Mickelson aiming to banish US Open memories

Phil Mickelson has had a year to get over the agony of Winged Foot but in less than 24 hours he could be experiencing a different pain.

Mickelson renews his quest for a US Open title on Thursday when the first round begins at Oakmont, where he will be looking to put last year's disastrous finish out of his mind while keeping an injured left wrist from occupying his thoughts.

A four-time runner-up in the tournament, Mickelson was a hole away from his first title in this event a year ago but a double-bogey that included a drive off of a hospitality tent handed the championship to Geoff Ogilvy.

Determined to rebound, Mickelson was done in by his own diligence.

In his efforts to prepare for the US Open, Mickelson was injured here at Oakmont last month during a marathon practice session that included chip after chip out of the heavy rough around the greens.

He withdrew from the Memorial after 11 holes and could not play in Memphis last week due to the injury, opting for a cortisone shot to help deal with the inflammation.

It has helped but not to the extent the left-hander had hoped it would.

"I probably won't be pain-free as I had hoped but I should be able to have it manageable as long as I don't aggravate it in the rough," Mickelson said.

"I am looking forward to playing, I should be able to play no problem."

No problem of course until he has to hack one out of the rough, then it could be a major problem indeed.

Monday was the first day Mickelson was able to hit balls this week and he has played nine holes in the last two days.

It is not exactly the type of preparation going into a major Mickelson has become known for, but it is the best he can do under the circumstances.

"I've got a really good gameplan mapped out for the tournament," he said.

"I'm just not sure if I'm going to be ready to implement it because I haven't had the normal practice and preparation that I would have going into a major.

"I'm still looking forward to being able to play and hopefully implement or put together the game plan that I had hoped."

After a disappointing tie for 24th at the Masters, Mickelson decided enough was enough and looked to fix his wayward driver with swing guru Butch Harmon.

The results were a tie for third at both the Byron Nelson and Wachovia Championship and then an impressive victory at the Players Championship.

But any momentum Mickelson may have been able to bring with him to Oakmont has been stalled by the injury.

While the wrist could hamper Mickelson's performance here, he is convinced last year's performance will not.

In fact, he sees it going in the opposite direction.

Instead of blocking it out, Mickelson has embraced what happened as a learning experience.

"I don't ever want to put it totally behind me," Mickelson said.

"If I just forget about it, I'm not taking advantage of the opportunity to take some weaknesses and turn them into strengths."

One strength will be Mickelson's desire to win this event - he was visibly crushed after the final round at Winged Foot and went so far as to call himself an idiot.

If it was not the US Open, he admitted he would not be playing.

"I'd probably wait one more week. I'd really like one more week before we started this event," Mickelson said.

"But I'll be as ready as I can be on Thursday."