Phil Mickelson earned five years of exemptions into the U.S. Open, via his 2021 PGA Championship victory. But time is nearly up.

Phil Mickelson entered Thursday’s opening round of the 2024 U.S. Open with hopes of adding to his illustrious career. After all, he is the oldest major winner of all time.

Mickelson won the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island at 50 years of age. That surpassed Julius Boros’ record, having won the 1968 PGA Championship in San Antonio at 48 years old. Mickelson’s triumph bought him five years of exemptions into the other three majors: The Masters, The U.S. Open and The Open Championship.

Well, time is beginning to run out on the LIV golfer.

Mickelson is all but done already following an opening round 9-over 79.

Lefty had a rough start to his day and it never got better. Mickelson started his day on the back nine and bogeyed the 10th, 11th and 12th holes (his second, third and fourth). It appeared as though he had steadied the ship, carding five straight pars to close his front nine on the tricky Pinehurst No. 2 track.

Then the rails fell off.

Mickelson proceeded to bogey six of his nine holes on the back to finish at 9-over. Interestingly, Lefty did not drop a shot Thursday on any of the par-5’s or par-3’s. All nine bogeys took place on par-4 holes. That speaks to his inability to put together a string of solid golf shots.

The writing my be on the wall for Mickelson that the end is near.

The 2025 U.S. Open will be the final time Phil Mickelson will be exempt, barring a major victory before then. After that, he will likely have to earn his way into the field via qualifying. That is a very difficult process to wade through for anyone, never mind a soon-to-be 54-year-old.

Mickelson’s game has fallen by the wayside, and not just in majors. He has consistently struggled on the LIV Golf tour, finishing at or near the bottom of tournaments throughout the last couple of years.

It is hard to know how much that may bother him though. He got the bag for ditching the PGA Tour and becoming the most ardent, vocal supporter of the Saudi-backed golf league. Since jumping ship, Mickelson has had numerous public spats with fans, PGA Tour officials and players including Rory McIlroy.

It may be a sad end to what has been a Hall of Fame career. Mickelson won 45 times on the PGA Tour, tied for the eighth most ever. He also won six major championships, including three Masters titles, two PGA Championships and the 2013 Open Championship.

Kendall is a multi-media journalist and editor who is overly passionate about all sports (to his wife’s dismay). He wrote and edited for ClutchPoints as well as FantasyPros having worked in sports entertainment for over a decade. He also hosts Lay the Points Podcast, a sports gambling podcast.