Stenson unseats Mickelson, takes 1-shot lead into Sunday at The Open

Henrik Stenson has stuck his nose out in a two-horse race for the 145th Open Championship crown.

Stenson used a two-stroke swing on the 53rd hole to finally overcome Phil Mickelson on the Open Championship leaderboard, and will bring a one-shot lead into the final round in pursuit of his first major-championship title.

Together, the final-round pair opened up considerable distance between themselves and the field, but did so by markedly different means. Stenson was consistent off the tee, using his 3-wood to great effectiveness. He was also sharp with his wedges, and dialed in with mid- to short-range rolls on the green.

He did, however, battle inconsistency with his second shots, whereas Mickelson - who failed to find the fairway with any regularity, often relying on sheer fortune to stay in bounds - kept pace with his brilliant short game and scrambling acumen.

While those factors seemed to even out, the difference in the scoring were the two inward-nine par 3s. Stenson saw a late four-shot swing in his favor with birdies on 14 and 17 when Mickelson posted bogeys on both holes.

Stenson's Saturday 68, his third sub-70 round, had him either establish or own a share of the low round in consecutive starts, and vaults him into his first career 54-hole lead at a major.

Mickelson - who's still holding his hat on with a binder clip - has seen his score elevate from day to day, but his course-record 63 on Thursday has him five shots up on third-place Bill Haas and competing in his 11th final pair at a major in search of his sixth title.

Elsewhere, the only other three players to break par in all three rounds are Haas, Andrew Johnston, and J.B. Holmes, who sit third, fourth, and fifth respectively.

A six-time winner on tour, Haas is in position to place in the top 10 at a major for the first time in 28 starts, while "Beef" Johnston, the unlikely local favorite and budding cult hero, is in contention in just his third big-tournament start.

Leaderboard

Notables

Dustin Johnson was creeping into contention with a third birdie on his front nine, dipping as low as 5-under par. But he fell apart on the "Railway" hole, sullying his progress with a triple-bogey seven. That wasn't the worst score on 11, however, as Rickie Fowler tumbled well out of contention there by scratching down an 8.

Rory McIlroy added another chapter to his tumultuous tournament bid, destroying his 3-wood after an errant shot on the 16th fairway. He carded four bogeys to two birdies, but slipped only incrementally on the leaderboard.

The discrepancy between the inward and outward nines was best illustrated on the scorecard of Jason Day. The World No. 1 erased his four front-nine birdies with four dropped shots on the back.

Jordan Spieth, meanwhile, made more post-round headlines, explaining that it's unreasonable to expect the same results at major championships as he had last season. We should, however, expect more than his 10th consecutive major round at or above par. He shot 72.

Tweet of the Round

It's evidently not too early to look ahead.