Phil Mickelson: A history of close calls at the U.S. Open
2013: Wire-to-wire at Merion . . . almost
By 2013, the primary storyline to follow at any U.S. Open simply became “can this be Phil’s year?” It was an annual rite of passage, of sorts. A 2012 inductee to the World Golf Hall of Fame, Mickelson’s résumé hadn’t been in doubt for several years. All that did, however, was free up the veteran to be perhaps a bit more honest about his quest for the one that always got away.
As it had been at Bethpage four years earlier, wild weather forced the first round to be suspended after just the morning flight had completed play. Play resumed early Friday morning, and Phil Mickelson held a one-stroke lead over Luke Donald and Matthew Goggin at -3.
Mickelson held a share of the lead when second-round play was completed on Saturday morning, firing a round of 72 to tie Billy Horschel at -1. Sunday’s final round could have been a victory march. Instead, it turned into yet another U.S. Open battle.
A pair of double bogeys on the first five holes dropped Mickelson out of the lead, with Jason Day and Justin Rose rising to the challenge. An incredible pitch-in eagle on the 10th gave Mickelson the lead back, and once again, it looked like everything would finally line up.
Closing down the stretch, as only Phil knows how
Unfortunately, Merion had never been in a giving mood that week, and nothing changed down the stretch. Every misstep Phil made was magnified down the stretch. A bogey on No. 13 left him two shots back of Rose’s lead. The Englishman gave a shot back on 16, but Mickelson once again needed a birdie on the 72nd hole to force a Monday playoff.
A drive out of Merion’s narrow fairway forced Mickelson’s approach to fall short of the green. With a wedge in his hand, Mickelson agonized over the shot for a seemingly endless time, practiced his stroke and read every bit of break he could.
The pitch skated by the flagstick, sealing Phil’s fate. That he bogeyed the hole is a mere footnote in history, a shared runner-up with Jason Day no more fulfilling than a tenth-place finish would have been.
In the moment, Mickelson seemed resigned to his destiny. “Heartbreak,” he admitted on his 43rd birthday. “This is tough to swallow after coming so close. This was my best chance of all of them. I was playing well, I had a golf course I really liked that I could play aggressive on a number of holes. I felt like this was as good an opportunity I could ask for and to not get it [. . .] it hurts.”
It hurt then, to be sure, but the story is far from over.
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Now Phil and his legions of fans are watching the weather. A Thursday thunderstorm delay would make it narrowly possible for him to meet his commitment to his daughter Amanda’s graduation and still make his 2pm tee time for the 117th U.S. Open and another run at the championship that has eluded him. It’s all very unlikely, and at 47 Phil’s window of opportunity is closing rapidly.