My Five Takeaways from the 2016 Open Championship

The 2016 Open Championship has come and gone and I'm pretty sure most of us are speechless at what took place, especially over the final two days.  Two men in their forties played some of the best golf that the game has ever seen.  Troon was also a fantastic venue to watch on TV because it really exposed some of the world's best players.  The Open Championship is always a tough test for anyone involved, and like all major tournaments it is surrounded by story lines.  Here are my five takeaways from this year's tournament:

5. I’m officially a fan of Andrew Johnston.

(Getty Images)

A lot of people may not know who Andrew Johnston is since he only burst onto the scene fairly recently.  The 27 year old Englishman, known as “Beef,” plays primarily on the European Tour. With his first win back in April he moved up the World Ranking, allowing him to play in both the U.S. Open and the Open Championship this past weekend.  Johnston seems to be a very likable guy, and his personality along with a very solid talent has already made him a popular player.  This won’t be the last time we see Beef in a major, but we can only hope he finds his way onto the PGA Tour someday.  Johnston finished solo 8^th.

4. Royal Troon: a tale of two nines.

(Getty Images)

The back nine played MUCH harder than the front nine this week.  The other day I remember seeing some ridiculous stat from Justin Ray (@JustinRayGC) of Golf Channel. It said that in the previous two Opens at Royal Troon, the front nine played -28 while the back nine played +2,131.  The 11^th hole (seen above) in my opinion was one of the hardest looking holes I’ve ever seen, with a blind tee shot and railroad just steps to the right of the fairway. Rickie Fowler, my pick to win this week, made an 8 at the 11^th on Saturday that ended his Open abruptly.   Both Stenson and Mickelson’s success this week stemmed in large part from how well they played the back nine.

3. I’m convinced no one will ever break 63 in a major.

At the 1973 U.S. Open Johnny Miller set the all time single round major scoring record at 63.  Since then, the score has been reached 27 times but never broken.  The most recent was of course Phil Mickelson on Thursday, who came just about as close as anyone has ever come.  Phil rolled a mid range putt on the 18^th hole that curled around the back of the cup and stopped just outside to give him a 63.  It was crushing to watch, and had to have been that much more heartbreaking for Phil.  To be honest, I wanted it to drop partially because Johnny Miller wouldn’t be relevant anymore.  But anyways, it’s stuff like this that makes me truly believe that 62 is impossible to achieve.  Even Henrik Stenson, who made 10 biridies on Sunday, failed to break 63 after bogeying two other holes.  It’s a bit of a hot take, but I just can’t see it happening.

2. Another runner-up finish for Phil.

(Belfast Telegraph)

Second place is starting to get pretty synonymous with Phil Mickelson.  While most of his runner-ups have come at the U.S. Open, the others have been scattered throughout his career.  The most recent came yesterday of course.  Here’s the thing about yesterday.  Phil played beyond well enough to win.  So well in fact that his final score of -17 would have won all but 4 Open Championships...just 4 of the 145 times this tournament has been held!  If you told me that Phil, who started the day one shot back, would shoot 65 on Sunday and lose, I would’ve thought you were out of your mind.  Phil didn’t choke at all, he did everything he could possibly do.  It just wasn’t enough.

1. Henrik Stenson gets his first major.

(Matt Dunham/AP)

We may never witness another round like that in our lifetime.  No, seriously.  What Henrik Stenson did on Sunday at the 2016 Open Championship should go down as one of the five best rounds of all time, given the conditions and the circumstances.  Stenson and Mickelson had separated themselves from the rest of the field on Saturday, so going into Sunday everyone knew it would be a two man race.  And boy was it ever.  Going shot for shot, the two “old guys” fed off of each other and gave fans a spectacle like no other.  Stenson had to play the round of his life to hold off Phil, and he did just that by firing a 63.  He birdied 10 of his 18 holes. Stenson set the Open Championship scoring record and tied the all time major scoring record at -20.  He becomes the fourth straight first-time major winner, and the first male Swedish player to win a major.  He is my pick to win the PGA Championship in a couple weeks, and he should certainly be a favorite after a performance like that.