NORTON, Mass. – Phil Mickelson has done work for next month’s US Open on Winged Foot, the site of one of his most bitter big disappointments. After a second-round 68 on the Northern Trust on Friday put him firmly off the cut line and effectively ended his season, he has only one place to do it: the PGA Tour Champions.
“Now that I missed the cut and have two weeks off, in essence, I will hopefully play the Champions event on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday,” Mickelson said.
Mickelson, who turned 50 in June, has yet to play in a PGA Tour Champions event. He will make his debut next week at the Charles Schwab Series at Ozarks National, a Monday-through-Wednesday event in Ridgedale, Missouri.
I will be playing the Champions event this Monday. I have played well and want to play. I wish I was playing in Chicago next week, but excited to play my first Champions event.
– Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) 21 August 2020
By missing out on the Northern Trust cut, Mickelson, who entered the first FedEx Cup playoff event in 67th place in the points rankings, will fall out of the top 70 and will not be eligible for the next week’s BMW Championship at Olympia Fields outside Chicago. He also may not be eligible for the season-ending Tour Championship, which includes only the top 30 on the points list.
When asked earlier this year if he would consider the PGA Tour Champions, Mickelson said he would think about it, but still believed he could compete on the PGA Tour and wanted to focus on just one.
“I do not want to hurt the Champions Tour in any way,” Mickelson said at the time. “And if not playing the Champions Tour it will hurt, I will play a few events. I will probably play one, two or three events a year because I want to support it, I want it to be successful , I do not want to hurt or hurt in any way.
“But I feel successful on a tour, you have to fully commit to that one tour. So if it’s going to be either the PGA Tour or the Champions Tour, I don’t see myself oscillating back and forth.”
Mickelson had an up-and-down year on the PGA Tour. He finished third at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February, then missed two consecutive cuts before golf went on a three-month hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Since the reunion, Mickelson has tied for second at the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational, but he also has a missed cut and three finishes outside the top 50.
So he goes to the Champions Tour and tries to get his game in shape for the US Open.
In 2006, Mickelson needed par on the 72nd hole at Winged Foot to win the one major that escaped him over his career. Instead, he made a double bogey to lose by one shot to Geoff Ogilvy.
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