Phil Mickelson’s close calls in the U.S. Open

Phil Mickelson’s U.S. Open quest resumes this week after a one-year hiatus. After skipping last year’s U.S. Open to attend his daughter’s high-school graduation, Mickelson needs a historic victory to complete the career Grand Slam. Mickelson would be the oldest winner in U.S. Open history if he could finally claim his national championship after years of anguish. He’ll turn 48 during the third round at Shinnecock Hills. Hale Irwin had just turned 45 when he won the 1990 U.S. Open. Irwin needed a special exemption just to get in the field at Medinah. Mickelson, even as he nears 50, is still among the game’s elite. He won the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship earlier this year and ranks fifth in the FedExCup. He has six top-10s in 14 starts this season and has missed just two cuts. This will be Mickelson’s first U.S. Open with younger brother Tim on the bag, as well. Mickelson has come close in the U.S. Open’s previous two visits to Shinnecock Hills. Both times he was derailed by a double-bogey on one of the course’s closing holes. He made 7 on the 16th hole in 1995 after hitting his lay-up into the rough. Nine years later, he three-putted from 8 feet on the par-3 17th after thinking that his time had come to hold the U.S. Open trophy. He’ll take his third crack at the historic course this week. He called Shinnecock Hills the best U.S. Open setup he’s seen. “It’s the fairest test, where skill is going to be the biggest factor,â€� he said. Here’s a closer look at Mickelson’s close calls in the U.S. Open: 2013 Merion Golf Club, Ardmore, Pa. 54-hole position: 1st, 1 shot ahead of Hunter Mahan, Charl Schwartzel and Steve Stricker Final-round score: 74 Finish: T2, 2 shots behind Justin Rose What happened: The stage was set for the storyline finish. Mickelson began his 43rd birthday with a one-shot lead in the U.S. Open. This was the first time he had the outright lead entering the Open’s final round. He struggled early, making double-bogeys at Nos. 3 and 5, but regained the lead after holing a 75-yard shot for eagle at the par-4 10th. Bogeys on three of his final six holes kept him from winning, though. He flew the green on the 121-yard, par-3 13th hole to make bogey, then “quitâ€� on a wedge shot on No. 15, resulting in another bogey. Merion’s 18th hole didn’t allow a birdie in either of the final two rounds, but Mickelson needed one to tie Rose. Mickelson made bogey after a last-ditch effort to chip-in from in front of the green. Notable quote: “This is tough to swallow after coming so close. This was my best chance of all. I had a golf course I really liked. I felt this was as good as opportunity as you could ask for. It really hurts.” 2010 Pebble Beach (Calif.) Golf Links 54-hole position: 6th, 7 shots behind Dustin Johnson Final-round score: 73 Finish: T4, 3 shots behind Graeme McDowell What happened: Mickelson won his third Masters earlier that year. Now he was in contention at a course where he’d won four PGA TOUR titles. Mickelson moved within two shots of the lead after a second-round 66, but Dustin Johnson matched that score in the third round to take control. Johnson’s final-round 82 let the field back in the tournament, though. Mickelson made birdie from off the green on the first hole to reach even par – McDowell’s eventual winning score – then parred the next eight holes to make the turn in 34. He made bogeys at Nos. 10, 14 and 16 and six pars on the final nine. Mickelson was hardly the only one to struggle on the second nine. The top 11 on the leaderboard averaged 2 over par on the back nine. Mickelson lamented missed opportunities on Pebble Beach’s accessible opening holes, though. He missed short birdie chances at 2 and 3, then three-putted for par from 15 feet after driving the fourth green. He made par on the par-5 sixth hole despite having just a 5-iron remaining for his second shot. Having that opportunity to win is what’s so fun, and it’s what’s so exciting as a professional golfer, and I knew the entire round pretty much that if I could make some birdies or shoot under par, that I might be able to do it. 2009 Bethpage State Park (Black), Farmingdale, N.Y. 54-hole position: T5, 6 shots behind Ricky Barnes Final-round score: 70 Finish: T2, 2 shots behind Lucas Glover What happened: Mickelson was playing in front of the partisan New York fans again in 2009. Already a sentimental favorite because of his four previous U.S. Open runners-up, Mickelson also had the galleries’ support because his wife, Amy, and mother, Mary, were battling breast cancer. Mickelson reached 4 under par – the eventual winning score – after making a 35-foot birdie putt at the par-4 12th and a 5-footer for eagle on the par-5 13th. Mickelson missed a 3-foot par putt at 15 and an 8-foot par putt at the par-3 17th, though. Notable quote: “I was standing on the eighth tee box after a couple of bogeys at even par not looking good, and I fought back in it with that birdie on 9, birdie on 12, eagle on 13, and put myself in a great position to close it out. But unfortunately I didn’t finish it off. And certainly I’m disappointed, but now that it’s over, I’ve got more important things going on, and, oh, well.