By Matt Smith
With Swedish star Henrik Stenson now on board, we are lined up for an intriguing new chapter in one of golf’s most recent rivalries.

The 2016 Open Champ and Ryder Cup legend will size up against the 2021 PGA Championship and six-time major winner Phil Mickelson in New Jersey this week as the third LIV Golf Series event takes place at Bedminster.

While coming from opposite sides of the Atlantic and Ryder Cup divide, Mickelson and Stenson are firm friends, and have a little bit of history when it comes to denying each other the game’s most famed silverware.

In the 2013 Open Championship at Muirfield in Scotland, Mickelson finished with four birdies in the final six holes to stretch ahead of the field — he called it “one of the best” rounds of his career.

Stenson was the man who kissed out as he briefly held the lead  but ultimately finished three shots back in solo second. Fast-forward three years and it was a role-reversal. Stenson returned the favour in one of the most riveting final-round duels in major golf history. Both he and Mickelson were well clear of the field when the final round started.

Tied with five holes to play, Stenson produced three consecutive birdies, including one from 51 feet, to become the first Swede to win a men’s major. With his final-round 63, Stenson’s 20-under total broke the then-aggregate scoring record for any major.

Mickelson, who had shot 63 in the first round, finished with a bogey-free 65 at 17-under. but he was powerless to stop the Swede. The next closest pursuer was 11 strokes behind.

We shall see who has the biggest grin come Sunday in New Jersey.

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