Phil Mickelson shot a bogey-free, final-round 65 at The Open Championship earlier this month only to be beaten by Henrik Stensons 63 in an epic showdown. The tournament at Royal Troon?will be remembered for the incredible duel rather than anything Mickelson could have done differently.But the outcome was the 11th time Lefty has finished runner-up in a major championship, surpassing the 10 second-place finishes by Arnold Palmer. Only Jack Nicklaus, who was second on 19 occasions (but also won 18 times), has more runner-up finishes in majors.The PGA Championship takes place this week at Baltusrol Golf Club, site of Mickelsons 2005 PGA victory -- one of five major titles for the World Golf Hall of Famer. Lets look at how close he came to adding to that total, ranking his runner-up finishes from easiest to swallow to the most excruciating.11. Masters, 2015. Winner: Jordan Spieth?by 4.Mickelson was never really in this one at Augusta National, as he trailed Spieth by six after the first round and by eight through 36 holes. He made up a little ground during the third round to stand five back going into the last day, but he would have needed a final-round 65 to tie on a day Spieth tied the tournament scoring record.10. U.S. Open, 2002. Winner: Tiger Woods?by 3.This goes down as one of Mickelsons six runner-up finishes at the U.S. Open, but it is hardly one that Phil laments most. He was two strokes better than Woods during the final round at Bethpage Black but still came up three shots short. Having been five back at the start of the day was tough enough, but overcoming Woods -- who led the whole way -- was just not feasible.9. U.S. Open, 2009. Winner: Lucas Glover?by 2.An eagle at the 13th hole during a weather-delayed Monday finish at Bethpage Black had Mickelson tied for the lead and the New York Phil supporters buzzing. But Mickelson let a couple of putts get away from him over the closing holes, including a short birdie try at the 14th and a missed 3-footer at the 15th. His final-round 70 left him two back of Glover, who finished with a 73.8. The Open, 2011. Winner: Darren Clarke?by 3.Mickelson was five strokes behind to start the final round at Royal St. Georges but shot a front-nine 30 that included an eagle at No. 7. He had 10 consecutive one-putts to start the round but then blew a short one at the 11th and was never the same, fading with a couple of bogeys when pars might have brought a different ending. He ended up tied with Dustin Johnson, who also had some shots to second-guess over the closing nine.7. PGA Championship, 2014. Winner: Rory McIlroy?by 1.Mickelson was right there on the back nine at Valhalla when he let a drive get away from him on the 16th hole, leading to a bogey that proved too much to overcome. He almost holed an eagle pitch shot in near darkness on the par-5 18th to make it interesting, but McIlroys par on the last was good enough to relegate Mickelson to another close call.6. U.S. Open, 2004. Winner: Retief Goosen?by?2.Mickelson charged into contention with three birdies in four holes on Shinnecock Hills brutal back nine to take a one-shot lead over Goosen with two holes to play. But Goosen, playing after Mickelson in the final twosome, finished with birdie, par, par. Mickelson, meanwhile, couldnt avoid a bunker at the par-3 17th, blasted long and then three-putted for a double-bogey. He and Goosen were the only players to finish the tournament under par.5. U.S. Open, 1999. Winner: Payne Stewart by 1.This was Mickelsons first runner-up in a major, a memorable one where Stewart holed a 15-footer for par on the 18th green of Pinehurst No. 2 to win his second U.S. Open just a few months before his tragic death. Mickelson, who was famously awaiting the birth of his first child (she would be born the next day), missed an 8-footer for birdie on the 17th hole, where Stewart made his putt to take a one-shot lead.4. PGA Championship, 2001. Winner: David Toms?by 1.Much like at Royal Troon, Mickelson did just about all he could do at Atlanta Athletic Club. His score would have won every other PGA Championship contested in stroke play, but Toms did him one better, getting up and down with a wedge shot from the fairway at the last hole to hold off Mickelson.3. The Open, 2016. Winner: Henrik Stenson by 3.Mickelson played the round of his life on Sunday -- a 65 with four birdies, an eagle and no bogeys -- only to be outplayed. Stenson shot 63, tying the record for lowest closing round by a major champion, and made 10 birdies at Royal Troon. Mickelson finished 11 shots ahead of third-place J.B. Holmes. What more could he do?2. U.S. Open, 2006. Winner: Geoff Ogilvy?by 1.Mickelson claims this is not the most excruciating of his close calls, mostly because he felt fortunate to even have a chance. He hit just two fairways during the final round at Winged Foot, and given that, it is remarkable he came to the 72nd hole with a one-shot lead. But it meant he was just one par away from victory, and naturally Mickelson missed the fairway well to the left, hitting a hospitality tent. But thats where his real mistake occurred. Mickelson could have punched the ball around a tree and down the fairway, setting up an up-and-down par to win or a bogey to force a playoff. Instead he went for glory and got burned, leading to his infamous double-bogey and quote: Im such an idiot.1. U.S. Open, 2013. Winner: Justin Rose?by 2.This is the one Mickelson calls the hardest to take. He led at Merion after each of the first