Phil Mickelson’s fall from grace highlighted by US Open woes

A mere 13 months on from capturing hearts and minds with a glorious US PGA Championship triumph Mickelson has become a competitive irrelevance.

Feeling the strain: Phil Mickelson walks on the fourth hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at The Country Club, Thursday, June 16, 2022, in Brookline, Mass. Pic: AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty

An unintentionally comedic moment was delivered when Phil Mickelson, Louis Oosthuizen and Shane Lowry wandered towards their second shots at the Country Club’s opening hole on Friday.

“Hey Louis,” bellowed a Bostonian. “Great job on the win last week.” It was Charl Schwartzel who prevailed in the opening LIV Golf event at the Centurion Club. Easy though it may be to mix up South African golfers – neither Schwartzel nor Oosthuizen has much by way of profile – this proved a subtle nod towards general or wilful ignorance of the LIV scene. It is taking place somewhere in the ether but the paying public are not engaged with further detail. Unless, of course, the punter was remarkably referencing LIV’s team event, which is even further down the public consciousness.