Phil Mickelson headed to Oakmont for the 2007 US Open with a real point to prove following the conclusion of the previous year’s event when a double bogey on the final hole saw him lose by one.
Of course, it is well known that the US Open has been the hurdle which Phil Mickelson has not been able to clear in his career. It is actually the major in which he has registered the most top two finishes. But unfortunately, it is also the one major he is yet to win.
Mickelson labelled himself an idiot after his collapse in 2006. But you would imagine that that would have fuelled him to put things right one year later, when the US Open headed to Oakmont.
And there seemed to be some positive signs, with Mickelson winning the 2007 Players Championship. However, there was to be a twist in the tale after Lefty travelled to Oakmont for a practice round.
How Phil Mickelson damaged his chances of winning the 2007 US Open
Mickelson had to withdraw from both The Memorial Tournament and the Stanford St. Jude Championship after injuring his left wrist hitting shots out of the rough at the US Open venue.
And at the start of the week, Mickelson confirmed that he was far from 100 percent for the second major of the year.
“I had a chance to play nine holes today. It was the first time in a while and it was nice to get out on the course and get to hit some shots,” he said.
“As you know, I’ve had a bit of a wrist injury the last two weeks. And since Memorial, I took four or five days off and had two doctors look at it. Fortunately I had the same diagnosis from both doctors; that it was inflammation. I took four or five days off and tried to play last Tuesday and hit balls and just wasn’t able to do it.
“I called and immediately got a cortisone shot to try to get rid of the inflammation. On my way out here I stopped by Butch’s place in Vegas to hit some shots and wasn’t quite able to do that yet.
“The last few days I’ve been having therapy sessions with Jim Weathers. I’ve been doing some light therapy, some interesting new things, as well as some rehab with it as well as resting it. I think the Cortisone shot is kicking in, and the therapy is kicking in, because each day I’m able to do more, ask more. Monday I was able to chip-and-putt which yesterday I hit balls for the first time for about 20, 30 minutes and did the same today and I added nine holes. I’ll do the same tomorrow, hit balls for a half hour or so and play nine holes, and as the week goes on, I’ll probably do more and more. Looking forward to playing, I should be able to play no problem.
“I probably won’t be pain-free like I had hoped but I should be able to have it be manageable as long as I don’t aggravate it or hit in the rough.”
Phil Mickelson saw his amazing run end at the 2007 US Open at Oakmont
There has not been a higher winning score since Angel Cabrera clinched the 2007 US Open on five over par. Those on 11 over par ended the week inside the top 10.
Cabrera actually made a birdie in his second round which ensured that Mickelson was one of 19 players who suddenly missed the cut. Mickelson was 11 over par for his first two rounds.
It was the first time since 1999 that he had missed the cut at a major, ending his run at 30 consecutive events. It was, at the time, the longest active run on tour.
Funnily enough, the next time Mickelson would miss the cut at the US Open came nine years later in 2016 – when the event returned to Oakmont.
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