Mickelson has record five Open runner-ups
For Phil Mickelson, the U.S. Open was always going to be the most elusive of the major championships, the one that would most resist his creative genius and punish his urge to color outside the lines.
But what makes Mickelson’s failure to win a U.S. Open so painful is his five runner-up finishes, the most in history for one player.
The runner-ups have run the gamut — from a nothing-to-be ashamed-of three-stoke loss to Tiger Woods at Bethpage in 2002 to a galling defeat at Winged Foot, where Mickelson had the lead on the 18th tee but pushed a driver into the woods on his way to a disastrous double bogey.
| U.S. Open | ||
| When » Thursday-Sunday | ||
| Where » Congressional Country Club, Bethesda | ||
| TV » Thurs.-Fr (ESPN); Sat.-Sun (NBC) | ||
| Mickelson’s U.S. Open runner-ups | ||
| Year-Site | Winner | Deficit |
| 2009-Bethpage | Lucas Glover | 2 |
| 2006-Winged Foot | Geoff Ogilvy | 1 |
| 2004-Shinnecock | Retief Goosen | 2 |
| 2002-Bethpage | Tiger Woods | 3 |
| 1999-Pinehurst | Payne Stewart | 1 |
“If you focus so much on winning, sometimes you get in your own way,” Mickelson said. “I’m trying not to think about winning as much as I am trying to enjoy the challenge that lies ahead.”
The challenge this week is at Congressional Country Club. On the day he turns 41, Mickelson will tee off in the opening round of the U.S. Open for the 21st time. In three tournaments at Congressional, Mickelson has not finished better than 29th. The course, however, suits his preferred ball flight as eight holes play right to left and only three go the other way.
“What I like most about this course is that the hard holes are really hard and the easy holes are fairly easy,” Mickelson said. “I love making the hard holes harder, because a good player has an opportunity to make up ground with pars. And I love having holes that are birdieable.”
Mickelson has put a 2-iron in his bag for Congressional, but is re-thinking his decision. In Tuesday’s practice round, a 2-iron off the tee at No. 17 left him far behind his playing partners on the 431-yard hole, with 170 yards left.
“What I found is it’s a little bit more playable for me with a driver because I don’t have to be perfect,” Mickelson said. “If I miss a fairway with the 2-iron, I’m so far back that I’m not able to get it up or by the green.”
The USGA takes pride in its reputation as the most rigorous test in golf. Analyst Brandel Chamblee of the Golf Channel says the tournament “morbidly captivates us.” Much of the morbidity has come at the expense of Mickelson, a thrill-seeker whose career signature remains his 6-iron off pine straw, which helped him win the 2010 Masters.
Mickelson likes the efforts of new USGA Director Mike Davis to put more risk-reward in the U.S. Open, believing it favors better players, not the point-to-point automatons who traditionally thrive in the tournament.
Mickelson called the Congressional set-up “spectacular.”
“I think it’s a wonderfully fair test,” said Mickelson, who has one victory this season (Houston Open). “The golf course itself provides a great opportunity for me to showcase the way I’ve been playing. But I can’t worry about the result. I’m trying to have the same mindset I had before I ever won a major.”
