KUALA LUMPUR: British Open champion Phil Mickelson will begin scaling back his tournament commitments next year in a bid to win an elusive US Open title and complete a rare career Grand Slam, the American said yesterday.
Crowd-favourite Mickelson, 43, has won five major championships in a brilliant career but has suffered a heart-wrenching six runner-up finishes at the US Open - the missing piece in his Grand Slam puzzle.
He completed the third leg of his Slam bid in July when the hard work he put into improving his driving accuracy paid off with a first British Open title at Muirfield.
Success at next year’s US Open at Pinehurst in North Carolina would make Mickelson the sixth man to win all four majors and emulate the achievements of South African Gary Player and compatriots Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Gene Sarazen and current world number one Tiger Woods.
“There is no hiding the fact that winning the US Open would be my career goal and completing the career Grand Slam,” Mickelson told reporters in Kuala Lumpur yesterday on the eve of the PGA Tour’s CIMB Classic in Malaysia. “That is the final leg that I have and I’ll be putting most of my focus into winning the US Open.”
That extreme focus on the majors, mean other less significant events will be sacrificed.
Mickelson has played at least 20 PGA Tour events in each of his last four seasons, while Woods, played only 16 this year.
The world number three did not pinpoint which events he would be cutting for the 2014 season, which began at the Frys.com Open in California two weeks ago, but suggested the CIMB Classic might be one.
“I want to give myself opportunities to play and compete in the big tournaments, mainly saying, the majors and I’m putting less importance on other events,” said the three-times winner of the US Masters.
“My whole purpose and focus will be... participating in certain tournaments that will help me play well in those majors, so a tournament that is taking place two months prior or after a major championship that has no impact on my ability to perform well in a major, those are tournaments that I won’t put as much
importance on. AFP
