Phil Mickelson will sit out the final major golf tournament of 2026, The Open Championship, despite being eligible to compete. The event is scheduled for July 16-19 at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England.
Mickelson, 56, has been moved off the active competitor list and placed among the tournament’s non-playing exempt players. That move means the six-time major champion will have gone through an entire calendar year without appearing in any of the four major championships — something that has not happened since 1990, two years before he turned professional.
Mickelson earned a lifetime exemption to play in The Open Championship through age 60 after winning the event in 2013. Despite that standing invitation, he will not tee it up this year.
His absence from the sport stretches back through the entire 2026 major season. Mickelson played in just one LIV Golf event this year before stepping away to deal with an unspecified family health issue. That same reason kept him out of the Masters and the PGA Championship, and he was not offered a special invitation to participate in this month’s U.S. Open.
Since stepping back from competition, Mickelson has become the subject of multiple reports alleging that he made unwanted advances toward women, including the former wife of fellow golfer Pat Perez, while the couple was still together.
Reports have also surfaced indicating that Mickelson has severed ties with three different golf clubs in the San Diego area.