â€� 2006 Winged Foot 54-hole position: T1 with Kenneth Ferrie, 1 shot ahead of Geoff Ogilvy Final-round score: 74 Finish: T2, 1 shot behind Ogilvy What happened: This may have been the most dramatic of Mickelson’s U.S. Open meltdowns. He was seeking his third straight major win after claiming the 2005 PGA Championship and 2006 Masters. Mickelson arrived at Winged Foot’s 18th hole with a one-shot lead despite struggling off the tee throughout the final round. “I just couldn’t hit a fairway all day. I tried to go to my bread-and-butter shot, a baby carve slice on 18 and just get it in the fairway,â€� he said. He sliced that final tee shot off a hospitality tent, then compounded the error en route to a crushing double bogey. After his ball ended up in an area where the gallery had trampled the rough, he tried to cut a 3-iron around a tree. He hit the tree, instead, leaving himself a lengthy third shot. His next shot plugged in a greenside bunker, and he failed to get up-and-down. I still am in shock that I did that. I just can’t believe that I did that. I am such an idiot. … As a kid I dreamt of winning this tournament. This one is going to take a little while to get over. This one is pretty disappointing. 2004 Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, Southampton, N.Y. 54-hole position: T2, 2 shots behind Retief Goosen Final-round score: 71 Finish: 2nd, 2 shots behind Goosen What happened: This was Mickelson’s first major since winning his first one at the 2004 Masters. He made three birdies in a four-hole stretch – on Nos. 13, 15 and 16 – to take a one-shot lead. Then a three-putt from 8 feet on No. 17 cost him his second major. His 6-iron tee shot at the par-3 landed in the left bunker. His bunker shot took a big bounce and scooted 8 feet past the hole. He ran his par putt 6 feet past the hole, then missed the bogey putt. “I hit an easy putt because I knew it was quick. But it still shouldn’t have gone 6, 7 feet by,â€� Mickelson said. “The putt was downwind. When the wind gets a hold of it on these greens, it takes it. It just wouldn’t stop.â€� He finished two shots behind Goosen after making par on 18. After I birdied 16, I had a one-shot lead, and I thought this was going to be the day. 2002 Bethpage State Park (Black), Farmingdale, N.Y. 54-hole position: T3, 5 shots behind Tiger Woods Final-round score: 70 Finish: 2nd, 3 shots behind Tiger Woods What happened: Woods started the day with a four-shot lead over Sergio Garcia but made bogey on the first two holes.  Mickelson, a favorite of the New York crowds, pulled within two shots with a birdie at No. 13. Woods also birdied the hole, though, to regain a three-shot lead. Mickelson fell four behind after a bogey at No. 16. The victory gave Woods wins in the year’s first two majors; he went on to finish 28th at the Open Championship and second at the PGA Championship. The 2002 U.S. Open was Mickelson’s third consecutive top-3 finish in a major. Notable quote: “This was certainly not a disappointing day today. It was one of the most exciting days that I’ve had in the game of golf. It was very electrifying, very similar to what the 1999 Ryder Cup in Boston was. It was an incredible feeling, and a very exciting event to be a part of. And I could feel the electricity in the air. I could feel the excitement stirring, and I could feel as though I had a really good shot at it. Making birdie on 11 and making birdie on 13, I could sense that I was closing the gap there, and it was a very exciting day.â€� 2001 Southern Hills Country Club, Tulsa, Okla. 54-hole position: 6th, 2 shots behind Stewart Cink and Retief Goosen Final-round score: 75 Finish: T7, 6 shots behind Retief Goosen (won playoff) and Mark Brooks What happened: Mickelson played the first eight holes in even par to remain at 3 under par for the tournament (Goosen and Brooks finished 72 holes tied at 4 under). He made five bogeys and no birdies over the next 10 holes, though. “I felt starting at 9 I could make birdies. (No. 9) through 13 all were very birdieable,â€� Mickelson said. “When I missed that fairway and made bogey, that certainly stung, as did the bogey on 10. That really took a lot of momentum out.â€�  It’s certainly not the finish I would have liked, but out of playing 45 majors or so now, and not winning any, I’m tired of beating myself up time all the time. 1999 Pinehurst Resort (No. 2), Village of Pinehurst, N.C. 54-hole position: 2nd, 1 shot behind Payne Stewart Final-round score: 70 Finish: 2nd, 1 shot behind Stewart What happened: Mickelson was a moment’s notice from withdrawing, insisting that he would leave the tournament if his wife, Amy, went into labor with the couple’s first child. His caddie, Jim Mackay, carried a pager so Mickelson could be immediately notified. Two short misses kept Mickelson from winning, though. He missed an 8-foot par putt at No. 16 and 6-foot birdie putt at the 17th to give Stewart a one-shot lead at the final hole. “I putted very well, but 16 and 17 I pulled those just slightly and missed by an inch or two,â€� he said. His bogey on No. 16 was his only bogey of the day in an even-par 70. Stewart had to lay up after driving into the rough on the par-4 18th, but holed an 18-foot par putt to win by one. Amanda Mickelson was born the next day. Notable quote: “I think that although it’s a disappointing day … the fact that our first child is expected to come here in the next week or so is awfully exciting, and something that I’m looking forward to. It will be a bigger change of my life than had I won today.â€� 1995 Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, Southampton, N.Y. 54-hole position: T3, 1 shot back Final-round score: 74 Finish: T4, 4 shots behind Corey Pavin What happened: Mickelson made two bogeys and seven pars on the front nine to shoot 2-over 37. He was still 2 over par for the round when he reached the par-5 16th. A lay-up into the long rough led to a double-bogey 7 that effectively ended his chances, though. He made birdie on the next hole – a 186-yard, par-3 – but finished with a bogey on Shinnecock Hills’ demanding finishing hole. This was Mickelson’s fifth U.S. Open start, and his first top-25. It wasn’t like I was trying to get greedy and get on in two. I just pulled my second shot and was hacking out of the rough.

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