Five-time runner-up Phil says he’s ready to win

PHIL MICKELSON will go into today’s opening round at Congressional Country Club believing he can win a fifth major in the championship he covets most.

The left-handed Californian will tee off in his 21st US Open alongside young guns Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson, having first played his national championship in 1990 at Medinah when McIlroy was just 13 months old.

Eight top-five finishes have followed, five of them second places, and Mickelson is nothing if not enthusiastic.

“I think that having come close and having finished second here, being in contention so many times through the years, I really believe that I can win this tournament,” Mickelson said. “But just as when I was trying to win my first major, if you focus so much on the result, if you focus so much on winning, sometimes you can get in your own way.

“And so I’m trying not to think about winning as much as I am trying to enjoy the challenge that lies ahead, because I know that the next 72 holes of golf starting on Thursday is going to be very difficult.

“Each shot is going to be very challenging and each hole will be a difficult par and so forth. And rather than worrying about the result after 72 holes, I’m trying to think about the process of playing the type of golf I want to play around this course.

“I believe that I’m playing some good golf; ball-striking-wise I think it’s the best it’s ever been in the last three or four or five months. And I feel 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 I’m not making them.

“There’s a small difference there getting the right speed for the line, but I’m close. I had a great Sunday putting round at Memorial where I was able to tie in the right speed for my line.

“And I feel like if I play well, I know what it takes to be in contention here. This course set-up here, unlike past US Opens, this one 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.”

All of those facets suit Mickelson, for whom three of his four majors came at the Masters, the other being the US PGA.

“The thought process from the get-go on each tee box at Augusta National is to hit the ball as hard and as far as you can and worry about the next shot later, whereas here, you know, the whole thought process is just trying to keep it, minimise the miss.

He added: “Because the great thing about this graduated rough now (at Congressional) is that historically at a US Open, if you hit it way off the fairway, you were in better shape because you would get the trampled-down rough.

“(Here) if you miss the fairway just a little bit, it’s still pretty playable; you’re going to get it down there by the green. It’s very well done.”