Phil Mickelson wins his first Open title at Muirfield – Golf news
Phil Mickelson fired a five-under par 66 in the final round of The Open Championship to claim his first victory in the event, on Sunday, July 21, 2013.
The third major golf championship of the season was being staged at the Muirfield Golf Club, featuring big names from different parts of the world.
The 142nd edition of the tournament saw each and every player failing to break the par mark except Mickelson, who finished with a three-under par tournament score.
Entering the final round, Mickelson was sharing the ninth spot on the leaderboard with a two-over par overall score.
Birdies on the fifth and the ninth hole, followed by a bogey on the 10th kept him in the hunt for the top spot. The turning point came when he birdied four of the last six holes that he played, and went way ahead of his rivals on the leaderboard.
At the end of the tournament, he saw himself winning his first Open title comfortable with a three-stroke margin, as Henrik Stenson was the closest to him on the leaderboard with an even-par tournament score.
“I'm playing some of the best golf of my career. It's the best I've ever putted. Today will be one of the most memorable rounds of golf I've ever played,” he said. “It's probably the greatest and most difficult win of my career. It is great to be part of any Open Championship and to win at Muirfield feels amazing.”
Mickelson added, “The range of emotions I feel are as far apart as possible in the last month after such a tough loss. You have to be resilient in this game and take losses and use them as motivation to work harder and come back stronger.”
The overnight leader Lee Westwood, who had a great chance to secure the first major golf championship of his career, faltered for a four-over 75, which dragged him down to finish sharing the third spot on the leaderboard.
He was really disappointed with his final round performance, especially because he only needed a one-under par score in the final round to force the playoff.
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