Look at the background of nearly every 18th-green trophy ceremony at the men's majors and you'll be hard-pressed to see more than one woman in the sea of faces.
"I think if I hole a few putts this week I can stand there on Sunday, hopefully on the 18th green lifting the trophy".
Mickelson made his way to the 18th green and the trophy presentation, where he received a silver medal along with his fellow second-place finishers, David Duval and Ricky Barnes.
Bill Haas made the long walk across a makeshift bridge and under the grandstands to the 18th green for the trophy presentation, high-fiving children along the railing and raising his cap to the thousands of fans who cheered as they saw him coming.
But standing on the green during the trophy presentation, his head turning side to side as he took in the scene, it was easy to imagine that Mickelson knew in that moment that the ceremony and the celebration could have been for him.
He missed Forest Green's FA Trophy tie against Redditch United because of a hamstring injury, as well as the semi-final of the Conference League Cup against Woking.
No minor detail for a player who spent most of his career battling perceptions of apathy towards the biennial competition, the persistent sense that he cared more about winning Claret Jugs and green jackets than a trophy that emphasises the collective over the individual.
But, as a motivator, it does not lead to a green jacket, a United States Open trophy, a claret jug or a Wanamaker Trophy.
The Edge, a tower in the Zuidas business district of Amsterdam, has just won an Urban Land Institute Global Award for Excellence for its green approach, on top of trophies and a 98.36% sustainability score from British environmental agency BREEAM.
THE GREEN JACKET There is no better trophy in golf.
"I could focus in on the trophy on the 18th green, which was the main thing.
