Phil Mickelson Makes History at Open Championship

Phil Mickelson Makes History at Open Championship originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

Phil Mickelson opened the 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush with a 1‑under-par 70, navigating intermittent rain and firm winds in the first round. He followed with a 1-over-par 72 on Friday. That even-par score was enough for Mickelson to head to the weekend.

By doing so, Mickelson recorded his 103rd cut made in men’s major championships, moving past Gary Player and into second on the list for the most all time. Since Mickelson's major debut at the 1990 U.S. Open, he has appeared in 127 majors. This year's Open moves him into a tie with Raymond Floyd, for the fifth-most appearances in a major.

Only Jack Nicklaus, with 131 cuts made, remains ahead of Mickelson. Nicklaus set that benchmark over a span stretching from the 1957 U.S. Open through the 2000 Masters. Nicklaus leads the list with the most appearances in the majors: 164. Both marks are likely to stand as the measure of career consistency for decades.

Mickelson has also displayed exceptional consistency. His 103 cuts made in 127 major starts is an 81% success rate. That even surpasses Nicklaus, who had a 79.8% success rate of making the cut in majors. Mickelson also produced a personal-best streak of 30 consecutive cuts made in majors between the 1999 PGA Championship and the 2007 Masters. Tiger Woods and Nicklaus, with 39, share the mark for consecutive cuts made in a major.

At Royal Portrush, Mickelson also notched his 21st made cut in 30 Open Championship appearances. In June, Mickelson expressed a desire to continue playing the majors if he qualifies. So, he may not be done in any of these categories just yet.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 18, 2025, where it first appeared.