Phil Mickelson made his professional debut at the 1992 U.S. Open, a cocky 22-year-old with a big, cheesy grin and a rakishly upturned collar. Thanks to a record-breaking amateur career, Mickelson was already being trumpeted as the next Nicklaus when he arrived at Pebble Beach. He didn’t disappoint during the Open’s first round, stuffing his approach shot on the opening hole to a foot and a half. “That wasn’t even the best shot of the day,” Mickelson said recently, a bit wistfully. “On 17 I hit a two-iron to four feet.” His 68 left him two strokes off the lead, and America’s typing class hyperbolized accordingly. “I remember thinking how fun the U.S. Open is,” says Mickelson.
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