That meant Mickelson needed a birdie on the 18th, and the golf gods couldn't help but play one last cruel prank on Lefty at a U.S. Open. He piped his drive and hit a beautiful second shot to 14 feet, hole high, setting up the birdie look he needed to make the weekend.

The 54-year-old, who fell one shot short of the weekend at Oakmont, won’t have a guaranteed spot in next year’s field.

Whatever Phil Mickelson did, in this life or a past one, to offend the USGA, the U.S. Open and the gods who control America’s tournament … they have most certainly exacted their revenge. And they’ve sent him into U.