Phil Mickelson, Henrik Stenson lead way for thrilling British Open final

TROON, Scotland — Age is playing quite nicely on the ancient grounds of Royal Troon this week in the 145th British Open.

The leading stars heading into Sunday’s final act are a pair of 40-somethings who have, through 54 holes, conquered the perils inherent on this seaside, crumpled links. On another dreary, cloudy and at times wet day — even locals looked to the sky when the sun made a brief appearance and wondered what it was — Henrik Stenson, 40, and Phil Mickelson, 46, separated themselves from the rest of the field in search of the oldest trophy in championship golf.

With patience once again being tested over 18 menacing holes hard by the Clyde of Firth, Stenson had the more steady hand en route to a 3-under-par 68 to move to 12 under, taking a 1-stroke lead. Mickelson, the 36-hole leader, was, well, Phil the Thrill on his way to a 70 that put him at 11 under.

"I know what I would like to see tomorrow," Stenson said. "I've got a second and two thirds at the Open, so it's not like I'm looking to pick up anymore of those finishes. There's only one thing that matters tomorrow.

"I know he's not going to back down, and I'm certainly going to try to not back down either. ... He's one of the best to play the game in the last 15, 20 years for sure, and it's going to be a tough match. But I'm looking forward to the opportunity. I've worked hard these first three days to put myself in this situation and, once again, going to try my hardest tomorrow to finish the job."

While the nearest competitor is five shots behind Mickelson, this isn’t a two-man show, especially with the hand of Mother Nature at the ready to change conditions at any moment and wreck scorecards in the process.

Bill Haas, 34, who won the FedExCup in 2011 but has never enjoyed much success across the pond, signed for a 69 and is at 6 under.

"You certainly can't expect Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson to fall backwards," Haas said. "So with those two quality players in front of you, you pretty much know I've got to go shoot a score and hopefully that will work out. I think it's just Open golf courses pretty much dictate what you have to do."

At 27, the hefty Andrew "Beef" Johnston is one of just two youngsters in the top 9 and a gallery favorite for his gregarious ways, shot 70 to stand at 5 under.

Big-hitting J.B. Holmes, 34, shot 69 to move to 4 under.

Leading a group at 3 under is Steve Stricker, 49 years young, who shot 68. He’s joined there by Tony Finau, 26, who came home with a 72, and Soren Kjeldsen, 41, who shot 75.

Up to now, however, the best scenes of the Open inside the ropes have been provided by Stenson and Mickelson, who came within a whisker on Thursday of becoming the only player to shoot 62 in a major championship when his birdie bid on 18 caught the hole and then hung on the lip.

The two have spoken this week to their advancing years in different lights, with Mickelson saying he has time on his side and Stenson admitting he’s running out of time.

Stenson said he isn’t getting any younger, that his chances to win a first major championship are slipping away like sand through an hourglass. Thus the emphasis heading forward. The world No. 6 has won 13 titles on the PGA and European Tours, but had been winless since the 2014 DP World Tour Championship until last month in Germany, where he won the BMW International Open. During that frustrating stretch, he had 17 top-10s in 37 starts, eight of them runner-up finishes. And after finishing in the top 4 in four of six majors from 2013-14, he hasn’t been a factor in one until this week.

"I’m not going to play these tournaments forever and ever," Stenson said. "I don’t have another 50 chances left. I better start putting myself in position and give myself chances if I want to make it happen."

Desperate to win his country of Sweden its first major in men’s golf, he’s done just that at Troon. He has relied on his straight-and-long 3-wood to get in position amidst the dangerous pot bunkers guarding the fairways and greens. From there, his iron play has been superb and his putter, which has let him down in the past, has been a reliable friend.

"It would be massive," Stenson said about winning the Claret Jug. "It would be the icing on the cake. But at the same time I've worked hard, I've put myself in a great spot. But still it's whatever you want to throw the odds, but if I give myself a 50-50 chance. It might happen, it might not happen. The sun will come up on Monday anyway, hopefully. Maybe not in Scotland, but in other parts of the world. And I will be back at the PGA Championship to try again.

"I know I've got the game to win one of these championships or a few, hopefully by the end of my career, and I will just try my hardest."

Mickelson, ranked No. 19, is winless since that magical day at Muirfield when he fired a closing 66 to win the Claret Jug in the 2013 British Open. But it’s not because he’s getting older. Earlier in the week, Mickelson said he was playing his best golf 10 years ago but now he’s 25 pounds lighter, physically stronger and in better shape.

"I'm starting to hit some shots like I did 10 years ago and starting to play some of my best golf again," he said. "So I don't see why there's any reason why I can't continue that not just this week but for years."

Mickelson said he wasn’t at his best in the third round, but patience and experience carried him through. He’s been conservative this week, opting to use his 2-iron far more than his driver, but on a 3-hole stretch on the back nine, he was Phil the Thrill.

On the 12th, his errant drive nestled up against gorse but he was able to stab at the ball and advance it some 150 yards with his second shot. From 70 or so yards short of the green he wedged his ball, which spun back to 8 feet. He canned the putt for par and kept his lead.

On the next hole he knocked in a 30-footer for birdie to extend his lead to 2.

He three-putted the 14th, missing a 2-footer putting him tied with Stenson who rolled in an 8-footer for birdie.

Mickelson regained a 1-stroke advantage with a birdie on the 16th.

That vanished on the 17th when Mickelson missed the green to the left and took bogey while Stenson canned a 15-footer for birdie. Stenson held the 1-stroke lead after both made pars on the closing hole.

"I was off today. I didn't have my best stuff," Mickelson said. "I was a little bit jumpy and my rhythm wasn't very good. I found a way to kind of settle in and hit some shots and then find ways to make pars on the times that I hit some poor shots. Today could have been a day that got away from me. Instead I shot under par and kept myself right in it heading into tomorrow's final round, so I'm proud of that."

He said he and his coach, Andrew Getson, will do some work before Sunday’s final 18 in hopes of getting his swing dialed in again.

"The game of golf it just comes and goes. The most important thing is to find a way to get the ball in the hole, and that's what I did," Mickelson said. "I found a way to get the ball in the hole, make pars, and that's all that I really care about. Some days it's easy and it looks pretty like the first couple of days. Some days it's hard and it looks terrible, like it did today. But either way I shot three rounds under par.

"... I know it's not far off because I was hitting it so good. I've been hitting it so good for so long, that I just think one day is an anomaly."

Follow Steve DiMeglio on Twitter @Steve_DiMeglio.