PINEHURST, N.C. — Twenty-five years ago, on the 18th green at Pinehurst No. 2, Phil Mickelson was half of one of the most beautiful and moving moments in golf history, surrounded by love and adoration. On Friday afternoon, in that exact same spot, he was a single man tapping out for a double bogey, and the silence was almost absolute.
As Mickelson turned around with 12 overs left in the tournament and walked to the first tee for his second nine of the day, a few “Come on, Phil!” and “Pass, Phil!” The calls were audible, though not as loud or as frequent as the cheers of Mickelson’s playing partner, Rickie Fowler. Once he teed off and walked down the first fairway, he could count on both hands the number of fans who accompanied him along the course.
When you step back and think about it, this is a staggering decline even from a few years ago. Mickelson was once the favorite of the US Open galleries. Everyone, from those drinking wine in sponsor tents to those drinking beer and covered in ropes smeared with sunscreen, saw a little bit of themselves in Phil. He played the game they wanted to believe they could: Stay away and damn the consequences. The fact that Mickelson finished second in six…six! — The US Open wasn’t as important as the fact that he continued playing the following year, ready to try again.
A clear indication of Mickelson’s fall from grace can be seen in a subtle organizational maneuver. In the old days, i.e. before LIV, Mickelson and Tiger Woods were always on opposite sides of the draw. If Woods played in the morning, Woods would play in the afternoon and vice versa.
Since both were major TV and gallery draws on the field, splitting them made sense. Now, however, Mickelson is going where it suits him: this year, just two groups behind Woods. Mickelson came out 22 minutes behind Woods, who, it probably doesn’t even need to be said, still attracts fans of ocean currents.
At this point, Mickelson’s descent from US Open favorite to afterthought isn’t exactly newsworthy or even shocking. He’s not the only star to disappear from public view after joining LIV; Dustin Johnson also exited the tournament, and Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Graeme McDowell are nowhere near North Carolina. But Mickelson’s fate is, in some ways, sadder and deeper. Honestly, very close to Shakespeare, in the way he lit the match that started the fire that consumed the entire reputation he had built over his 30+ year career.
The simple, inescapable truth is that Mickelson did all of this to himself, aligning himself with LIV Golf and its Saudi sponsors in an effort to damage the PGA Tour and reshape professional golf. The fact that he managed to do exactly what he set out to do does not endear him to the masses of golf fans. Some oppose LIV Golf on moral or political grounds; others simply want to see the best players in the world on the same field more than four times a year.
The US Open is the only major that Mickelson has yet to win, the only major that prevents him from achieving a career grand slam. Barring some sort of miracle that eclipses even his victory at the 2021 PGA Championship, he will end his career with that unfinished business. Thanks to that PGA win at Kiawah, he has one more year left on his exemption.
That means next year’s US Open at Quail Hollow will likely be Mickelson’s last, and that will bring a whole new symphony of emotions and opinions. The galleries will find him then, if only to take one more look at Lefty and wonder what he might have been.