Surprise win at Shinnecock

If there was to be a South African champion at the 104th US Open at Shinnecock Hills, most people would have betted on Ernie Els. They would at best have put Retief Goosen for a shot in top five. Goosey, after all, won the US Open at Southern Hills in 2001.

The pre-tournament favourites were all the same: Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson. But not Goosen. Yet, he now has one Major more than Mickelson and the same as Vijay Singh.

Goosen also joined a select group of players, which includes the likes of Lee Janzen, the late Payne Stewart, Tiger Woods and Ernie Els who have a pair of US Opens.

The championship was won and lost on the 71st hole, where the Masters champion Phil Mickelson "messed" it up and Goosen kept up his amazing putting form that saw him go through the final round with just 24 putts.

Goosen played his final round with close-friend Els, and now both have become South Africa's multiple Major winners. Goosen knows a thing or two about coming back.

Goosen, who was once struck by lightning, has spent a lot of time recovering his strength which was greatly affected by the near electrocution. In the mid 1990s, both he and Els were merely seen as promising players. While Goosen recovered, Els went on to win the US open in 2001.

Now the tough South African has made sure that he has a place in the books. Goosen said, "I've reached a point where I feel like I can only play my best golf when I'm really under the cosh (pressure)."

Goosen closed with a four-round total of four-under 276 with a closing 71 that saw him finish two strokes ahead of Phil Mickelson, who also had a 71. Jeff Maggert was a further three shots behind in third after a 72.

Mickelson had to endure the tag of being the "best player never to have won a Major" for years till he won the Masters earlier in the season. And now he was going two-for-two in Majors.

And it may well have been within his grasp but for the two short putts he missed on the same hole "" the 71st of the championsips. First a miss from five that saw him lose the lead and then the four-foot one which virtually ended his chances. A double bogey, it was, where it should have been a par.

Six months ago, that would have been marked down as yet another "blow-out" for Mickelson. But this time it was just seen more like a close call than a blown opportunity.

Goosen said, "I thought it was going to come down to the 18th hole. I didn't really expect Phil to make a double (bogey) at 17."

What made the difference was that as Mickelson stood to save his par, Goosen birdied, making his rival's putts seem longer. The man, who best understood Mickelson at that stage was Jack Nicklaus, whose 18 tally of 18 Majors may have been far greater but for the 19 seconds in Majors, including four at the US Open.

Nicklaus was quoted as saying, "It (Goosen's birdie) made Phil's putt a lot longer. I've had it happen to me many times. You miss that first one, and suddenly you get frozen over the second. Because of what's going through your mind at the time, it's difficult to prepare yourself for the second putt. It's a shame for Phil because he played a wonderful US Open."

Mickelson now has three second-place finishes in the last six US Opens besides a second at the 2001 PGA Championships.

For the final round at Shinnecock, the USGA seemed to set up the course to protect the par for the course. The result was that 28 players failed to break 80 and the best final round was an even par 70 by Robert Allenby.

Tiger Woods, who finished 14 shots behind Goosen, said that the USGA had "lost control of the course" and cited that the first green, where players who had had four-footers for par, were hitting their fifth from rough as the ball simply rolled as if on a marble table.

Els came into the final day with a chance to overhaul Woods and become No 1. In order to oust Woods, Els needed to win the championship and hope that Woods finished outside top six. But with a 10-over 80 slid, Els though did hang on to his second position in world rankings behind Woods, who has been there for 254 weeks.

A final word. Goosen's win also means that nine different players have won the last nine majors since Woods's victory at the 2002 Open at Bethpage State Park's Black Course. And Woods is not one of them. After winning eight Majors by the age 26, he is zero for eight in his last eight Majors. Can he turn the tide at the Royal Troon?