U.S. Open could be last Grand Slam chance for Phil Mickelson - ESPN

Phil Mickelson is in the field for next week's U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club in Pittsburgh, and the six-time major champion acknowledged Wednesday that it might be his last chance to complete the career Grand Slam.

It will be the final year of Mickelson's five-year exemption for capturing the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, South Carolina, where he became the oldest major championship winner.

Mickelson, 54, is a six-time runner-up at the U.S. Open, the only one of the four major championships that he hasn't won. He would become the seventh golfer to achieve the milestone, after Rory McIlroy did it at the Masters in April.

«I haven't thought about it too much,» Mickelson said during a news conference at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, Virginia, the site of this week's LIV Golf League tournament. «There's a high likelihood that it will be, but I haven't really thought about it too much.»

Asked if he would participate in open qualifying for future U.S. Opens if he isn't exempt, Mickelson said, «I don't know. I haven't thought that far.»

In February, the U.S. Open became the first major to create a direct pathway for LIV Golf players, creating a new exemption that awarded a spot in the field to the leading player in the individual points standings on May 19.

Next year, the top golfer in the final points standings this season will get a spot in the 2026 U.S. Open. The player must be not already exempt and finish in the top three.

The top 60 players in the Official World Golf Ranking are also included in the U.S. Open field. Players don't get OWGR points for their LIV Golf League finishes — Mickelson is currently ranked 1,162nd in the world.

Mickelson, a three-time Masters champion, has a lifetime