Defiant Phil Mickelson refusing to give up on that missing Major as LIV star makes vow
American legend believes he'll get more cracks at elusive Major
Defiant Phil Mickelson is refusing to give up on the US Open and believes he can earn more opportunities to find the elusive missing piece in his Major jigsaw.
The LIV Golf star made his way out of Oakmont a fortnight ago after missing the cut with many believing his 34th appearance would be his last.
Mickelson has won the Masters three times, he's twice won the PGA Championship and secured an Open at Muirfield a dozen years ago. However, despite six runner-up finishes, the US Open has eluded Lefty in career and, at the age of 55, his chances look virtually gone.
Mickelson's latest exemption to the event for winning the 2021 PGA has expired and he'll have to qualify in the future, starting at Shinnecock Hills in 2026. But the US icon, who will be at Royal Portrush next month for the 153rd Championship as a past winner, isn't giving it up on being back for a 35th try and beyond.
The door is closing, but it's not locked as, ahead of this week's LIV event in Dallas, he said: 'So I said it's very possibly my last and I think that's real. However, I also feel like I'm starting to play some good golf. This year has been my best year on LIV. I've had three top-six finishes and some opportunities to win. If I play like that in some upcoming Major championships, that could ultimately qualify me into another US Open.
'I don't want to say it's my last. I actually think I'm playing well enough that, if I can play at the level I've played at out here in Majors again, I'll finish high enough to get into a US Open via that qualifying avenue. So I don't want to say that it is my last because I think I'm going to contend. I'm in the other three majors for a lot of years and it could very well get me into the US Open again.'
Mickelson, meanwhile, has spoken out on the growing popularity of YouTube golf and the way it is being embraced by himself and his peers, such as Bryson DeChambeau, on LIV Golf.
He said: 'In professional golf, you can't banter like this and have fun with it because there's kind of this edge or line that you lose. You just can't have fun like this because I don't know how to say it, but there's a point where it kind of crosses a line, but in YouTube golf that line is totally different because we're here to have fun and a big part of the competition is the banter.
'When people, guys, women, go out and play on the weekends and they're with their buddies and they're talking and chirping, that's what they can relate to. That's exactly what they do with their friends at home and they see that on YouTube. That's what I think makes YouTube golf so fun is this interaction here because we can say things that you wouldn't say in an intention professional competition.'
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