Lefty is not planning to end the 2026 season without playing a major like his fiercest rival. Phil Mickelson skipped the 2026 Masters Tournament and the PGA Championship earlier this year. He is not eligible to play in the U.S. Open. So the Open Championship was his last shot at playing a major for the season. Thankfully, he has decided not to skip the trip to the United Kingdom.

Bob Harig of Sports Illustrated confirmed that Mickelson has submitted his entry to be eligible to play in The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale from July 16-19, 2026. He is qualified to play in the event as a past champion (won in 2013), aged 60 or under on 19 July 2026.

Had he missed this one, too, it would have been the first time since 1990 that he would have missed all four majors in a calendar year. Despite the entry submission, whether Lefty will play or not isn’t confirmed, given he has been absent for most of this year, citing a family emergency.

This surely comes as positive news for the golf community, given that Tiger Woods has not submitted his entry to play in the major. He certainly is not playing the U.S. Open as well. So he is due to miss all the majors for the second year in a row.

While Mickelson might not be able to fill the void Woods will leave, he will still bring some exciting short game on the fairway at Royal Birkdale. The links course is known for its challenging sand traps, which will be the perfect setup for Lefty’s amazing skills with the wedge.

He has played in the Open Championship at Birkdale four times in his career. In his first-ever attempt at the major in 1991, he finished at T73. In 1998, Mickelson got a 79th-place finish. 2008 was his best finish in the major at the venue, a T19. The last time he played at Royal Birkdale was in 2017 for Jordan Spieth‘s win. However, Lefty didn’t stick around until Sunday for that, as he had already missed the cut then.

But will Phil Mickelson get the opportunity to prepare for The Open Championship 2026, considering the number of events he has missed already?

Phil Mickelson’s absence from the field in 2026 might cost him in The Open Championship

Mickelson has been mostly absent from action for nearly the entire year. And he has not provided a clear response as to why he has been absent. The only thing he has mentioned is that he has had a family emergency that he has to attend to.

Fans hoped that he would be back for good when he announced his return for LIV Golf South Africa. He had only missed four events till then and had a huge chunk of the season to play still. However, it ended up being the last tournament he played before disappearing again.

LIV Golf has hosted seven events so far, and Mickelson has only appeared in one of them. His return to the golf course is still uncertain. If he continues to skip tournaments leading up to The Open Championship 2026, will he get enough practice to challenge for the Claret Jug? Hopefully, his plans for the rest of the season might have changed now that he is eyeing a return at Royal Birkdale.