Phil Mickelson admits only committing an act of sabotage could have prevented Henrik Stenson from denying him a second Open title, but feels he still has plenty of chances to win more major titles.
Mickelson carded a flawless 65 in the final round at Royal Troon to finish 17 under par, a total which would have won or forced a play-off in 141 of the 145 Open Championships staged to date.
However, the 46-year-old was denied a sixth major title by a stunning performance from playing partner Stenson, whose closing 63 equalled the lowest score recorded in any major - Mickelson having done so as well in the first round - and gave him a winning total of 264, the lowest in major history.
"I don't look back on the final round with anything that I would have done different, other than maybe go over to Stenson's bag and bend his putter a little bit," Mickelson joked ahead of the US PGA Championship at Baltusrol, which gets under way on Thursday.
"I think it's one of those things where I'll look back over time and my disappointment will probably increase, because I think it's the first time in my career that I have played to that level of golf and not had it be enough to win a tournament.
" But because we have big tournaments coming up right now, I don't want to let the effects or disappointment linger while I have another really good opportunity to play a PGA Championship here at Baltusrol, at a course I like, while my game is sharp."
Mickelson won his second major the last time Baltusrol staged the US PGA in 2005, making a birdie on the 72nd hole to finish a shot ahead of Denmark's Thomas Bjorn and Australia's Steve Elkington.
And although at 46 he would be the fourth oldest major winner in history if he can repeat the feat this week, the left-hander does not feel his chances are running out.
"I think there's a really big window of opportunity to add to my resume, to continue to compete in big events, for the simple reason that the feel and sensitivity of hitting shots has not diminished," he added.
"Now that my swing is back on plane, I think there's a really big window of opportunity to have some success. I'm having more fun playing because of it."
Two-time major winner Jordan Spieth had a similar experience to Mickelson at last year's US PGA, also shooting 17 under par but having to settle for second behind Jason Day at Whistling Straits.
"I t was a different feeling, because my finish accomplished one of my lifelong goals to reach number one in the world," said Spieth, who has since slipped to third behind Day and US Open champion Dustin Johnson.
"I was talking with Phil about it earlier. It's going to happen in the course of a career where you're going to play well enough to win a major at that golf course most times and one or two other players are still going to be up there."
Source: PA
