Phil Mickelson picked a family weekend over the U.S. Open.
It’s hard to believe Mickelson could not have worked out his personal conflict and made it to the U.S. Open at Erin Hills. But nothing he could have done would match the good publicity he received by staying home on the weekend of his daughter’s high school graduation, his 47th birthday and Father’s Day.
Although Mickelson has had his detractors over the years for various reasons, he established himself as a family first guy long ago, when he carried a beeper at the 1999 U.S. Open in Pinehurst to monitor the impending birth of his daughter, Amanda. He vowed he would drop out and get on his jet back to California if wife Amy went into labor. She didn’t and Mickelson lost on the dramatic 72nd hole to the late Payne Stewart’s birdie putt.
When Amy was diagnosed with breast cancer, Mickelson said he would cut down on his golf, and maybe leave the tour altogether, to be with her during treatment and recovery. And now Amanda’s big day all but assured him of missing his tee time Thursday afternoon. Only inclement weather in Wisconsin that delayed or postponed the opening round would have allowed him to get there in time.
Perhaps the multimillionaire lefty could have made a sizable donation to Amanda’s school if it agreed to move up the ceremony one day. But how would that have looked? Amanda Mickelson is the valedictorian of her graduating class, and she earned the right to deliver a commencement address to her classmates and their families. Buying off the school might not have made national news but it could have struck a bad chord at home.
By the time the graduation was set for noon, West Coast time, Thursday, June 15th, it was too late to maneuver anything except a late tee time on day one of the Open. Still, the cross-country flight would not have gotten Mickelson to the first tee on time unless the weather cooperated; it didn’t.
So the six-time runner-up missed another chance to complete the career grand slam and win the one major that has eluded him. After graduation will be Phil’s birthday party today, and then Father’s Day with the family. Mickelson’s absence is a loss for his fans and the game of golf, but it’s still a feel good story that resonates.
(Photo: Golfweek)
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He didnt have a chance to even make the top 10 or probably even the cut at the Open. That is why he went to daughters 8th grade grad.