Mickelson’s eye-opening start at U.S. Open MyZA

Phil Mickelson on the 14th fairway during the first round of the U.S. Open. Photo: Doug Mills/The New York Times

The first time Phil Mickelson finished second at the United States Open was in 1999 when he lost to Payne Stewart by one stroke. This defeat was made easier to swallow by the fact that he was about to become a father. The following day, Mickelson’s wife, Amy, gave birth to a daughter.

That child, Amanda, graduated from eighth grade Wednesday, a stark reminder to Mickelson, who will be 43 on Sunday, of time’s passage.

The future that stretched before him 14 years ago has disappeared into thin air, much like the three hours he lost overnight by flying here from San Diego after attending his daughter’s school ceremony.

Mickelson left the San Diego area in his private jet after hearing his daughter, one of four speakers, deliver a commencement address.

He landed in Philadelphia at roughly 3:30 a.m. Thursday. He slept for two hours on the plane, he said, and squeezed in another hour’s sleep, then arrived at the course at 5:37.

Around ninety minutes later, Mickelson made his 23rd start in the Open.

Five times a United States Open runner-up and never a winner, Mickelson overcame a three-putt bogey on his first hole to card a three-under-par 67 on Merion Golf Club‘s East Course. In his 22 previous United States Open starts, he had opened with a score lower than 68 only once, at Pinehurst in 1999.

Asked to assess his start, Mickelson grinned and said, “Pretty good.”

Seventeen and a half hours elapsed between the start of his coast-to-coast commute and the end of his round. “It’s been a long day,” he said.

Fourteen years later, Mickelson knows his opportunities are dwindling. “If I’m able to ultimately win a U.S. Open, I would say that it’s great because I will have had a win and five seconds,” he said. “But if I never get that win, then it would be a little heartbreaking.” – The New York Times