USA

Equalled the major record of 63 and posted 17 under par at Royal Troon last July, yet still finished three behind Henrik Stenson after an amazing duel which left JB Holmes 11 shots further back in third place.

Mickelson was chasing a second Claret Jug, having beaten Stenson by three at Muirfield in 2013. Of the four majors only the US Open has eluded the left-hander and he has been second a record six times in that - most agonisingly in 2006 when he double-bogeyed the last hole to lose by one to Geoff Ogilvy. America's most capped Ryder Cup player - he has been part of the last 11 matches – has captured three Masters green jackets and one PGA title and has had 11 runner-up finishes in majors. He was pushed into joint second place by Darren Clarke at Sandwich in 2011 and came third at Royal Troon in 2004. 

Never quite able to knock Tiger Woods off the world No 1 spot, his Open victory came a week after he captured the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open at Castle Stuart and he also had success in Scotland alongside Mark O'Meara and Steve Stricker in the 1996 Alfred Dunhill Cup at St Andrews.