Monty hails the Ice Man after 'remarkable' duel with Lefty
Monday 18 July 2016 12:06, UK
Colin Montgomerie said it 'was a privilege' to have witnessed Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson battle it out for the honour of becoming The Open champion.
Stenson produced a staggering display to record 10 birdies and two bogeys to beat the Open record of 19 under set by Tiger Woods in 2000 to win the 145th Open Championship.
The shootout between the two was reminiscent of the "Duel in the Sun" just down the Ayrshire coastline at Turnberry in 1977, when Tom Watson beat Jack Nicklaus by one shot after a weekend of punches and counterpunches.
"Forty-under-par between the two of them is just remarkable. It will go down as one of the great, great days," said Montgomerie, who has made 22 Open appearances.
"We talked about 1977, the Watson-Nicklaus 'Duel in the Sun' and it lasted nearly 40 years. We've witnessed possibly something better."
Stenson lost more than $10million in the infamous Allen Stanford scandal of 2009, but victory in the FedEx Cup and then The Race to Dubai was a step on the Swede's journey to financial recovery.
But Montgomerie said that winning The Open was all about the famous Claret Jug for Stenson, adding: "He always had that ability and he proved that today ten-fold.
"This has been remarkable. We will look back on this in many years to come as witnessing something so, so special.
"I am sitting here over my home course privileged to have watched it.
This has been remarkable. We will look back on this in many years to come as witnessing something so, so special.
"There are very few people that improve in their forties, Henrik improved over these four days dramatically and we said he had the ability.
"He wasn't called the Ice Man because he lost these major championships, today he went out and he won this.
"The bogey the first and then shoot 63 around here is tremendous."
The 2010 Ryder Cup winning skipper said Stenson was 'very studious of the game' when he first encountered him on the PGA Tour.
"He was someone who you always respected because of the length he hit the ball. That went miles down the last, 118 yards to that bunker and it just stopped because it was damp. You need a bit of fortune. If he hit the bunker, could have made bogey, Phil Mickelson birdies, it's then a whole different ball game but we're talking about a champion who has won by three.
"You need a bit of fortune to win a major and that's why it's so difficult because even these top 10 players in the world need a bit of luck to win majors, but he's a nice guy to be around.
"In the team environment he's just a good guy to be around. He is someone that you want on your side."
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