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Phil Mickelson's cumulative score of 267 at The Open would have tied the all-time Open scoring record, but that still wasn't enough to defeat Henrik Stenson, who fired a 20-under 264 to win his first major title.

Stenson shot 63 on Sunday in the final pairing with Mickelson, who was left helpless despite a tremendous 65 of his own. Less than two weeks later, Mickelson is looking to move on from that disappointing finish, noting that there was nothing he could have done more, outside of blatant sabotage, to beat Stenson.

"I don't look back on the final round with anything that I would have done different, other than maybe go over to Stenson's bag and bend his putter a little bit," said Mickelson with a laugh on Tuesday. "That's probably the only thing I could have done and had a chance."

Rather than dwell on what could have been, Mickelson, who has plenty of experience moving on from difficult losses, is choosing to focus on the positives of his performance as he gets ready for the PGA Championship at Baltusrol.

"I look back, and I have kind of mixed emotions of that because there is a disappointment factor of having not won. But I'm also starting to play good golf again. I'm having a lot more fun on the course. I'm able to play the game a lot stress-free," he said. "I had two bogey-free rounds in a major. That's really good for me, OK. A lot of guys, I get that they have done it, but for me, that's pretty good. I'm starting to really enjoy playing and competing, because I'm playing back to the level that I expect to play at."

It helps that Mickelson is returning to a course where he has some great memories, as Baltusrol is the site of his 2005 PGA Championship victory. At age 46, Mickelson still looks like a threat to challenge at majors, and he'll lean on his course knowledge and good memories this week to try and find an advantage.

"That is one of my fondest memories, Evan [my son] running around the green," said Mickelson. "The other memory is the chip. Knowing that I needed to birdie and hit a good chip shot inside a couple of feet and make that putt, those were the two memories that stand out the most.

"It was important for me to validate my Masters win in 2004, because I had said going int that when I win one, that I'm going to win multiple. It wasn't going to be just a one-and-done. I needed to come back, a fairly short time period and validate that win."

Mickelson is doing everything in his power to recreate the magic of that 2005 PGA Championship 11 years later, all the way down to his preparation. On Wednesday, rather than spend the day at Baltusrol, Mickelson is heading over to Pine Valley for a round. Why? Because that's what he did the Wednesday before the 2005 PGA Championship.