’t be happier. It might be the best moment of my whole career."
It might just.
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