Stenson and Mickelson traded birdie blow after birdie blow in a remarkable final-round slugfest at Royal Troon on Sunday before the 40-year-old Swede emerged victorious over the 46-year-old American.
The new champion's closing eight-under-par 63 tied the lowest round in a major and his winning total of 264 was a record for any of the 'Big Four' tournaments.
"Some ... have already tried to compare (the) final round to 1977 at Turnberry, with Tom Watson and me in what they called the "Duel in the Sun." I thought we played great and had a wonderful match," the 76-year-old Nicklaus said.
"On that day, Tom got me, 65-66. Our final round was really good, but theirs was even better. What a great match."
Mickelson carded a bogey-free 65 to finish runner-up for the 11th time in a major, second only to Nicklaus' 19 second-place showings in majors.
