Phil Mickelson's shocking PGA Championship win opens the door for a shot to get the one prize that still eludes him

• Phil Mickelson won $2.16 million for his victory at the PGA Championship over the weekend.
• It also comes with a prize that might mean more - entry to the U.S. Open for the next five years.
• Mickelson needs only a win at the U.S. Open to join the most exclusive club in the sport.

Phil Mickelson turned back the clock at the 2021 PGA Championship, holding off one of the most talented fields in golf.

It was Mickelson's second time winning the Wannamaker Trophy, the sixth major victory of his career, and his first major win since the 2013 Open Championship. Mickelson earned just north of $2 million for his play - not bad for four days' work.

For a player of Mickelson's wealth and stature, the money may not have been the most important prize.

Mickelson also earned automatic invites to the other three majors on the golf calendar for the next five years, although he only needed the US Open. Mickelson already has lifetime invitations to the Masters and the Open Championship, thanks to previous wins at those majors.

But the one prize that has eluded Mickelson his entire career, the U.S. Open, is now back in play, and with it, the chance to join the most exclusive club in all of golf.

Just five men in the sport's history have completed the career grand slam, winning all four majors at least once in their career - Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, and Gene Sarazen.

Beyond them, three active players are just one major shy of joining the group. Rory McIlroy still needs a green jacket from the Masters, Jordan Spieth still needs a PGA Championship, and Phil Mickelson needs a win at the U.S. Open.

Mickelson has come tantalizingly close to climbing the mountain before, having finished in second at the U.S. Open six times in his career. But heading into the 2021 season, it felt as though Mickelson's hopes of completing the career slam were fading fast.

Due to a stretch of lackluster play over the past few years, Mickelson's world ranking had dropped low enough that he did not automatically qualify for the 2021 U.S. Open.

Mickelson had gone as far as to accept a special exemption into the tournament field from the USGA. However, now he doesn't have to worry about getting an invite for the next five years.

Mickelson is now in the field at the U.S. Open, but whether or not he can win the tournament that has escaped his grasp his entire career is another story.

Torrey Pines hosts this year's U.S. Open, a course he's won at three times in his career, but not since 2001.

Other courses that will host the tournament in the near future could also fit Mickelson's style of play well, including Los Angeles Country Club in 2023 and Pinehurst in 2024.

Mickelson is already a legend in golf, his legacy as one of the best to ever play the game secured through a career's worth of work. But if he can breakthrough at the U.S. Open to complete his career grand slam, he'll write his name into the history books in a way that can never be erased.