Phil Mickelson was set to make his fourth attempt to complete the Career Grand Slam in two weeks at Erin Hills in Wisconsin, but told Karen Crouse of the New York Times on Saturday he will withdraw from the tournament in order to attend the high school graduation of his daughter, Amanda.
Mickelson has finished second in the U.S. Open six times, but it is the only major he has never won.
“As I look back on life, this is a moment I’ll always cherish and be glad I was present,” Mickelson told Crouse. “There’s no greater joy as a parent.
” … I mean, obviously it’s a tournament that I want to win the most, and … the only way to win is if you play and have a chance. But this is one of those moments where you look back on life and you just don’t want to miss it. I’ll be really glad that I was there and present.”
Mickelson is a five-time major champion who claimed the third leg of the Grand Slam when he captured the 2013 Open Championship at Muirfield in Scotland, but has not won since.
The first round of the 2017 U.S. Open is scheduled for June 15, the same day as Amanda Mickelson’s graduation from Pacific Ridge High School in Carlsbad, Calif.
In 2013, when Amanda graduated from middle school, Mickelson flew home from Philadelphia for the event, and then flew back and arrived at Merion Golf Club in Haverford, Pa., about two hours before his first-round tee time.
Mickelson will turn 47 on June 16.
One of Mickelson’s six runner-up finishes in the U.S. Open came in 1999 at Pinehurst No. 2 in Pinehurst, N.C., where he wound up one stroke behind Payne Stewart, came one day before Amanda was born.
Mickelson was wearing a pager and had he gotten word that Amanda was coming earlier, he said he would have withdrawn from the tournament and headed back to California for the birth of his first child.
Even though Mickelson notified the United States Golf Association of his decision on Saturday, he still has not withdrawn.
