Of all four majors, the US Open has always appeared the least likely to suit the aggressive, crowd-pleasing game generally adopted by Phil Mickelson.
Pars are always at a premium and a plodding approach is the prescribed formula for success on the trademark slick greens and tight fairways flanked by thick, graduated rough.
Appearances can be misleading, though, and Mickelson, helped by his magical short game, has frequently contended in the major championship widely regarded as the toughest to win.
Five times in the last 11 years, the American left-hander has finished second at the event and this week at Pebble Beach would provide the perfect setting for him to clinch a breakthrough victory in his national Open.
The California-born Mickelson made his first appearance as a professional in the 1992 US Open at Pebble Beach, where he missed the cut, and he has gone on to win the PGA Tour’s Pebble Beach National Pro-Am three times.
“It’s a special tournament for me,” the world No. 2 told reporters on Tuesday. “Having come so close, this is a tournament I’d very much like to win.”
“When I started out as a young pro, not many people — maybe myself included — thought this would be a tournament I would play well at, but I’ve been able to,” said Mickelson, whose bold play earned him the nickname “Phil the Thrill.”
“I still have a sense of pride in the way I’ve played, but I would like to win my national Open. Winning this tournament would be something that would help define my career,” he said.
A 38-time winner on the PGA Tour who clinched the US Masters in April, Mickelson felt his short game had been the biggest factor in helping him contend regularly at US Opens.
“In the Open the biggest thing when you approach a hole is where can you make par from, what’s your best opportunity to make par?” he said. “A lot of times these greens are unhittable and you will not be able to keep it on the surface.”
“That’s why I’ve been able to be successful in the Open ... nobody is able to hit some greens and it then puts a lot of emphasis on short game. It gives me an opportunity over the course of 72 holes to keep myself in contention,” he said.
Mickelson, a four-times major winner, turned 40 yesterday and believes he is playing the best golf of his life.
“As recently as a year ago I see a big difference. I feel like even though I’m 40 I’m playing some of my best golf,” he said.
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