Phil Mickelson said he's never played that well and lost after posting a final round score of 65 and 17-under for the week, but still fell short of Henrik Stenson, at the 2016 Open Championship at Royal Troon on Sunday (July 17).

SOUNDBITE (English) Phil Mickelson, 17-under: (On losing to Henrik Stenson)

"Gosh, it's disappointing to come in second, but I'm happy for Henrik. He's really a great champion. We've been friends for some time. I've always thought that he is one of the best ball-strikers in the game and that major championships are perfectly suited for him. I knew that he would ultimately come through and win. I'm happy that he did. I'm disappointed that it was at my expense."

SOUNDBITE (English) Phil Mickelson, 17-under: (On the loss)

"It's probably the best I've played and not won. I think that's probably why it's disappointing in that I don't have a point where I can look back and say, I should have done that or had I only done this. I played a bogey-free round of 65 on the final round of a major, usually that's good enough to do it, and I got beat. I got beat by 10 birdies. It's not like other guys were out there doing the same thing. It was a challenging day."

SOUNDBITE (English) Phil Mickelson, 17-under: (On losing despite playing so well)

"It's not like I have decades left of opportunities to win majors, so each one means a lot to me. And I put in my best performance today. Played close to flawless golf and was beat. So it goes both ways, I'm happy with the way I played, but even more disappointed that it wasn't enough because you look back and say, what do I need to do?"