Payne Stewart Wins U.S. Open

No one can ever say Payne Stewart doesn't know how to close out a U.S. Open.

Motivated by past failures, haunted by bizarre breaks that always seemed to go the other way, Stewart made a 15-foot par putt on the 18th hole Sunday at storied Pinehurst No. 2 to win the U.S. Open by one stroke over Phil Mickelson .

"All I wanted to do was give myself a chance," Stewart said. "I got the job done."

In the most dramatic U.S. Open of the decade, Stewart showed the mettle and patience required of its champion. One stroke behind with three holes to play, he made a 25-foot putt for par to catch Mickelson, a 3-foot birdie putt on No. 17 to take the lead, and then his 24th putt of the day to win the Open.

The USGA could not remember the last time a U.S. Open champion won on the 72nd hole with a putt longer than 3 feet. His head down through the ball, Stewart didn't look up until it was diving for the center of the cup.

"I couldn't believe my eyes," he said. "I couldn't believe I had accomplished my dream."

Stewart reacts after his 18-foot putt falls in for par giving him his second Open title. (Reuters)

Stewart, 42, closed with an even-par 70 in a steady drizzle and was the only man standing below par at the end of four perilous trips around Pinehurst No. 2. He finished at 279.

Mickelson, the expectant father who was willing to drop the pursuit of his first major if his wife went into labor in Arizona, winced as his 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th stopped just inches short.

"I think it would have made for a cool story for my daughter to read about as she got older," Mickelson said. "But this is still something special."

After the victory, Stewart grabbed both sides of Mickelson's face and said to him, "Good luck with the baby. There's nothing like being a father."

All Mickelson wants is to be called, "Daddy." Stewart denied him the opportunity to be called a U.S. Open champion.

"I could never give up," Stewart said, choking back tears. "Phil played unbelievable."

So did Tiger Woods, . He made a remarkable charge until a bogey on the par-3 17th stopped him. Woods had a 70 and tied for third at 281 with PGA champion Vijay Singh, whose 69 was one of only two rounds under par Sunday.

It was the third straight year the U.S. Open chapion won his second title of the decade. Stewart also won at Hazeltine in 1991 after an 18-hole playoff with Scott Simpson, which featured a two-shot swing on the 16th hole.

This one was even more breathtaking. All along the back nine as they worked their way through the fairways that Donald Ross carved through the Carolina pines 92 years ago, the anticipation built with every shot.

Mickelson looked as steady as Lee Janzen. , who he defeated Stewart at Baltusrol in 1993 and Olympic Club last year. He looked as confident as Raymond Floyd, who surged past Stewart to win at Shinnecock Hills in 1986.

Stewart was scrambling by the seat of his plus-fours with a remarkable display of putting.

"I just wasn't going to hand it to him," he said.

Standing in the 16th fairway, Mickelson thought the Open was his to lose.

He failed to get up-and-down from the rough on No. 16, missing a 6-footer for his only bogey of the day that dropped him into a tie with Stewart. Then, Stewart hit a 6-iron to 3 feet on the 17th, and Mickelson changed his thinking.

"As soon as Payne hit that ball on 17, that was the first time I realized he could beat me," Mickelson said. "I realized that par might not be good enough."

It almost was when Stewart's drive caught a bad lie in the rough on the closing hole. He had no shot at the green from such a mangled lie and knew better than to bring trouble into play by trying.

He laid up and hit a lob wedge into 15 feet, the kind of distance that gave him what he wanted a chance to win the Open.

"The putts that Payne made on 16 and 18 showed what a great champion he is," Mickelson said.

Stewart thrust his fist in the air, turned to caddie Mike Hicks and shouted in disbelief, perhaps exorcising the demons of U.S. Opens past.

He has had at least a share of the lead 11 times after any of the first three rounds, more than any player in history. He finally reaped the rewards Sunday.

It was the first time since 1993 that a 54-hole leader hung on to win without a playoff. Stewart earned $625,000 for his 11th career victory. He now has three majors, having won the PGA Championship in 1989, and became only the 13th player to win two Opens.

David Duval, who started the final round only three strokes back, butchered the par 3s on the front once again and finished with his second 75 for the weekend. He tied for seventh, barely enough to keep his No. 1 ranking over Woods.

The only thing that kept Woods out of the playoff was his putter.

"I hit a lot of lips today," Woods said. "That's just the way it goes sometimes, but it all evens out in the end, because I made a lot of putts this entire week for par."

Woods had a chance to get within one stroke of the lead standing over a 12-foot birdie putt on No. 12. He grazed the ip, then missed the 2-footer coming back.

But he never backed down. Woods dropped to his knees when his 20-foot birdie putt curled into the cup on No. 14, then sent a roar that resounded across Pinehurst with a 12-foot birdie putt on 489-yard 16th, one of only three birdies Sunday on the longest par 4 in U.S. Open history.

One stroke back, two holes to play. Then, his chances were over.

Woods missed a 5-foot par putt on the 17th after hitting in the bunker. His only hope was a 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th, but it slid by on the right, and Woods leaned over on the putter as if falling on his sword.

"I'm glad he made that putt on 18 because I'll be sleeping a little bit better tonight," Woods said.

The U.S. Open felt more like the British Open when final round began. Temperatures were in the mid-60s about 20 degrees below normal as a steady drizzle fell from the quiet, overcast skies.

Slightly softer conditions yielded more than just an occasional par. Then again, disaster was always waiting around the severely sloped edges of the domed greens.

John Daly was so disgusted after his shot up the slope began rolling back to his feet for the second time that he whacked the ball with his putter as it was still moving a two-stroke penalty

and finally walked off the eighth green with an 11.

"I don't consider the U.S. Open a major any more," Daly said.

He was never in the picture Sunday. But the real pain belonged to Duval.

Duval was only one stroke out of the lead after just three holes and, just like the Masters, was poised for a dramatic Sunday move. Then, just like the Masters, his collapse came with shocking suddenness.

After missing two 5-foot par putts, Duval suffered another double bogey on a par 3 blasting from the sand over the green, watching helplessly as a chip rolled back to his feet. For the week, he was 7 over on the frontside par 3s.

"The (bunker) shot on No. 9 proves this isn't a game of 'deserves,' because I certainly didn't deserve that," Duval said. "But the game doesn't care."

Stewart could argue that he didn't deserve his fate in previous U.S. Opens. Even after blowing a four-stroke lead last year, he was determined to return to the top.

Olympic Club has reputation of being the "Graveyard of Champions." Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson also squandered chances there, and never won another major.

Stewart rose from the depths and reclaimed his stature as a champion.

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