Has Phil Mickelson's U.S. Open Career Come to an End After Missing the Cut?

OAKMONT, Pa. — When Phil Mickelson first arrived at a U.S. Open, he was a fresh-faced college student who went through qualifying and, on Golf’s Longest Day, earned a spot in the 1990 tournament alongside an 18-year old David Duval.

As it happens, Mickelson celebrated his 20th birthday midway through that U.S. Open, and even then the fans were taken with the colorful, left-handed golfer. The gallery behind the 18th green at Medinah Country Club serenaded a young Mickelson with a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday,” and Mickelson would go on to be the tournament’s low-amateur that week.

“One more year and I’ll be able to hit the pubs,” he told reporters.

Thirty-five years later, Mickelson, now 54 years old and sporting gray stubble, does not get carded in pubs but is still beloved by U.S. Open galleries. They gathered around him once more Friday evening at Oakmont Country Club, even as dark clouds gathered on the horizon and rain was imminent. For once, they hoped they weren’t watching history.

For much the day, he’d put together a superb round of golf — even-par through 14 holes. He was three shots below the projected cut line and poised to continue playing into the weekend. Everyone knew the stakes: This tournament could be Mickelson’s final U.S. Open, as there are no guarantees he’ll have a spot in next year’s field.

The cut line settled at 7 over par. Through 14 holes Friday, Mickelson stood at 4 over.

But then he double bogeyed No. 15 and also 17. With Mickelson, you can bet it wouldn’t be a U.S. Open without some drama. This tournament, after all, has been responsible for as many highlights as heartbreaks over the years.

His was among the last groups remaining on the course when storm clouds started gathering. But those who remained around the 18th green were hoping some magic was still in his bag. Mickelson found the fairway on his drive, and then put his approach shot to within 16 feet.

But with everything on the line and clouds darkening, Mickelson’s birdie putt rolled just right and he had to tap in for par. His U.S. Open was finished. A score of 74 for a second straight day, putting him at 8 over and one shot off the cut line.

There was a polite applause and Mickelson responded with a final wave, an acknowledgment to the fans — and possibly a goodbye?

This year marked his 34th U.S. Open appearance, tied with Hale Irwin for the second-most. Only Jack Nicklaus has more (44). He was clearly the veteran in the field; of the 156 golfers competing, 121 weren’t even born when Mickelson made his U.S. Open debut.

Mickelson earned a five-year exemption into the U.S. Open when he won the 2021 PGA Championship. But that window closes at the end of the 2025 season, which means this year’s visit to Oakmont is Mickelson’s last guaranteed spot in the field.

Each trip around the course this week amounted to an appreciation tour with cheers and catcalls chasing him around the course.

“Let’s go, Phil!” and “Come on, Lefty!”

“Still hittin’ bombs!” and “I effing love you, Phil!”

And more than a few times: “Thank you for everything, Phil!”

Mickelson did not speak to reporters after his round but has acknowledged that this visit to Oakmont could be his last appearance in a U.S. Open.

He will have a tough time qualifying for one of the traditional exemptions into the field. He is currently ranked No. 1,177 in the world in the official rankings, 288 by Data Golf and 11 in LIV’s standings, and he hasn’t won a top-tier event in four years. He hasn’t posted a top-25 finish at the U.S. Open since 2013.

In golf circles, his full legacy and his place in the game will surely be debated for years. He’s won six major championships, including three Masters titles, and was inducted in the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2012. More recently, Mickelson has been critical of the PGA Tour and helped launch the Saudi-backed LIV Golf circuit, where he captains the HyFlyers team.

But despite his leading role in helping divide professional golf , he remains wildly popular at major tournaments. His finish Friday — tied for 68th — means he still bested 76 other golfers.

Even with the exemption expiring, Mickelson still has a couple of pathways to next year’s U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, the New York site of his runner-up finish 2004. (Also, the same course where a frustrated Mickelson hit a ball while was it still moving during the 2018 U.S. Open, earning a two-stroke penalty en route to a ghastly 81.)

The USGA could grant him an exemption and invite him into the field, which mark his 35th career U.S. Open appearance. Or he could attempt to qualify and earn his way in.

John Bodenhamer, the USGA’s chief championships officer, was noncommittal when asked this week about Mickelson’s future prospects. He noted that the USGA has previously extended a special invitation to Mickelson in 2021, not long before he won the PGA Championship.

“We would review things for Shinnecock ahead of next year and look at all of those possibilities and evaluate it from there,” Bodenhamer said. “I think the way that we would also think of Phil is we hope he earns his way in, and I think he’d tell you the same thing. That’s what he did last time. We gave him one and then he went out and won the PGA Championship. So wouldn’t put it past him.”

In weighing a possible exemption next year, the USGA will have a lot to consider. Mickelson, who turns 55 next week, is not a past champion and hasn’t been particularly competitive in recent tournaments, failing to make a cut since 2021. He’s been critical of U.S. Open setups in the past.

Mickelson has acknowledged that “there’s a high likelihood” that Oakmont would be his final U.S. Open and has been noncommittal about whether he’d try to qualify for future U.S. Opens.

“I don’t know,” he said last week before LIV’s event in Virginia. “I haven’t thought that far.”

Mickelson has won three of golf’s four major championships, and for the past dozen years he’s arrived at the U.S. Open in hopes of completing the career Grand Slam. Mickelson’s history with the event, of course, is a bit tortured. A break here and there and he’d be considered one of the most decorated U.S. Open champions ever. Instead, he’s finished runner-up in the tournament six times — two more than anyone else.

Perhaps most memorably, he was poised to win the 2006 tournament at Winged Foot but crumbled on the final two holes, hitting a tree, a hospitality tent, even a trash can. He took a one-shot lead into the final hole there, needing a par on No. 18 to win. Instead, he turned in a double-bogey and authored one of the most memorable collapses the sport has seen.

In recent years, Mickelson has struggled in majors. He’s missed all three cuts this year and hasn’t finished inside the top 40 in a major since the 2023 Masters, where he was second.

Whether fans see him next year in Shinnecock, no one knows if he’ll make the push. Asked last week his plans for the next five years, Mickelson said, “I don’t know the answer to that.”

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