Many, many years ago, Phil Mickelson made no secret of the fact that he wanted to win the U.S. Open more than any other tournament he's ever played.
And he's certainly given himself plenty of chances to do so, famously finishing as the runner-up at America's national championship a record six times, the first coming in 1999 at Pinehurst and most recently at Merion in 2013.
2013 was also the year Mickelson added the third leg of the career Grand Slam to his resume, winning The Open Championship at Muirfield to add to his three Masters titles (2004, 2006, 2010) and his 2005 PGA Championship victory at Baltusrol.
Lefty, of course, added a second PGA Championship victory in 2021 at Kiawah Island, thus making him the oldest major winner of all time at age 50 and giving himself five more chances to complete the career Grand Slam, not that he's done much with the first four, tying for 62nd in 2021 and missing the cut in each of the last three years.
Set to turn 55 on June 16, Mickelson obviously knows that this year marks his final automatic exemption into the USGA's flagship event. And ahead of his final tune-up before Oakmont at LIV Golf Virginia, the 45-time PGA Tour winner was well aware that this could be his final U.S. Open appearance, even if he attempted to downplay it a bit.
"I haven't thought about it too much,” Mickelson said. “There's a high likelihood that it will be, but I haven't really thought about it too much."
Something Phil undoubtedly has thought about is his past U.S. Open performances at Oakmont, where he's made the cut just once in three appearances. And that lone made cut came all the way back in 1994.
Opening that week on his 24th birthday with a 4-over round of 75, Mickelson bounced back with a 1-under 70 in Round 2, making the weekend by two shots at 3-over. But he failed to find red numbers the rest of the way, shooting a third-round 73 and a final-round 79 over the final 36 holes, ultimately tying for 47th at 13-over.
In 2007, with Oakmont playing as a par-70, Mickelson missed the cut by a single stroke, shooting 74-77 to finish at 11-over. And in 2016, he again missed out on the weekend by one shot, shooting 74-73 to finish at 7-over.
Add all that up, and Phil has shot a combined 31-over in eight competitive rounds at Oakmont. So, history certainly isn't on his side this week. And with the course setting up to play perhaps more difficult than ever, Mickelson could easily see his 34th overall U.S. Open appearance come to an end after just two days.
Now, there are several ways Mickelson can get into the U.S. Open field in 2026 and beyond, especially with the USGA recently adding exemption categories for LIV Golf players. But Phil says he's not thinking that far ahead just yet.