For Phil Mickelson and the U.S. Open, perhaps not every love story needs a perfect ending
the history of televised golf, mocking Sir Nick, telling jokes, stealing the show. It was BAP who won the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah. He was 50 and ripped and he took down Brooks Koepka on Sunday without ever removing his shades or his gum. It was BAP who went to LIV, recklessly dissing the Saudi billionaires who were paying him so handsomely on his way there. BAP has been dismissive of the USGA’s attempt to slow down the golf ball and was vulgar in his analysis of the USGA’s decision not to offer Talor Gooch, Phil’s LIV Golf teammate, a spot in last year’s U.S. Open field.
But that was then and this is now. Mickelson will turn 54 on the Sunday of this year’s U.S. Open at Pinehurst and his golf, by his standards — he tied for 43rd at Augusta — has been mediocre. If he’s playing weekend golf at the U.S. Open, it would be an accomplishment. Phil himself has been saying for a while now that his chances of ever winning a U.S. Open have pretty much come and gone, though not for lack of effort. The birth of Acceptance Phil.
Phil is starting to wrap things up here, in the narrow area of his national championship. He’s in next year’s field, via his 2021 PGA win, and he could try to qualify for Opens in 2026 and beyond, but it’s hard to see him doing that. The USGA could offer Phil a send-off exemption, but it’s unlikely Phil would accept it. The fracture in the USGA-Mickelson relationship is deep. What a shame. Phil Mickelson has been one of the monumental figures in USGA history. They need counseling.
Phil Mickelson has won the Masters three times, the PGA Championship twice, the British Open once. Like Sam Snead before him, he’ll likely always be one U.S. Open short of the career Grand Slam. Phil knows the score: Six seconds, no wins, and that summary will follow him forever. It’s confounding but wistfully beautiful too. Isn’t there something mournful and gorgeous about not having it all?
