Don't write US off over major drought, Phil warns

For the first time since 1994, no American golfer holds a major title, but four-time major winner Phil Mickelson of the United States warns rivals not to write off US players just yet.

Phil Mickelson signs autographs for fans during a practice round prior to the start of the 111th US Open at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland. For the first time since 1994, no American golfer holds a major title, but four-time major winner Mickelson of the United States warns rivals not to write off US players just yet.

"Although international golf has really taken off, American golf is still in very good shape," Mickelson said. "There are some American players that are ready to win majors. I think there are a lot of international players as well."
Should no American capture the crown at the 111th US Open that starts on Thursday at Congressional Country Club, it will mark the longest title drought by the nation which hosts three of the four elite championships in the sport.
The only prior time Americans had none of the four major crowns was 17 years ago when Spain's Jose Maria Olazabal took the Masters, South African Ernie Els won the US Open and Zimbabwe's Nick Price won the British Open and PGA Championship.
"It has been quite a while," Els said. "Everything happens in cycles, and I can see it happening again now."
Els points to the glory days of Nick Faldo, Seve Ballesteros and Ian Woosnam and the current world rankings, which have England's Luke Donald as World No. 1, England's Lee Westwood second, Germany's Martin Kaymer in third and Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell as the defending US Open champion.
"Back in the early '90s, Europe was dominating like they are dominating now on the world rankings. You had Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer, Woosie, Seve, those kind of guys, and now you've got the same: Luke Donald and Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer and Graeme McDowell and so forth. They have definitely got the upper hand at the moment and it will probably change again in the future."
Mickelson, whose third career Masters triumph last year was the most recent major win by an American, sees a host of young US talent pushing for a major breakthrough that could come this weekend.
"I'm actually very encouraged with where American golfers are, especially the young players," Mickelson said. "We've got some really good, young, talented players coming up through the ranks, and I think we're going to be very competitive in the team events.
"But it's obvious that world golf as a whole has become so much stronger and that international and European golf has become world class and top notch and some of the best players in the world and certainly on the rankings right now."
Mickelson notes that Donald and Westwood have yet to win a major either.
"Some of our higher ranked, 1 and 2 in the world, haven't won a major yet," Mickelson said. "They are certainly ready and able to and they are international players. There are a lot of guys throughout the world that have the golf game that could easily win here or at any other major."
One factor in the slide has been the collapse of Tiger Woods, a 14-time major champion who has not won any title in 20 months since the revelation of a secret sex life that led to his divorce from Elin Nordegren. He withdrew from the US Open last week due to nagging left leg injuries.
McDowell, who was the top US collegiate golfer in 2002, sees no problem with US talent, just a global spread in the talent pool.
"American golf is probably as healthy as I've ever seen it in my career," McDowell said. "There are a lot of quality young players coming through -- Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler, Hunter Mahan. These guys are quality players who are winning tournaments.
"For a while there you had Tiger, you had Phil. You really didn't have a lot of stand-outs. They have a lot of talent spread across the age brackets now and they are sort of on the verge of being very strong again and winning major championships.
"So I don't think American golf is in bad shape."
Mickelson cited Fowler, Mahan, Jeff Overton, Anthony Kim and Jamie Lovemark and one of his playing partners for the first two days, Johnson, as Americans who could produce great results.
"We have a plethora of great players coming up and I think at the forefront is a guy like Dustin Johnson," Mickelson said. "This guy has got so much raw talent that I really enjoy playing with him because he's a fun guy and he's got all kinds of game."
Johnson does not worry about a power shift away from US talent when every rival, no matter his homeland, is a foe who must fall to win a major title.
"The American guys are playing really good," Johnson said. "A lot of things have to go right to win a major and obviously the guys that have won the last four majors have played really good golf. That's what you have to do to win a major."