Mickelson, 45, was just about to turn 24 when he missed the cut at the 1995 Kemper Open, dropping to 26th in the world. A week later he tied for fourth at the U.S. Open at Shinnecock -- the start of a number of close calls in that tournament -- and moved to 21st in the world.
He didn't drop out of the top 25 again until Monday.
How long ago was it that Mickelson was last out of the top 25?
At the time of the U.S. Open in 1995, Tiger Woods was still at Stanford. No. 1 Jordan Spieth was more than a month away from turning 2. Nick Price was ranked No. 1 in the world with Greg Norman No. 2. And Jack Nicklaus, then 55, was to play in his 134th consecutive major championship on his way to playing in 146 in a row through the 1998 U.S. Open. Lee Janzen was coming off a victory at the Kemper Open, and Corey Pavin would win the U.S. Open. John Daly led the PGA Tour in driving distance at 289 yards (Dustin Johnson averaged 315 last season) in 1995. Norman won the money title with more than $1.6 million (Spieth won more than $12 million last season) and tied Janzen for the tour lead in victories with three.
