ARDMORE, Pa. (AP) — Unable to arrange a private meeting, Sergio Garcia left Tiger Woods a note in his locker Tuesday at the U.S. Open with hopes of moving on from his racially charged comment and getting back to playing golf.

“I did leave him a note — a handwritten note,” Garcia said. “And hopefully, he can take a look at it. It’s a big week and I understand that it’s difficult to meet up and stuff. So hopefully, I’ll be able to do it. If not, at least he has read the note and he’s happy with that.”

The note presumably was an apology — Garcia said it would be up to Woods to share the contents.

It was the latest — and perhaps final — chapter in a messy feud that ended badly for the Spaniard when he jokingly said at awards dinner in England that he would invite Woods over for dinner during the U.S. Open. “We will serve fried chicken,” Garcia said.

He apologized to Woods and everyone he offended in a news conference the next day and said he left a message for Woods through his agent.

Garcia approached him on the practice range Monday at Merion for a handshake, and little more.

“We didn’t discuss anything,” Woods said. “Just came up and said, ‘Hi,’ and that was it.”

Asked if Garcia apologized, Woods said, “No. It’s already done. We’ve already gone through it all. It’s time for the U.S. Open, and we tee it up in two days.”

That handshake might be their only meeting this week.

Garcia said the range on Monday was not the right time to apologize to Woods, but that the world’s No. 1 player was gone when Garcia was done practicing, and the opening day of U.S. Open practice was delayed three times by rain.

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McIlroy hopes he’s shaping up into Open contender: ARDMORE, Pa. (AP) — Rory McIlroy is thinking of running the Rocky steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art while he’s in town for the U.S. Open.

He wants to rediscover his winning ways, and if that’s what it takes he’ll do it.

First, though, he needs to find the eye of the tiger, even at the risk of catching Tiger’s eye.

McIlroy will be part of the feature group the opening two rounds, playing alongside Tiger Woods and Adam Scott — Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in the world ranking.

McIlroy won the 2012 PGA championship on Kiawah Island to go along with his U.S. Open title in 2011. But McIlroy started this season in a slump and still hasn’t won. He hopes to change that this week at Merion Golf Club.

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Mickelson leaves Open for daughter’s graduation: ARDMORE, Pa. (AP) — Phil Mickelson always knew he would be home in San Diego the day before the U.S. Open at Merion. Wet weather put him home a little early.

His daughter, Amanda, is graduating from the eighth grade on Wednesday and is a featured speaker. Mickelson left early due to rain at Merion, giving him a few days of practice in pristine weather.

He will fly back after the ceremony, in time for him to tee off at 7:11 a.m. at Merion.

Amanda is his oldest daughter. She was born the day after the 1999 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2, where Mickelson carried a beeper and pledged to withdraw if his wife had gone into labor. That was the first of his record five runner-up finishes in the U.S. Open.