Mickelson will 'likely' miss British Open

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. -- Phil Mickelson acknowledged Wednesday it’s “likely” he will miss the British Open at Turnberry in July.

His wife Amy begins treatment for breast cancer on July 1 and the British Open begins 15 days later. Mickelson plans to play in the U.S. Open this week at Bethpage Black, take a tropical vacation with the family next week and then put his clubs in the closet for a while.

When asked point-blank whether he would have to skip golf’s oldest major, Mickelson said, “Most likely, yeah.  Most likely.” As for his return to competition, the three-time major champion said that’s up in the air.

“I would say probably August would be the earliest,” Mickelson said. “We won't know our treatment schedule after surgery until about a week or two, until we have some other tests done.”

The U.S. Open at Bethpage marks Mickelson’s 61st consecutive major appearance. The last time Mickelson missed a major was the 1994 Masters where he was unable to play after breaking his leg during a skiing accident the previous month.

After his wife was diagnosed nearly a month ago, Mickelson withdrew from the HP Byron Nelson Championship, as well as his title defense at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

The original announcement said surgery was scheduled within two weeks. After further tests, doctors decided the cancer was caught early and the Mickelsons had a little more time to weigh their treatment options.

With the surgery now scheduled for July 1, the family has tried to keep things as normal as possible. Hence the vacation, birthday parties at home and Mickelson’s decision -- with his wife’s blessing -- to play in last week’s St. Jude Classic presented by FedEx and the U.S. Open.

Mickelson finished second, three strokes behind Tiger Woods, in 2002 when the U.S. Open was last played at Bethpage.  

“It will be a fun week,” Mickelson said. “I'm putting everything I have into this week, because I don't anticipate being able to play for a little while.”