Yet another Phil Mickelson US Open failure shows the chance has probably gone for him to complete grand slam

PHIL MICKELSON turned 49 on Sunday but woke up knowing that yet again he would not get the present he wants most.

The US Open victory he needs to become only the sixth golfer to complete the career Grand Slam was way beyond reach even after Mickelson crashed to a four over par 75 on day three.

He got a standing ovation as he finished that round, even though he took a triple bogey eight at the last, after blasting his tee shot into the Pacific Ocean.

That meant Lefty walked onto the first tee yesterday 14 shots behind third round leader Gary Woodland, although you would never have known it from the reception he received.

Mickelson was welcomed with a loud chorus of ‘Happy Birthday’, which was repeated at every hole, along with cheers and yells of encouragement.

Most of his fans thought this could be Phil’s year. He has won five AT&T titles at Pebble Beach, the most recent of them just four months ago. Mickelson was born down the coast in San Diego, so this is his turf.

If they handed out Majors for popularity, Mickelson would already be in the same golfing fraternity as Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen, the only men to win all four.

But golf does not work that way. And after finishing runner-up in this event SIX times, Mickelson knows as well as anyone that time is running out – and that it is probably already too late for him to achieve his lifetime’s ambition.

LEFTY LEFT WANTING

The oldest man ever to win a Major was Julius Boros, who was four months past his 48th birthday when he added the 1968 USPGA title to his two US Open victories.

Next year’s US Open starts a few days later than it did this year, on June 18. So Mickelson will be fifty by the time it gets under way – and will be eligible to play in the Senior US Open!

The main event will be played at Winged Foot, where Mickelson suffered the most agonising of his six runner-up finishes in 2006.

He needed a par at the last to win. Even a bogey would have sent him into a play-off with Geoff Ogilvy.

But Mickelson blasted another wild tee shot onto the roof of a corporate hospitality tent and ran up a double bogey six.

The five time Major champion is not giving up hope of going one better just yet, but admits the odds are stacked against him.

Mickelson commented “The difficulty is not the age. The difficulty is that when you’re in your 20s, you feel like you have multiple chances.

"And when you’re turning 49, you’re like, I’ve got two more chances — this year, and maybe Winged Foot.

“And that’s about it, so I put more pressure on it. That’s the difficult thing.”

It is not going to be any easier next year.