Phil Mickelson thinks he will win not one, but two U.S. Opens before he retires

If there is one thing that sums up Phil Mickelson, it wouldn’t be his long drives or his short game, nor would it be his backward flop shots or his multiple green jackets. The thing that Phil Mickelson has never lacked is confidence.

Mickelson has always known he was a very, very good golfer, and even before he started winning major championships it seemed that Phil’s career was destined for some serious hardware.

But the U.S. Open hasn’t bowed to Phil. Mickelson has finished second six times at that major, the most seconds by any player in the history of the tournament. Regardless, Phil continues to put himself in the mix at the national championship and he knows if he keeps plugging away, a win most likely will come.

But two?! That’s what Mickelson told ESPN’s Rick Reilly.

“The next five years are going to be the best of my career … I’m going to win a bunch of tournaments. I’m going to win at least one U.S. Open, maybe two. And I’m going to make the 2016 Olympic team. And really, I’d love to make the 2020 Olympic team. I’d be 50. How cool would that be?”

Now, it is worth noting that Phil is 43, and if he won at Pinehurst next month he would be the second oldest U.S. Open champion ever (Hale Irwin won in 1990 at the age of 45). But I don’t think he’s crazy to think he will eventually win this championship.

Certain golf tournaments are made for certain players. Jack Nicklaus had the Masters, Tom Watson had the British Open and Tiger Woods has about four different places that seem to be home for his A game. While Mickelson has never won the U.S. Open, it is a tournament that he routinely competes in, finishing in the top-4 in four of the last eight Opens.

It is a golf tournament that he should win at some point, but maybe saying you’ll win two is a bit lofty, even for Mickelson.

Still, if he can pull it out at Pinehurst and complete his career Grand Slam, he could be the favorite at Chambers Bay in 2015 and Shinnecock Hills in 2018, a site of one of his second-place finishes.

Devil Ball Golf – Golf – Yahoo Sports