FROM THE FRINGE: The Open Championship

By Chad Hoyle (@chadillacgrilz)

The British Open, now known as the Open Championship, ended in dramatic fashion on Sunday as Phil Mickelson fought back from a six shot deficit to win his first Claret Jug and the 5th major victory of his career.  

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Mickelson was the only competitor to finish the tournament under par, and set a personal 4th round best by shooting 66 on Sunday. Five strokes behind the leader Lee Westwood after Saturday, Phil remained optimistic that a win was possible, and said that 6 strokes would be his magic number. Little did Mickelson know at the time that the comeback would involve playing arguably the greatest round of his career. Sunday saw Westwood slip in the standings to finish in 3rd, and allowed Phil to regain the lead spot by playing at top form-  he birdied four of his last six holes, including the 18th to seal the win.  

In other news, Tiger Woods continues his trend of late-tournament disappointments. Woods appeared to play strong through the first three rounds, and was within two strokes of the lead position going into Sunday’s play. He unfortunately could not stay out of the notorious pot bunkers, which seemed to toy with the majority of Tiger’s shots. Woods ultimately finished tied for sixth after shooting a 74 Sunday, and extends his Major tournament win less drought to 17 straight events.

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