Monday 15 June 2015 11:55, UK
Phil Mickelson believes his game is in a good position as he looks to become only the sixth player to complete golf's Grand Slam at this week's US Open.
'Lefty' has finished runner-up at the US Open a record six times, but victory at Chambers Bay would see him join Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only players to have won all four majors.
Mickelson used last week's FedEx St Jude Classic to tune his game up ahead of the second major of the year, finishing in a tie for third after showing noticeable improvement from his previous display at the Memorial Tournament.
Despite being without a title since claiming a three-shot win at the 2013 Open, Mickelson heads to Seattle buoyed by an impressive final round 65 in Memphis.
“I’m very pleased with how I progressed as the tournament went on,” Mickelson told Sky Sports 4. “I still made mistakes and there are still areas where I’ve got to improve, but I saw a lot of progress as the week went on.
“I’m feeling a lot better about heading in to the US Open this week than I did after the last.”
The five-time major winner spent time practicing at Chambers Bay last month and plans to play further rounds on both Tuesday, his 45th birthday, and Wednesday ahead of his early tee-time on Thursday morning alongside former major winners Bubba Watson and Angel Cabrera.
Mickelson fell short in his first Grand Slam attempt last year, finishing tied 28th at Pinehurst, but is excited to play the links course that bares similarities with those more commonly found in Scotland and Ireland.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge, I really like the golf course,” Mickelson added. “I feel like I’ve got a pretty good game plan to the holes there and it’s different to each pin.
“The hole changes entirely when you have certain pin placements moving around the bunkers, so I think I have a pretty good game plan and now I feel like my game is coming around.
“Hopefully I can really fine tune and be sharp for when the tournament starts on Thursday.”
Watch the US Open from Thursday live on Sky Sports 4 – your home of golf.
