GOLF: Philip Reid on the reason Phil Mickelson remains in a positive frame of mind despite yet again failing in his quest to win a major
Is it possible to get sick of the sight of someone? Can you explain how, as world number two, and undisputedly so, the big one keeps escaping? Phil Mickelson doesn't know the answers, but he is trying his damnedest to find out and he left another failed mission on Sunday - finishing runner-up to Tiger Woods in the US Open - with the positives rather than the negatives.
Mickelson, more than anyone in this era of the Tiger, has attempted - and failed - to take on Woods. He is unquestionably the best player in the modern game not to have won a major.
In 40 appearances in the majors, Mickelson has finished second on three occasions - the 2002 US Open, 2001 US PGA and 1999 US Open - and finished third another four times - 2002 US Masters, 2001 US Masters, 1996 US Masters and 1994 US PGA - but failed to claim the ever elusive victory.
All day on Sunday, his 32nd birthday, Mickelson watched the white leaderboards dotted around the Bethpage Black Course to see if he was tracking Woods and whether he could catch him. "I knew I was within striking distance," he was to remark. He didn't.
Although Mickelson outscored Woods by two shots in the final round, he still found himself three shy of the required score to force a play-off.
"I believe I have been very competitive," said Mickelson, after his final round. "I feel eventually it will happen. I will win (a major). I have played well enough to win, and it just wasn't my time. But the more I give myself those chances, the better the opportunities are."
Indeed, Mickelson has played 40 major championships and has finished among the top seven 12 times.
The losses, though, keep piling up - and Mickelson admitted: "I have got a lot of work to do if I expect to win a golf tournament when Tiger is in the field."
However, Mickelson, forever positive about his game and how he plays it, added: "I feel as if my game is improving. My level of consistency is improving and I feel like I am able to compete more regularly, week-in and week-out, as well as day-in and day-out for the four days of a tournament."
On Sunday, Mickelson was the only player to make a genuine charge at Woods, but he had his quest halted over the final stretch where he suffered two bogeys in the final three holes.
On the 16th, he put his drive into a fairway bunker and had no option other than to play out onto the fairway from where he failed to get up and down in two. On the 17th, he hit a five-iron approach to 20 feet, but proceeded to three-putt.
In an effort to progress as a player, Mickelson is working on his physical strength "to allow me to strike it better, to hit shots that mightn't normally be able to be hit", while he appears to have tapered the more aggressive, and consequently, more destructive shots in his armoury.
"As a player looking extrinsically, looking outside in, I feel as though I am getting better. I really do feel the last two years I have made significant strides in my game, but there are still huge steps to catch up with Tiger. As a player, I feel like I am improving very steadily. I am driving the ball better.
"I am more consistent with my irons. My short game is getting better. Just in general my scoring is getting better."
If the power of positive thinking has any part to play in winning majors, then Mickelson's time will surely come. In this year's two majors, he has finished third (US Masters) and now second (US Open) - but Mickelson is aware, more than anyone, that the player who has won both is the one he must find a way to beat if he is to escape living in Woods' shadow for the rest of his career.
