As an appetite whetter for the Ryder Cup this autumn, the battle between Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson over the final two rounds of the Open last weekend really hit the spot.
The lowest winning total for any 72-hole major tournament (Stenson); the second lowest under-par total for a non-winner at a major (Mickelson); the lowest winning Open score to par (Stenson); a score that would have won 140 of the previous 144 Opens (Mickelson). That Stenson prevailed will have been heartening indeed for Darren Clarke, the Europe captain.
Stenson will surely be on the plane to Hazeltine in Minnesota as one of the nine automatic selection spots. If the team was picked tomorrow, he would be joined by Rory McIlroy, Danny Willett and Chris