Phil Mickelson did not compete in the U.S. Open this month, but that didn’t stop him from soaking in as much of the action as possible. Mickelson famously opted to attend his daughter’s high school graduation ceremony instead of competing in the only major championship he has yet to win.
Appearing on the Dan Patrick Show Monday, Mickelson admitted he “watched almost every shot” of the action at Erin Hills following his daughter’s graduation.
When asked how much of the major championship he watched, Mickelson said, “as much as I could.”
Phil Mickelson admits how much of the US Open he watched while not playing in it https://t.co/fl18vLxG3Z pic.twitter.com/akGFDDf17B
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) June 26, 2017
“I watched almost every shot,” he said. “When the graduation was done … we had a few celebrations and parties and get-togethers, and so forth, but I watched as much as I could. I really enjoyed it. I thought it was incredible theater. I thought that Brooks Koepka played some phenomenal golf on Sunday. The back nine was fun to watch, the way he pulled away. It was an exciting tournament, and then he kind of took hold of it.”
Being that the major championship was held at the longest venue in U.S. Open history, one wonders if it wasn’t the perfect chance for Mickelson to finally claim victory at his national championship. However, nobody can honestly feel good about criticizing a man for choosing his family over his career, which is already Hall of Fame caliber.
Shockingly, Mickelson and his caddie, Jim “Bones” Mackay, recently called it quits after 25 years together on the PGA Tour. Bones was with Mickelson through all five of his major title victories.
Mickelson, now at the age of 47, will still have a few chances to win this championship, however slight a chance he now has as a grizzled veteran. Lefty hasn’t played great golf this year, though he does have four top-10 finishes in 15 events, making the cut in all of them.