Lefty’s Curse
Phil Mickelson shot a bogey free round on the last day of the 2016 British Open, finishing the tournament a whopping 17 shots under par. The next highest score was 8 under par. But that still wasn’t enough to take the Claret Jug home. It just so happened that this 2016 British Open, Henrik “The Swede” (disclaimer: not a real nickname) Stenson put up a final round of 63 strokes, subsequently ended up with the best total round score in Majors history (264) and finished the day an incredible 20 shots under par. Consequently, Mickelson ended up second best. Again.
This is often the case with Phil Mickelson. His career is the image of heartbreak. Sunday was just another tragic loss in what has became an unfortunate trend for the lefty. He routinely puts in his best outings on the biggest stages in golf, yet rarely crosses the finish line first. Over the past 4 years, Phil Mickelson has finished a Major in second place 4 times. That’s a 25% chance it will happen at any given Major. Furthermore, “Lefty” has finished second best in ELEVEN Majors over his career. Ironically this is the second most runner up finishes in the history of Golf. Only Jack Nicklaus has finished second more times than Phil, an astonishing 19 times. But Jack Nicklaus’ inability to close at times is overshadowed by the fact that, well, he was better at closing than any other golfer in the history of the sport. Phil has won 5 Majors to be fair, so his place as one of the greatest golfers of all time is clearly cemented, but DAMN this place in history must hurt.
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Whether it be with Tiger Woods for the beginning of his career, or the great talents that have come up to fill Tiger’s unfortunate void, Phil Mickelson seems to spend most of his Major Sundays in an intense fight for first. More often than not, the end result is Phil in second place. Not third, not fifth, but second. He can probably testify more than anyone else that Ricky Bobby’s dad was right; “If you’re not first, you’re last”. Even more painful is that Mickelson rarely throws these opportunities away. Other than the 2006 U.S. Open, Phil usually plays conservative, precise and effective golf to maintain his pace for the lead. However, other players always seem to one up him, leaving Phil’s numerous excellent performances in the dust.
This Sunday was a perfect example of this, as it took an all time performance from Henrik Stenson to keep Mickelson’s name out of the history books. In the 2015 Masters, Jordan Spieth burst onto the golf scene with a masterful performance to keep Phil at bay. In the 2014 PGA Championship, Rory McIlroy won his second Major of the year at Lefty’s expense. In the 2013 U.S. Open, the one Major that has eluded him, Phil Mickelson entered Sunday in first, only to lose to Justin Rose, the only player in the top 5 to break even that day on a very difficult course. The list goes on and on.
These “Oh, so close” moments have become as Phil Mickelson as his handedness. His role in Golf is often that of Jerry West in the 60’s, every single superstar in the NBA not on the Bulls in the 90’s, and the Detroit Tigers of the late 2000’s that could never consistently put it all together. Hell, he’s even the second best golfer of his generation. He’s behind arguably the best of all time in Tiger Woods but still, being told you’re second never feels good.
This unfortunate role in history, however, should never take away the greatness of Phil Mickelson. He is one of the most recognizable athletes, let alone golfers, in the world, one of the few people competitive in Majors in the mid 90’s still able to make deep relevant runs into Sunday and has finished top 10 in a Major THIRTY EIGHT TIMES. Even if only 5 of those ended with Phil brandishing a new trophy or swagged out in that ugly green jacket, that’s impressive. Regardless of how many Major championships he comes up just short of over the coming years, Phil will always be considered one of the best golfers of all time. So, if I were Lefty, I wouldn’t let this painful loss in one of the most entertaining tournaments of golf leave me downtrodden.
He’s due for another great shot at a Major next year anyways.
