2016 British Open Winner and Scores
The 2016 British Open was 145th time this major was played, and it produced a first-time major winner and some record-tying and -breaking scoring.
Winner: Henrik Stenson, 264
Where it was played: Royal Troon Golf Club (Old Course) in Troon, Ayrshire, Scotland
Tournament dates: July 14-17, 2016
Leader after first round: Phil Mickelson, 63
Leader after second round: Phil Mickelson, 132
Leader after third round: Henrik Stenson, 201
What Happened in the 2016 British Open
Henrik Stenson claimed his first major championship victory by three shots over runner-up Phil Mickelson, and in so doing Stenson set or tied several big scoring records:- Stenson's final-round 63 tied the tournament and major championship 18-hole scoring record.
- Stenson's 264 total set a British Open record and an all-time men's major championship record for fewest strokes.
- Stenson's 20-under-par finish tied the all-time major championship record for strokes in relation to par, and broke the British Open record.
It was Mickelson who set Royal Troon afire first, shooting his own 63 in the first round. Stenson carded a 68 in the opening round, then followed that with a 65. Another 68 in the third round gave Stenson a 1-stroke lead over Mickelson, the 2013 British Open winner, heading into the final round.
And it was a 2-man race: Stenson and Mickelson began the final day a half-dozen shots in front of the field, and only pulled away. The eventual third-place finisher, J.B. Holmes, was 11 behind Mickelson and 14 behind Stenson.
Stenson and Mickelson battled for most of the last day, exchanging the lead several times early on, spending more time tied. Both played great, hitting fairways, hitting greens, making putts, sinking lots of birdies.
Mickelson — who was bogey-free in the final round — birdied the first hole, eagled the fourth and birdied the sixth. He shot 32 over the front nine. But Stenson recovered from an opening-hole bogey to make birdies on five of the next seven holes and also shot 32 on the front nine. He led Mickelson by one at the turn.
When Stenson bogeyed the 11th, the two were tied again. But Stenson then reeled off three consecutive birdies on Nos. 14-16, taking a 2-stroke lead.
When Stenson birdied the 18th hole, he had a three-stroke victory over Mickelson. It was only the second time ever at a major that the winner closed with a 63.
For Mickelson, a 5-time major winner, it was his 11th career runner-up finish in a major. That was second all-time at this point to Jack Nicklaus' 19 runner-ups. The 72-hole major scoring record that Stenson broke was David Toms' 265 at the 2001 PGA Championship. And who was runner-up in that tournament? Mickelson.
2016 British Open Final Scores
| Henrik Stenson | 68-65-68-63—264 |
| Phil Mickelson | 63-69-70-65—267 |
| J.B. Holmes | 70-70-69-69—278 |
| Steve Stricker | 67-75-68-69—279 |
| Sergio Garcia | 68-70-73-69—280 |
| Tyrrell Hatton | 70-71-71-68—280 |
| Rory McIlroy | 69-71-73-67—280 |
| Andrew Johnston | 69-69-70-73—281 |
| Bill Haas | 68-70-69-75—282 |
| Dustin Johnson | 71-69-72-70—282 |
| Soren Kjeldsen | 67-68-75-72—282 |
| Emiliano Grillo | 69-72-72-70—283 |
| Zach Johnson | 67-70-75-71—283 |
| Patrick Reed | 66-74-71-72—283 |
| Matthew Southgate | 71-71-72-69—283 |
| Andy Sullivan | 67-76-71-69—283 |
| Gary Woodland | 69-73-71-70—283 |
| Keegan Bradley | 67-68-76-73—284 |
| Tony Finau | 67-71-72-74—284 |
| Miguel Angel Jimenez | 71-72-70-71—284 |
| Charl Schwartzel | 72-66-73-73—284 |
| Jason Day | 73-70-71-71—285 |
| Jason Dufner | 71-71-74-69—285 |
| David Howell | 74-70-71-70—285 |
| Thongchai Jaidee | 71-74-69-71—285 |
| Kevin Na | 70-69-73-73—285 |
| Justin Rose | 68-77-70-70—285 |
| Brandt Snedeker | 73-73-68-71—285 |
| Lee Westwood | 71-73-73-68—285 |
| Darren Clarke | 71-72-73-70—286 |
| Russell Knox | 72-70-75-69—286 |
| Ryan Palmer | 72-73-71-70—286 |
| Thomas Pieters | 68-76-70-72—286 |
| Haydn Porteous | 70-76-68-72—286 |
| Jordan Spieth | 71-75-72-68—286 |
| Padraig Harrington | 70-72-73-72—287 |
| Martin Kaymer | 66-73-74-74—287 |
| Francesco Molinari | 69-71-73-74—287 |
| Rafa Cabrera Bello | 68-71-75-74—288 |
| Matt Jones | 69-73-75-71—288 |
| Webb Simpson | 70-72-71-75—288 |
| Bubba Watson | 70-76-72-70—288 |
| Luke Donald | 73-72-72-72—289 |
| Jim Herman | 70-70-72-77—289 |
| Adam Scott | 69-73-76-71—289 |
| Nicolas Colsaerts | 72-73-70-75—290 |
| Harris English | 73-73-73-71—290 |
| Rickie Fowler | 69-72-76-73—290 |
| Matt Kuchar | 71-68-75-76—290 |
| Ryan Moore | 70-73-74-73—290 |
| Alex Noren | 70-72-73-75—290 |
| Richard Sterne | 68-74-76-72—290 |
| Kevin Chappell | 71-75-73-72—291 |
| K.T. Kim | 70-71-77-73—291 |
| Marc Leishman | 74-69-75-73—291 |
| Justin Thomas | 67-77-74-73—291 |
| Danny Willett | 71-75-74-71—291 |
| Ryan Evans | 71-75-74-72—292 |
| Byeong-Hun An | 70-70-76-77—293 |
| Jim Furyk | 74-72-72-75—293 |
| Jon Rahm | 74-71-73-75—293 |
| Daniel Summerhays | 71-73-77-72—293 |
| Paul Lawrie | 72-74-74-74—294 |
| Graeme McDowell | 75-71-72-76—294 |
| Mark O'Meara | 71-72-78-73—294 |
| Zander Lombard | 69-76-74-76—295 |
| Harold Varner III | 71-72-75-77—295 |
| Marco Dawson | 72-73-77-74—296 |
| James Hahn | 74-72-74-76—296 |
| Patton Kizzire | 76-70-75-75—296 |
| Anirban Lahiri | 69-72-76-79—296 |
| Jamie Donaldson | 69-73-76-79—297 |
| Branden Grace | 70-74-76-77—297 |
| Scott Hend | 71-73-77-76—297 |
| Yuta Ikeda | 68-74-78-77—297 |
| Kevin Kisner | 70-72-80-76—298 |
| Charley Hoffman | 71-73-78-77—299 |
| Colin Montgomerie | 71-75-79-76—301 |
| Kodai Ichihara | 69-77-78-78—302 |
| Soomin Lee | 68-77-75-82—302 |
| Greg Chalmers | 72-71-77-85—305 |
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