Jim “Bones” Mackay, eight years later, is asked for a memory — a “dominant thing” — of the back-and-forth between his man, Phil Mickelson, and Henrik Stenson during the 2016 Open Championship’s final round, and he obliges. Only he has more than one memory. More than one dominant thing. 

The golf quality, Mackay said, “was pretty much mind-blowing.”

The players, he said, were “incredible.”

And those Royal Troon crowds. 

“The spectators were just — just the buzz around the place, the electric atmosphere was maybe something I never saw again,” he said. “Maybe at a couple of Ryder Cups.

“But it was just electric out there.”

Though seemingly not to everyone, and Mackay has “a little story” about that, too. 

He was talking last week on a call previewing NBC’s coverage of this week’s Open, where Mackay will work as an on-course analyst, eight years since the last Open at Troon. Then, Mackay caddied for Mickelson in the major, and Sunday’s final round was golf theater. 

Three days earlier, during the first round, Mickelson shot a 63, tying him for what was then the lowest round in a major. He led after the second round, by one shot, over Stenson. During Saturday’s third round, in the final pairing, Mickelson and Stenson dueled, with Stenson firing a 68 and Mickelson a 70, and they went at it in the final pairing again during Sunday’s final round.  

There, Stenson shot a 63 to win, and Mickelson shot a 65. They combined for 14 birdies and an eagle. The next closest player to Mickelson after four rounds was a whopping 11 shots back. 

“It was really one of the fun events,” Mickelson said last week during a LIV Golf press conference. “Only time I can remember in my career where I played my absolute best golf and it wasn’t enough to win.

“As I look back, I’ve always tried to put it in my hands. Like if I play my game, if I play well, it will be good enough, and it always has been until that week when I played my best and it wasn’t enough. But yet, I still really enjoyed that week. I look back on it fondly even though I didn’t win. I loved the 36 holes over the weekend that we played, competed against head-to-head. We really had a great time because that’s what it’s about. It’s not about the trophy as much as it is the process. That’s what I remember, and my life experiences, you know, being in the middle of it. That’s why we work so hard.”

Only, according to Mackay, an official had wanted Mickelson and Stenson to pick things up during the final round. 

It was part of his “little story” that he shared on the call — which included a two-sentence response to the official. 

“I think on the 13th tee on Sunday, and Phil had just made a 25- or 30-footer for par on 12, and I was the last guy off the tee,” Mackay said. “I think I had grabbed some water, and an R&A official came up to me and tapped me on the shoulder and said, would you mind telling both the players that we’re concerned about their position on the golf course and they need to hurry up a little bit.

“I said, sir, this is so amazing what’s going on out here right now, I’m not saying a word to anybody about anything. I just want to watch this play out.

“It was really special and one of those handful of times, as I get a little older, that I think back about how absolutely privileged I was to be there in person and to watch it because it was just golf at its absolute highest level.”

Editor’s note: In a story published last month by GOLF.com, Mackay also shared memories of the 1999 U.S. Open, and that story can be read by clicking here. 

Nick Piastowski

Golf.com Editor

Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash away his score. You can reach out to him about any of these topics — his stories, his game or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.