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The Open recap

The best of the action and reaction from Phil Mickelson's thrilling triumph at Muirfield.

A thrilling Open Championship came to a dramatic climax as Phil Mickelson stormed through the field to claim the Claret Jug.

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Mickelson enjoys finest hour

Phil Mickelson rates his Open Championship success as the greatest win of his career after admitting he wondered whether he would ever master links golf. The American, who claimed a three-shot victory at Muirfield in his 20th tilt at the Open, said: "What a fun day. This is some of the best golf I have ever played. It's the best I've ever putted, they kept flying into the hole and every iron shot was right on line. You can't make it happen, you have to let it happen and I hit good shots which had good bounces giving me good putts that I made." Click here for a look back at Mickelson's career.

Fitzpatrick wins Silver Medal

Sheffield's Matthew Fitzpatrick won the Silver Medal as top amateur at the Open Championship after a final round 72. The 18-year-old from Sheffield finished on 10-over-par 294, five strokes better than the only other amateur to make the cut, fellow teenager Jimmy Mullen. It was an impressive performance by last year's Boys Amateur champion, who sat his A-Levels earlier this summer, but he has no immediate thoughts of joining the professional ranks. He said: "Going to university is the big thing, and mum and dad make sure education comes first, rather than the golf."

Westwood takes positives

Lee Westwood rued a poor finish to the front nine at Muirfield as he reflected on another major tournament near-miss at the Open Championship. He said: "It seems like an over-40 championship now, it seems like you have to be 42 or 43 to win it. I just didn't really play well enough today. I didn't play badly, but I didn't play great. The round came apart at the seventh, eighth and ninth. I found three bunkers and each time the ball was plugged but that is the defence of the golf course. Going from three-under back to one-under just halted my momentum a bit. I hit the wrong club at seven. I tried to hit a nine-iron and it was never going to get there."

Scott rues missed opportunity

Adam Scott said he "let a great chance slip" as the opportunity to win the Claret Jug passed him by for the second year running. The Australian, who eventually finished in a tie for third, four shots off eventual champion Phil Mickelson, said: "I'm happy I put myself in with a chance and my game's in great shape, that's the good thing to take from it, but I didn't get to the number that Phil finished on. Had I played a little more solid in the middle of that back nine, I could have had a chance coming in. It will just have to go down in the experience book and something to build on again."

Woods blames Sunday putting

Tiger Woods is convinced he will win a 15th major championship despite seeing another chance pass him by at Muirfield on Sunday. He said: "I've won 14 and in that spell where I haven't won since Torrey Pines (2008 US Open), I've been in there. It's not like I've lost my card and am not playing out here. So I've won some tournaments in that stretch and I've been in probably about half the majors on the back nine on Sunday with a chance to win during that stretch. I just haven't done it yet - and hopefully it will be (different) in a few weeks."

Poulter inspired by Medinah

Ian Poulter admitted he drew on his Medinah memories to inspire his remarkable final-round charge at the Open Championship. "The putts were going in the middle like they were in Medinah," said Poulter, who had to settle for a share of third place - four shots behind champion Phil Mickelson. "The excitement, the atmosphere, the fans out there were certainly giving me a lot of electricity and pumping me up. It's nice to be in that position when you're playing in front of a home crowd holing 15-foot putts for eagles, birdies, and running up that leaderboard."

Stenson pleased with display

Henrik Stenson saw plenty of positives after finishing runner-up behind Phil Mickelson at the Open Championship. "I'm very pleased with my performance over the week," he said. "And today more so than yesterday. I thought I was in a good frame of mind and played some good golf. The key to success and winning tournaments is to move forward and I did that. I didn't let the bogeys set me back and I finished off in good style. I managed to keep it together and I've played this golf course very good, I think. We're getting closer. I've got two thirds and now a second in the majors."

As it happened

Relive the final-round action as it happened, with Sky Sports golf writer Dave Tindall's diary from Muirfield, or look back at the best of the pictures as Phil Mickelson celebrated a thrilling success. Alternatively you can catch up with the best of the action from the entire Open Championship with our commentary.

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