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Phil Mickelson isn't at the U.S. Open, yet the six-time major champion remained one of the biggest talking points amid lingering controversy.

Phil Mickelson will not hit a shot at this year’s U.S. Open, but the six-time major champion remains one of the tournament’s most discussed figures, with one expert observer describing him as “the most talked-about man” at the Open even though the 56-year-old Mickelson is not there.

Despite his absence from the field, Mickelson’s name is already surfacing repeatedly in the early days of championship week, as players, fans and media continue debating his legacy and recent controversies.

The 126th edition returns to Shinnecock Hills, the Long Island club where Mickelson built one of the most tangled relationships any player has with a single venue. He competed there three times. He never won. He never escaped without a fresh wound.

That pattern keeps his shadow over a tournament he is skipping, columnist Eamon Lynch wrote for Golfweek. It was Lynch who called Mickelson “the most talked-about man” at Shinnecock despite the fact that he is not in the field, and has won none of the 125 editions before it.

Phil Mickelson’s History at Shinnecock Hills

Each Shinnecock appearance marked a different chapter, and each ended badly. In 1995, Mickelson turned 25 during the second round, trailed by one heading into Sunday, then collapsed down the stretch to finish tied for fourth.

The 2004 Open delivered a sharper version of the same story. Mickelson, fresh off his first Masters title, sat tied for the lead with Retief Goosen through 16 holes Sunday before stumbling to a runner-up finish. It was the third of his record six second-place results at the only major he never captured.

Then came 2018, the year that hardened the narrative. Mickelson tied for 48th, but he produced as many headlines as winner Brooks Koepka. On the 13th green during Saturday’s third round, his 48th birthday, his bogey putt rolled past the cup and aimed off the surface. He chased it and hit the ball while it was still moving, a deliberate breach widely condemned as petulant, as recounted by Lynch.

“I don’t mean it [to be] disrespectful. If you’re taking it that way, that’s not on me. I’m sorry you’re taking it that way,” he said afterward, before telling critics they needed to “toughen up.”

But later, Mickelson stated that he felt “embarrassed and disappointed” by his brazen rule violation, according to a report by Avantika Das of Daily Club Golf.

Phil Mickelson’s Recent Controversies Before U.S. Open

The Shinnecock baggage arrives alongside more recent troubles. Days before the championship, Golf Digest reporters Joel Beall and Tod Leonard reported that Mickelson was no longer a member of The Farms Golf Club in Rancho Santa Fe, California, after allegedly making nonconsensual, inappropriate physical contact with a female employee.

The staffer reported the encounter to supervisors, who confronted Mickelson mid-round and told him to leave, according to Golf Digest. The club confirmed he was no longer a member, and a spokesperson said he resigned.

Mickelson, through a spokesperson, called the matter a misunderstanding. His attorney claimed the reporting was contradicted by video evidence. Lynch noted that the sheriff’s office found no evidence of an assault and that no legal claims have been filed.

The allegations land on a reputation already staggering. Mickelson’s role in launching LIV Golf, his antitrust suit against the PGA Tour, his comments excusing the Saudi backers, and his link to the Billy Walters insider-trading case had each chipped away at the image he spent decades building. An undisclosed family health matter has kept him out of competition for most of 2026.

His five-year exemption expired, and the USGA extended no special invitation. So Mickelson will watch from a distance as Shinnecock prepares to play out without him. But he remains a highly discussed presence who looms over the 2026 U.S. Open despite not being present at Shinnecock Hills.