When Phil Mickelson Did the Unthinkable and Faced Severe Backlash for His Questionable Violation

Winning a major championship in golf is not exactly easy. Phil Mickelson has won a total of six of them in his career. Although Phil is extremely grateful and proud of his accomplishments, he can’t help but feel a sense of incompleteness. To achieve a career grand slam, Lefty needs to win all four majors, and the US Open is the only one he hasn’t won yet.

He has an old enmity with the US Open and has placed second at the tournament a total of six times. The legend once even went on to shoot a 10 on a par-4 hole at an event.

Phil’s infamous 10-shot putt

In 2018, the U.S. Open was at Shinnecock Hills, in New York. In the third round, Mickelson had to putt an 18-foot ball to end the par-4 13th hole with a bogey. But things didn’t go his way. His shot narrowly missed the hole and ended up rolling downhill.

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Phil’s reaction was something no one at the course expected. He ran behind the ball as soon as he saw it start rolling down the hill and hit the moving ball back towards the hole. The ball seemed to be just as adamant as Phil that day, and it missed and rolled on the green on the other side. It took Mickelson two more shots to hole it.

While some fans supported him, and found the moment absolutely hilarious, other suggested he be disqualified for the foul.

He received a 2-stroke penalty for hitting the moving ball. This saw his original 8 strokes increase to 10, leaving Mickelson with yet another US Open that he wouldn’t win. In an interview later, he admitted that he was well aware of the penalty before he struck the ball. “I took the two-shot penalty and moved on. It’s my understanding of the rules,” he said.

Why did Phil Mickelson knowingly commit the foul?

Phil had made a calculated decision in 2018 and chose to take the penalty. Perhaps the 45-time PGA Tour victor thought the ball might roll further, and it would take more than the two penalty shots to get it back in. He said, “Look, I don’t mean disrespect to anybody.” I know it’s a two-shot penalty. At that time, I just didn’t feel like going back and forth and hitting the same shot over.“

While many argued that Mickelson should have been disqualified, the rule was quite clear about a two-stroke penalty. The officials had said that had he stopped the ball or interfered with the play, it would have been a different story, but that wasn’t the case.

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Despite his terrible experiences at the US Open, Phil eagerly anticipates going back. Will he be the sixth person in history to win a career grand slam? Or will the event get the better of Phil yet again? Let us know what you think in the comments below.