PINEHURST, N.C. — Phil Mickelson didn’t look tired. Worn down, sure, aggravated and indignant too, but any pro battling to break 80 would be. Still, his energy was there, and so were the thumbs-up and head-nods to those that still cheered his name, just like they did 25 years ago here when he came so close to the championship that’s eluded him ever since.
Twenty-five years. Mickelson was already a veteran at the 1999 U.S. Open, already with 13 PGA Tour wins and 170 starts to his name. Mickelson’s party has extended far longer than anyone expected, perhaps save for him. Throughout his career his self-belief has often come off as self-conceit, yet the results have proved his conviction true. He turns 54 on Sunday, and he’s playing in the U.S. Open, and he didn’t need a special exemption to do so. Father Time may be undefeated but Mickelson has not lost, not yet.
However, all parties eventually come to an end. As Mickelson himself conceded, that end is in sight, and Thursday’s first round of the 2024 U.S. Open revealed the assertion was not fake humility. The six-time runner-up of this national championship will need something heroic in Round 2 after an opening nine-over 79.
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This is nothing to be ashamed of. There were good rounds in the morning wave at Pinehurst, although plenty of bad ones, too. Sahith Theegala and Justin Thomas shot 78, Will Zalatoris 75 and Dustin Johnson 74. Tiger Woods is only here thanks to the USGA’s grace, and after a fun start Woods faded into the Carolina pinestraw. There’s also Mickelson’s age. There will be folks four years younger than Mickelson at the U.S. Senior Open later this month. Ludvig Aberg shot 66 on Thursday, and Aberg wasn’t alive when Mickelson nearly won at Pinehurst in ’99. The top 20 in the World Ranking is essentially a list of 20-somethings, with Rory McIlroy their elder at 35. Advances in technology and nutrition have lengthened the runways for careers yet to run with the best is a young man’s game.
Of course, Mickelson’s age has mostly been a piece of trivia, not a detraction. Sure, the skin is wrinkled and the hair is thinner, his sunglasses desperately trying to disguise what his eyes have seen. Yet one of Mickelson’s redeeming traits has been his refusal to bow to the expectations that come with growing old. That he continued to compete and contend against those half his age, sure, but in how he did it, with a youthful, unending vigor that seems too genuine to fake. It wasn’t arrested development or immaturity; rather, Mickelson milked everything out of his game and himself simply for the hope of being better than he used to be, if only for one week.
Mickelson’s triumph at Kiawah at the 2021 PGA proved his theory true, but so did his performance at the 2023 Masters. The latter wasn’t celebrated as much as his sixth major winner. He came in second after all, but perhaps more importantly, Mickelson’s image was forever changed. The blame is Mickelson and Mickelson’s alone—his jump to LIV Golf the most disruptive of any of the defectors—yet it was a bit sad that a 52-year-old finishing in second at the Masters wasn’t bigger news. For those paying attention, it underlined that for all the noise he has brought on himself, at the core is still a golfer chasing something only he could see.
How longer, though, will Mickelson keep running? Mickelson can play the Masters and PGA Championship as long as he likes, and can compete in the Open Championship until 60. He has one year of U.S. Open eligibility left from his Ocean Course win. Yet last month, Mickelson seemed to nod towards retirement. “I’m 53 now, and my career, you know, it’s — if I’m being truthful, it’s on — it’s — it’s — I’m a — it’s towards its end,” Mickelson told Bloomberg TV. “Now, I would like to help others find the same enjoyment and fulfillment that the game of golf has provided me.” His game is on the decline; he’s 39th in LIV Golf’s season-long standings, cracking the top 20 of an individual event just once in the Saudi league’s 54-player fields. He’s finished inside the top 40 just once in his last 10 major starts.
This is not a knock; if anything, it’s a celebration of his longevity. For whatever you think of Mickelson, his thirst for competition is not in doubt. It’s just that the man who seemed forever young is suddenly looking old. Father Time is a cliche, but cliches are cliches because they’re true.
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