Mickelson Wants Win to Complete Grand Slam

Playing in the U.S. Open for the 26th time, having endured a record six runner-up finishes without a victory, Phil Mickelson made it clear Wednesday how much he wants to win the championship that would help him complete the career Grand Slam.

"Well, I could B.S. you and tell you I don't think about it; no, I think about it all the time,'' Mickelson said at Oakmont Country Club, site of the U.S. Open, which begins Thursday. "This is the tournament I want to win the most to complete the four majors. There's no question.

"I have to put that out of my head and try to execute and be patient and not think about results. You start thinking about results, you'll never play your best golf.

"So I have to put that in the back of my head, but there's no question that starting this year and every year forward until I ultimately win this tournament, it will be my biggest thought, my biggest focus because I view those players who have won the four majors totally different than I view all the others.''

Only Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods have managed to capture each of the modern major championships in their careers - winning the Masters, U.S. Open, The Open and the PGA Championship.

But Mickelson is running out of time. He turns 46 on Thursday and would be the oldest winner in the history of the tournament.

Day, Spieth, McIlroy Betting Favorites to Win U.S. Open

Jason Day, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy are the betting favorites to win the U.S. Open this week at treacherous Oakmont Country Club.

Day is listed as a 13-2 favorite at the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas, followed by Spieth and McIlroy, who are each 15-2. They are the only three golfers with single-digit odds, but they're not the SuperBook's biggest liability.

South African Branden Grace attracted four limit wagers ranging from $1,250 to $2,500, from the same bettor at the SuperBook. Grace's odds shortened from 50-1 to 20-1 before settling at 30-1.

"He's our largest liability," SuperBook assistant manager and golf specialist Jeff Sherman said Tuesday.

More money had been bet on defending champion Spieth to win the tournament than any other golfer, just slightly more than Day, the No. 1-ranked player in the world, at the SuperBook. McIlroy had attracted only one-third of the money that was on either Spieth or Day. The SuperBook had taken $5,000 bets on Spieth and Day, but nothing of that size on McIlroy.

"They're really concentrating more on Spieth and Day, and not so much on McIlroy," Sherman noted. "From my pecking order, I have Day, then McIlroy, then Spieth. But people have just been shying away from McIlroy, even though his results have been right there." -- By ESPN