In April, history was made at Augusta National Golf Club when Hideki Matsuyama became the first Japanese male golfer to win a major championship.
Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, history will be made again, Matsuyama as the first Japanese player to win the Open and Mickelson as the sixth player to complete the career Grand Slam.
None was more heartbreaking than the collapse in 2006 when a par on the final hole would have given him the championship.
Mickelson, a San Diego native who has played Torrey Pines countless times, will likely hit his share of poor shots this week.
Rahm, leading by six strokes after three rounds, was well on his way to a victory at the Memorial Tournament in Ohio about two weeks ago when he tested positive for Covid-19.
His first tour triumph was in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in 2017, where he recorded two eagles on the final six holes.
3-ranked player in the world, has not won since the BMW Championship last August, but has been in good form for most of the year.
He’ll have to keep his emotions in check when things go wrong, which they often do at the Open.
Koepka, who shot a two-over 74 and finished in a tie for second, was making only his third start since knee surgery in March.
In his last 20 majors, going back to the 2015 British Open, he has finished in the top 10 13 times, including four victories and three seconds.
He has recorded only one top 10 — a tie for 10th in last week’s Palmetto Championship at Congaree in South Carolina — since he finished in a tie for eighth at the Genesis Invitational.
After his performance in the Memorial Tournament, where he lost in a playoff to Patrick Cantlay, Morikawa is now ranked No.
In February, he captured the WGC-Workday Championship at the Concession in Florida by three shots.
On the drivable, 294-yard par-4 16th hole, his tee shot came to a rest only seven feet away.