Monday Leaderboard: Phil Mickelson unleashes one more thrill on eve of U.S. Open

Welcome to the Monday Leaderboard, where we run down the weekend’s top stories in the wonderful world of golf. Grab an Arnold Palmer, pull up a chair and get ready for Phil to take one more ride …

Phil Mickelson throws it back, throws it close

If it’s June, it’s time for Can-Phil-finally-win-the-big-one stories. Granted, Phil’s chances of finally winning the U.S. Open and completing the career grand slam are only marginally better than yours at this point. But every so often, Mickelson — who’s played in near-anonymity on the LIV Golf tour for the past four seasons — reminds us of what used to be, as he did on Sunday at the LIV Golf Virginia event.

Mickelson has indicated that this week could be his final U.S. Open. His star has dimmed substantially in the past few years, but he remains one of the most compelling, significant and polarizing figures in golf history. And shots like that — the willingness to attempt them, the ability to pull them off — are a large reason why. The game’s a little less lively now that he’s not around as much.

Fox on a run in Canada

Talk about getting in just under the wire. Ryan Fox took four playoff holes to win the RBC Canadian Open Sunday and earn the final spot in this week’s U.S. Open. Fox outlasted Sam Burns, who had posted a final-round 62 to hold the clubhouse lead at -18. Fox needed to hole a 17-foot birdie on the 18th to force the playoff. The extra holes were not exactly a heavyweight fight; both players let opportunities slip away. But on the fourth extra hole, Fox uncorked a brilliant approach that sealed the win:

Another LIV tourney, another Joaco victory

Earlier this year, Mickelson deemed Joaquin Niemann the best player in the world. That was characteristic Mickelson overhype, but it’s pretty tough to argue that Niemann isn’t the best player in LIV right now, Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau included. Niemann has won four times in eight tournaments this season, his latest coming Sunday in Virginia, a one-stroke victory over Graeme McDowell and Anirban Lahiri. Niemann’s LIV success hasn’t exactly translated to success in majors — Niemann has exactly one major top-10 in his career, a T8 last month at the PGA Championship. He’ll get another shot to prove Mickelson correct this week at Oakmont. Maybe if he plays the majors in shorts and has some pulsing music around …

Kupcho rebounds from confusion, frustration to win ShopRite

“I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know how to swing a golf club. I have no idea how to do this anymore.” That was Jennifer Kupcho, 2022 Chevron Championship winner, earlier this year. After some hard conversations with her inner circle, Kupcho found something that worked — she rode a final-round 66 to a one-stroke victory in the ShopRite LPGA Classic in New Jersey. It’s Kupcho’s first victory since 2022, and it comes just a week after she missed the cut at the U.S. Women’s Open at Erin Hills. Not a bad turnaround, both for a week and for a career.

Hide your scorecards, the U.S. Open has arrived

And here we are — the toughest week of the year, if you’re a pro. Since you’re probably not, it’s one of the best weeks of the year. The U.S. Open tees off later this week at Oakmont, one of America’s truly great courses, and early reports are calling for carnage. Like, for example, Ben Griffin’s on-site video of the rough:

This is going to be a lot of fun. Well, not for the players, but definitely for the rest of us. We’ll be reporting live from Oakmont all week, bringing you every par, bogey and (occasional) birdie from Western Pennsylvania. You ready?

This week: PGA Tour/LIV Golf/PGA Tour Champions: U.S. Open (Oakmont), LPGA: Meijer LPGA Classic (Michigan).