Phil Mickelson headed to last week's US Open with his eyes on finally completing the career Grand Slam, but it is fair to say things did not go to plan for the 54-year-old star.
Wyndham Clark was the man who came away as champion from Los Angeles Country Club on Sunday, after he saw off challenges from Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler and Scottie Scheffler to win his first major championship. One man who was not around to see Clark get his hands on the title though was Mickelson.
The only major honour missing from the LIV Golf star's glittering trophy cabinet is the US Open, and he put any chance of ending this wait to bed in Friday's second round after missing the 36-hole cut line.
Mickelson began his week well, shooting a one-under-par 69 in round one to give a solid foundation heading into the rest of the week. It was not all plain sailing out on the Los Angeles course for the six-time major champion though.
As the 54-year-old was finishing up his opening round on the ninth green, one fan in the stands made their feelings about Mickelson's LIV Golf allegiances known. 'Lefty' has no doubt split opinion following his Saudi switch, and has not been far from controversy over the past 12 months.
The PGA Tour-LIV Golf saga was a hot topic heading into last week's tournament, after the groundbreaking news that the two rival circuits had settled their differences by signing a merger agreement was confirmed one week prior. Amid the drama one spectator tried to get their point across to Mickelson as he stood over his putt on the 18.
Shouting from the grandstand, the heckler was heard calling: "What about all the guys on the PGA Tour, Phil? Every single of them looked up to you for their entire careers. This is what you do to them, Phil? This is what you do to them?”
The fan in question was then removed from the property, before Mickelson recomposed to two-putt for a round-finishing par. 24 hours later, the American stalwart could well have done with more of this composure as he struggled in round two.
A tough few hours around the LA setup on Friday saw him card a four-over 74 to leave him three-over for tournament, missing the cut by one. Regardless of his performance, Mickelson has always been one that is happy to chat with the world's media post-round, but not this week.
The six-time major winner's opinion on the PGA Tour's deal with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund and LIV was a sought after one, but Mickelson refused to comment when quizzed on the plans. told Sports Illustrated : "I'll be happy to talk later. I just don’t want to waste any energy on it at the beginning of the week... We had talked about doing something but I’d rather not do it this week. I'd rather do it later, nothing’s happening anytime soon."