three rounds and seemed poised to finally get his first U.S. Open, especially after holing a shot for eagle on No. 10. But he also made a couple of costly mistakes, including double-bogeys at the third and fifth holes. He missed the 15th green with a wedge, leading to another bogey. Mickelson bogeyed No. 18 when he was going all out for a birdie, but the tournament was lost prior to then. Rollie Fingers Jersey . Louis. To which I would say two things: 1. Where there is smoke, there is or perhaps has been a little fire. Or, in other words, the two teams would appear to have at least spoken. And spoken is defined as one calling the other to inquire, no more, no less. Walt Weiss Jersey . -- The St. Johns IceCaps weathered a wild first period with the help of goaltender Jussi Olkinuora, before finding offensive inroads in the second. http://www.athleticsrookiestore.com/Athletics-Rickey-Henderson-Kids-Jersey/ . Bryant, who signed a five-year, $34 million contract as a free agent with Cleveland in March, reported symptoms on Monday morning, a team spokesman said. Marcus Semien Jersey . Hamelin, who triumphed in the 500 on Saturday, edged out Victor An of Russia by 0.021 seconds to maintain his lead in the World Cup standings. Russias Vladimir Grigorev was third. In the relay, Canada took control six laps from the finish line to beat Russia and the Netherlands. Chad Pinder Jersey . After taking two big hits this week -- losing at home and dropping back-to-back games for the first time all season -- Indiana struck back by playing its most complete game of the year. Theres a newsreel clip from the 1930s or 40s, where radio and television personality Bill Slater is voicing over black and white footage of baseball teams reporting to spring training. At one point, with a sparkle in his voice, he says, And here come the Chicago Cubs! Its gonna be a hot race this year -- youre not going to win, but you dont know it yet.More than 80 years later, the joke still holds. For so long its been safe to assume that the Cubs are about as likely to win the World Series as Wile E. Coyote is to catch that damn roadrunner. Across all cities and all sports, the Cubs are the most famous losers that ever were.But maybe, just maybe, by the end of this month they wont be losers anymore.Ive spent all season trying not to get ahead of myself. Just two years ago I was celebrating baby steps in the form of a record above .500. Last year the Cubs eked into the playoffs, scored a win over the Pirates and upset the rival Cardinals to advance to the NLCS. It didnt even hurt all that much when they were swept by the Mets. The impossibly young squad was playing with house money. They were at least a year ahead of schedule and their deep postseason run just served to get long-suffering Cubs fans excited for 2016.So this year when they won 24 of their first 30 games, I tried my best to stay in the moment and enjoy the ride without looking too far ahead to what might be.But now that the division has been clinched (by a whopping 17.5 games!), home-field advantage secured and 100 wins achieved, I have no choice but to face the music. Its October and all the home runs, shutouts, walk-offs and wins go out the window. No matter who the Cubs face in Game 1 of the NLDS on Friday night, both teams will need three wins to aadvance.ddddddddddddNow, anything less than a World Series win will be a disappointment. Theres incredible excitement heading into their opening series, but also a tremendous amount of anxiety. Just the other day my stomach dropped when I saw an ad featuring playoff footage from last year, fans going nuts at Wrigley waving rally towels. Oh god. Its here.Id like to rest easy knowing how good theyve been all season, but Ive already seen too many stats arguing that they might be too good. Only twice in the last 25 postseasons has the team with sole possession of baseballs best record gone on to win it all. And of the 15 teams that have won 100 or more games in the regular season since 2000, only one went on to win the World Series. I can feel my heart beating faster as I type this.No matter what happens this October, the Cubs are on the right track. Theyre full of young talent, theyve got a great manager and the mastermind behind it all, Theo Epstein, just signed a five-year contract extension. But even as I try to convince myself that a loss wouldnt be the end of the world, I know deep down theres always next year just doesnt feel right this time around.So whenever my brain starts to fill up with worst-case scenarios, I have to remind myself that this team is not the Cubs of old. We cant saddle these guys with the struggles of their predecessors. There are no curses, just bad outings, sleepy bats and bungled double plays by Alex Gonzalez.This time will be different. This is the year! Im gonna embrace every second of October baseball with confidence and enthusiasm ... and a medic on standby. Cheap Soccer Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Hockey Jerseys Nike NFL Jerseys China Cheap Nike MLB Jerseys China Wholesale Baseball Jerseys China Wholesale College Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China Wholesale Jerseys Near Me Cheap Jerseys Online Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap NCAA Jerseys Authentic Cheap Nike NBA Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic MLB Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Throwback Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China ' ' '