5 previous Phil Mickelson U.S. Open finishes explored
Phil Mickelson has been a regular at the U.S. Open for the past three decades. He has been present in 31 of the last 33 editions. Although it is the only major he has not been able to win, his results have been good.
Phil Mickelson's last five appearances at the U.S. Open have certainly not been the best of his career. His best result in that period has been T48 in the 2018 edition. In two of the five, he missed the cut.
Par. Par. Birdie. Birdie.
@PhilMickelson is -2 through his first four holes. #USOpen https://t.co/sck8m0EWj1
Those last five appearances began in the 2018 edition played at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York. There, Phil Mickelson made the cut, but after a third round way below expectations (+11), he finished with an overall +16 that placed him at T48.
At the 2019 U.S. Open played at Pebble Beach, California, Mickelson also made the cut, and his overall performance was reasonably good (+4). However, it was a very close competition where 34 players finished at par or better. Mickelson finished T52.
Mickelson missed the cut at the 2020 U.S. Open (played in September due to the Covid 19). There, he finished with +13. In 2021, he finished T62 with an overall +11.
In the latter, Mickelson had a good second round that allowed him to play the weekend, but on Saturday and Sunday, he could not keep the path, registering +5 and +4.
Last season's edition was not great for Mickelson, either. There, he posted +11 and missed the cut by eight strokes.
Phil Mickelson at the U.S. Open
Phil Mickelson is one of the greatest golfers of the last 30 years (if not of all time). Although his last five appearances at the U.S. Open have been more or less unfortunate, his history in the tournament confirms his extraordinary quality as a player.
In 31 U.S. Open appearances, Mickelson has made the cut in 26. He has finished runner-up six times, either solo or tied (1999-2002-04-06-09-13). In addition, he finished T4 in 1995 and 2010, as well as T7 in 2001.
In other words, Mickelson has finished in the top 10 in one-third of his U.S. Open appearances. His personal record for a U.S. Open round is 66 strokes, achieved on the second day of the 2010 edition, where he finished T4.
The other side of the coin, that is, his worst round, was that of 81 strokes on the third day of the 2018 edition, which took him out of contention. Interestingly, Mickelson has had not one but two 81-stroke rounds in his U.S. Open appearances (second round, 1992).
If we expand to major tournaments in general, Mickelson's track record is impressive. He has won at least one of the other three PGA Tour majors for a total of six.