GOLF: PHILIP REIDhears why Phil Mickelson, despite five runners-up finishes in the US Open, still has a can-do attitude

YEAR AFTER year, Phil Mickelson came into the US Open with a swagger and left with a shuffle. It just wasn’t to be. Some years, others got in his way; other years, he contrived to get in his own way. Remember that tee shot to the 18th in the final round of the 2006 championship at Winged Foot? “I’m such an idiot,” Mickelson, in a state of shock, would remark afterwards. Geoff Ogilvy strutted away with the trophy.

In fact, nobody has tasted the sourness of defeat in the US Open more frequently than Mickelson. On five occasions, more often than not with the title within his grasp, he has walked away as a runner-up: to Payne Stewart at Pinehurst in 1999; to Tiger Woods at Bethpage in 2002; to Retief Goosen at Shinnecock Hills in 2004; to Ogilvy in 2006; and to Lucas Glover at Bethpage in 2009. Five stories of failure.

Yesterday, Mickelson – who claimed his 39th career title on the US Tour when capturing the Houston Open in April – came into the media centre here dressed all in white with his three major sponsors – KPMG, Barclays and Callaway – in black lettering. The only diversity to the black-and-white theme was the pink ribbon on the side of his cap, his support to researching breast cancer which has afflicted both his wife and mother in recent years.

All of those close calls in the US Open down the years have left Mickelson, the current world number five, with a can-do attitude. As he has put it, “I’ve come close five times now . . . which is actually a good sign in the sense that it’s on a course set-up that probably nobody thought I would do well on throughout my career. And yet I’ve played some of my better golf in the US Open. I just need a few breaks here and there, or maybe a few less mistakes here or there, to be able to come out on top.”

There was a time when one of his old sponsors, Ford, ran an advertising campaign based around the man once dubbed “Phil the Thrill” for his bold plays in tournaments. That TV and billboard campaign was based around the theme of, “What Will Phil Do Next . . .” but, these days, there is a lesser propensity to pull out the driver and hit the ball into the sort of terrain where a GPS would be a useful aid.

For Mickelson, who celebrates his 41st birthday tomorrow, this will be his 21st start in the US Open. Will it provide a breakthrough win to go along with his three US Masters wins and one US PGA? “I really believe that I can win this tournament . . . I believe that I’m playing some good golf. Ball striking-wise, I think it’s the best it’s been in the last three, four or five months.

“And I feel like I’m right on the cusp of getting my confidence back with the putter because I’m rolling the ball better than I have but not making them. There’s a small difference getting the right speed for the line, but I’m close. I know what it takes to be in contention here. This course set-up, unlike past US Opens, tests your entire game. This one tests your short game. This one tests your ability to hit recovery shots as well as your ability to keep the ball in play.”

Mickelson remains unfazed by his failure to win a US Open yet, pointing out he had the same pressures at one juncture of his career when he had failed to win a Major before winning at Augusta in 2004.

“I was 0-for-40something winning a Major (before the Masters in 2004) and I really wanted to win and I’m 0-for-20something in US Opens. The way I see it is, when I finally did break through and won my first Major, my thought process was not to worry about winning, not to worry about the result, but to enjoy the entire tournament, enjoy the process, enjoy the challenge of trying to win.”