HAVERFORD - It's been 14 years since Phil Mickelson contended for a U.S. Open title for the first time, posting the first of his record five runner-up finishes at Pinehurst.
It was a memorable Open for many reasons, not the least of which was that Payne Stewart won it and a few short months later he was gone.
There had been so much drama with Mickelson because he kept insisting that if his wife Amy went into labor with their first-born, he was out of there, U.S. Open or no U.S. Open. But his oldest daughter waited for a couple of days to join the world and Stewart, after sinking a dramatic putt to beat Mickelson, grabbed Mickelson's face with both hands that Father's Day and told him, "you're going to be a father."
And so, 14 years later, Amanda was graduating from eighth grade and her dad wanted to be there, U.S. Open or no U.S. Open.
He high-tailed it out of Delaware County Tuesday and headed back to San Diego. He figured he wasn't going to get that much out of a practice round on a rain-soaked East Course at Merion Golf Club and, well, he really wanted to be at his daughter's eighth-grade graduation.
He made it back in time for his 7:11 a.m. tee time Thursday, survived a three-and-a-half hour rain delay and ended up with a 3-under 67 on a day when the East Course played very hard.
"She told me that it's fine," Mickelson said of his discussion with his daughter earlier in the week. "'Stay, it's the U.S. Open, I know how much you care about it.' And I told her that I want to be there. I don't want to miss that. I don't want to miss her speech. I don't want to miss her graduation. She spent nine years at that school. And she's worked very hard and I'm very proud of her."
Does Amanda know her little part in the lore of the 1999 U.S. Open?
"A little bit," he said with that Phil Mickelson smile that so endears him to the gallery. It was a smile that said she probably knows a little more about it than Mickelson wanted to tell, but that's OK.
The point is, Mickelson's family is important to him, more important than winning the U.S. Open. But Phil, being Phil, feels flying to California and back and shooting a 67 in the opening round of the U.S. Open is something he's totally capable of doing. No tougher than a flop shot that goes straight up in the air out of the rough 10 feet from the hole and lands right next to the hole.
It turned into a longer day than Mickelson had bargained for when a brief but heavy downpour interrupted the proceedings in the middle of his round. When he reached the par-3 ninth hole, he admitted he was running out of gas.
"I told `Bones' on 9 tee box that I kind of hit a wall," Mickelson said his discussion with longtime caddy Jim Mackay. "And he said, `well, let's just take a little mental break as we walk down there,' and I ended up making the (30-foot birdie) putt. So being able to tune in and tune out was kind of nice the last hole or two. It's been a long day because we teed off at 7 and here we are at 4:20. So it was a longer day with the suspension."
He got in a couple of power naps.
"A couple hours on the plane, an hour before we teed off and then an hour during the break," Mickelson said. "I feel great. I'll just go back tonight and rest, and I'll have all day (today) to rest and it's fine. It shouldn't be a problem."
Mickelson's U.S. Open record is filled with close calls. After the runner-up finish to Stewart in 1999, he couldn't reel in Tiger Woods at Bethpage in 2002, couldn't catch Retief Goosen at Shinnecock Hills in 2004, quite famously drove it off the top of a tent on the 18th at Winged Foot in 2006 to give the title to Geoff Ogilvy, and fell short of Lucas Glover after all that rain at Bethpage in 2009.
He was asked to wrap up that frustrating relationship with the National Open.
"Well, if I'm able, and I believe I will, if I'm able to ultimately win a U.S. Open, I would say that it's great," Mickelson said. "Because I've had, I will have had a -- let's say a win and five seconds. But if I never get that win, then it would be a bit heart-breaking.
"But it's actually a tournament that I play very well in; I'm able to perform and chip well out of the rough and love the challenge of the greens and also the fact that many players are not as prepared for a course we haven't seen gives me a slight advantage, I feel, to save a fraction of a shot here or there."
His preparation for this U.S. Open included a 2,000-mile detour to San Diego two days before the start of the tournament. A 3-under 67 says he was ready to go.