OAKMONT, Pa. — As Phil Mickelson, aka Lefty, aka Phil the Thrill, aka FIGJAM, aka one of the two most famous golfers of the 21st century, teed off Thursday in what might be his final U.S. Open, there were more security guards than journalists following him. And there were two security guards.
Clad in HyFlyers gear, looking more trim than he ever did during his apex of popularity, Mickelson — like many of his fellow competitors at Oakmont — played well on the back nine and struggled on the front. And like most of his fellow competitors, he walked in virtual silence from the galleries, with only an occasional “Go Phil!” punctuating the silence.
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By this point, Mickelson’s fall from golf’s good graces isn’t just well-documented, it’s canon. Once the darling of the golf world — the rascally, cocky yin to Tiger Woods’ steely yang — Mickelson lived a charmed life, getting himself into and out of trouble both on and off the golf course. He somehow radiated arrogant confidence while remaining a hero of the everyman.
But then the Saudis came calling, and Mickelson couldn’t resist their siren call, or the chance to stick it to the PGA Tour. Even though Mickelson turned out to be right about the ways the PGA Tour needed to change, the way he went about it with cynical opportunism turned the majority of his former fans against him.
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Mickelson and the U.S. Open have a long and complicated history all their own. He’s finished in second place six different times, an incredible run of almost-good-luck that’s kept him from claiming the career grand slam. Matters bottomed out in 2018, when Mickelson, in frustration, hit a still-moving ball at Shinnecock en route to a T48 finish. He’s missed the cut at four of the last five U.S. Opens, including the last three in a row. And as of this year, he’s all out of the exemptions that he’d earned for winning the 2021 PGA Championship … meaning, if he wants back in, he’ll need to either receive a special exemption from the USGA, or play his way back in.
“We hope he earns his way in, and I think he’d tell you the same thing,” USGA chief championships officer John Bodenhamer said on Wednesday. “That’s what he did last time. We gave him one, and then he went out and won the PGA Championship. So, wouldn’t put it past him.”
Phil Mickelson gives a thumbs up as he takes part during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Expecting a performance that would qualify him to play in another U.S. Open is a pretty tall order at this point. Mickelson has three top-10 finishes in seven LIV Golf events this year, including a T4 last week in Virginia where he spent time in the lead.
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For a moment on Thursday, it appeared that momentum had carried through to Oakmont. He made the turn at even par, good enough to stay within sight of the leaders. But a bogey-bogey-double start to his second nine effectively crushed his day, leaving him eight strokes behind clubhouse leader J.J. Spaun. Mickelson declined to speak to the media after he finished, and will have perhaps just one more opportunity to perform before a U.S. Open gallery.
Thirty-one years ago, Arnold Palmer also bade farewell to the U.S. Open, also at Oakmont. He walked up the 18th hole to waves of applause and tears. Regardless of how his career has flickered in the last few years, Mickelson will likely receive the same treatment. It will be a well-deserved coda to his career, but you can’t help but wonder what the reception would be without the last few years coloring his reputation.
This news was originally published on this post .
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