Lefty looks for first win after five runners-up
One day after his 40th birthday, Phil Mickelson will tee off in his 20th U.S. Open — on the course where he began his professional career in 1992. With all this symmetry at work at Pebble Beach, is it time for a breakthrough for the Open’s most tortured bridesmaid?
With five runners-up finishes and no titles, no player has had more U.S. Open heartbreak than Mickelson. His legacy begins with three Masters championships, but the flip side is his failure in the Open, which he came agonizingly close to winning in 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2009.
How much does Mickelson crave a U.S. Open title?
“It would mean a lot to any player, myself included, given that I’ve come so close so many times,” Mickelson told reporters Tuesday.
It also would mean a lot considering Mickelson’s style of play. With its severe setup, the Open favors patient, precision players. Neither adjective describes Mickelson. His signature shot in winning two months ago at Augusta was a 207-yard 6-iron off pine straw that split two trees, barely cleared a stream and ended five feet from the treacherous 13th hole.
“I think when I started out as a young pro, not many people — maybe even myself included — thought this would be a tournament I would play well,” Mickelson said. “I still have a sense of pride in the way I’ve played, but, again, I would like to win my national Open.”
The Masters win increases the stakes for Mickelson at Pebble Beach. Throughout his career, discussion of the Grand Slam has been limited to Mickelson’s rival, Tiger Woods.
When the Slam question was posed in a television interview Tuesday, Mickelson scoffed, saying he was more concerned with how he was going to land the ball on Pebble Beach’s rock-hard greens.
“They’re so small and they’re so firm that, given that there’s not any forecast for rain, I’m certainly concerned that we could have 14 potential 7th holes at Shinnecock,” Mickelson said.
Ah, just the challenge Lefty craves.
