Now can golden oldie Mickelson complete the set?
BIG PHIL’S BEEN RUNNER-UP SIX TIMES AT THE ONE MAJOR THAT’S ALWAYS ELUDED HIM...
LAST Sunday, here in the dramatic clifftop setting of La Jolla, it was Graduation Day for the blessed students of the University of San Diego.
Now the campus has emptied, and it’s the turn of the world’s most qualified golfers to mix with the hang gliders in the postcardperfect enclave of Torrey Pines.
First into the media centre yesterday to start the week of the 121st US Open was the man who’s lived in these parts his entire life; the man who plays his sport with the daring of the gliders while compiling a list of achievements to make any scholar proud.
The one thing Phil Mickelson lacks, of course, is the title on offer this time. And what a litany of heartache that represents — the most epic, indeed, in the history of major championship golf.
No other player has finished runner-up on six occasions in the same major without ever claiming victory. Now the local hero gets to play in his home town.
A month ago, we thought this appearance would be every bit as ceremonial as the one for the students in their gowns and mortar boards. His place in the field was courtesy of a special exemption granted by the organisers, the United States Golf Association.
Then, one of the all-time greats did something to confirm his place in the pantheon, by becoming the oldest major winner in history at the US PGA Championship. He gave back his special exemption and accepted the winner’s perk of a spot in US Opens for at least the next five years.
This will be Mickelson’s 30th US Open, with the collection of runner-up finishes starting at Pinehurst in the last century.
‘ You’re about to become a father,’ consoled the winner, the late Payne Stewart, as he held Mickelson’s face in his hands.
The one that will always haunt him should he never win came at Winged Foot in 2006. Needing a par four on the 18th hole to be the champion, he took a double bogey six after a horrendously wild tee shot. ‘I can’t believe I did that, I’m such an idiot,’ said Mickelson, echoing the thoughts of millions watching worldwide.
At Kiawah, we saw a different side to his game, a man with total focus and control, a golfer reinvented. Now it’s Torrey, the course he played countless times as a kid and where he won three times in his first decade as a pro.
This, however, is a vastly changed course from the one he grew up on. Three months after his third victory in the PGA Tour event staged here every year, the bulldozers moved in — and Mickelson was none too impressed with the makeover. He’s never won in the 20 years since.
Over the past fortnight, he’s spent considerable time playing the course, seeking to overcome his distaste. It surely helps that it will play fast and firm in the dry heat of June, rather than long and soft in the cool of January.
‘This might be my last realistic chance to win and I want to give it everything I can,’ he says.
In yesterday’s practice round, he played with defending champion Bryson DeChambeau, in what might prove a Ryder Cup partnership in September.
It’s not just the fans who will be cheering Mickelson on. Over the past few weeks, he’s played plenty with fellow Californian Xander Schauffele. ‘I’m just in awe of how much he still wants it,’ he said. ‘If I can’t win it, then I sure hope Phil manages it. He deserves it.’
Tomorrow, Old Father Time will have another dig in the ribs of Mickelson, as he turns 51. Down at the adjacent Gliderport, they’ll surely appreciate the glorious defiance of a man who continues to shoot for the sky.