South Africa's Retief Goosen took his second US Open title in a dramatic last-round shootout with Masters champion Phil Mickelson on Sunday.
In a gut-wrenching inward nine, Goosen held his nerve while Mickelson self-destructed on the short par-three 17th to hand the South African the title.
"It was tough. It was actually quite painful once you're out there and playing with the pressure," admitted Goosen, who won his first US Open in 2001. "It's a tough grind and all you're trying to do is stick to the game plan and try and stay away from big numbers."
Goosen and Mickelson were the only two players left who refused to buckle under the vicious conditions that had transformed Shinnecock Hills into a hell that left some of the world's best golfers shell-shocked.
Mickelson, looking for back-to-back majors, trailed throughout the round but finally went in front when he birdied the par-five 16th.
But Goosen, the third-round leader and playing directly behind him, matched Mickelson and went to the par-three 17th all square.
And it was on the 17th that Mickelson's dream was crushed.
The 34-year-old American hit his 6-iron tee shot into the left bunker. He blasted out to five-feet but saw his par putt slide seven-foot past.
Then was his heartbreak as his bogey putt slipped by and suddenly a stunned Mickelson was walking to the 18th tee two shots back.
"I don't know what happened on 17. It was not a hard shot out of the bunker," said Mickelson. "I hit an easy putt, hit it easy because I knew it was quick. But it still shouldn't have gone six, seven feet past."
All the while, Goosen was standing on the 17th tee watching the drama unfold.
The South African pulled his tee shot into the same bunker as Mickelson but splashed out to three feet and made no mistake with his par putt.
Only a rush of blood to the head could rob Goosen of his second US Open title and it never looked like coming as he drilled his drive down the 18th.
A 9-iron to 20 feet from the pin left him three putts for victory. He only needed two.
"Obviously it was easier coming up 18 with two shots lead instead of one. I really focused a lot on just getting down in two and make my par and let's go home," Goosen said.
It turned into a two-man race when Goosen and Mickelson reached the turn.
Goosen began the day with a two-shot cushion but being challenged by a cluster of players all within striking distance on a course where bogeys can strike in an instant.
But by the time Goosen and Mickelson two reached the turn, challengers Ernie Els, Fred Funk, Shigeki Maruyama, Tim Clark, Jeff Maggert and Mike Weir had all wilted over the punishing Shinnecock Hills course.
Els started the day three-under and eyeing a third US Open crown.
When he walk off the seventh green he had fallen to one-over for the championship. A double bogey on the eighth and his victory chances were all but shot. Els finished with a mind-numbing 10-over 80 for the day and seven-over for the championship.
Funk saw himself plunging from two-under to three over. Weir dropped four shots by the time he reached the turn, Maruyama four and Maggert only one but four back from Goosen.
Tiger Woods' Saturday dreams that he was firmly in with a chance despite starting nine shots back were quickly dashed as he reached the turn in four-over 39.
It did not get any better for the world number one as he continued to slip further and further back from the leaders.
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