Rose Blooms, Lefty Wilts

Associated Press

ARDMORE, Pa.

Justin Rose could see all the pieces coming together in this U.S. Open.

The sun was breaking through the clouds Sunday evening at Merion as he stood in the 18th fairway with a one-shot lead.

That famous Ben Hogan plaque was in front of him, a road marker bronze that one pure swing and two putts might be all that stood between Rose and his first major championship.

That and Phil Mickelson in the final group behind him.

Rose followed his script to perfection with a par. So did Mickelson, who can’t seem to win a U.S. Open no matter how hard he tries.

Rose drilled a 4-iron just through the green and used a 3-wood to bunt the ball to an inch of the cup for par. Mickelson, who made two careless bogeys on the back nine, needed a birdie on an 18th hole that didn’t yield a single one all weekend at Merion.

“What a piece of silverware to be sitting to my right,” Rose said, gazing at the shiny trophy after closing with an even-par 70. “It’s just an incredible experience and a childhood dream come true at this point.”

It was a recurring nightmare for Mickelson, extending his record collection of silver medals in the major he covets.

“Heartbreak,” Mickelson said on his 43rd birthday. “This is tough to swallow after coming so close. This was my best chance of all. I had a golf course I really liked. I felt this was as good as opportunity as you could ask for. It really hurts.”

With remarkable poise and three pure swings under pressure, Rose became the first Englishman in 43 years to win America’s national championship.

Mickelson extended his U.S. Open record with his sixth runner-up finish, and this one stung. It was the first time he had the outright lead going into the final round. He holed a wedge out of deep rough for an eagle to take back the lead as he headed to the back nine.

But he flew the green with a wedge on the par-3 13th hole and made bogey on the easiest hole at Merion. He tried to hit wedge off the green on the 15th hole to give him a good shot at par, only he hit it so hard he made another bogey. And he never caught up. He wonders if he’ll ever get another chance.

“At 43 and coming so close five times, it would have changed the way I look at this tournament altogether and the way I would have looked at my record,” Mickelson said, dreaming one last time of winning. “Except that I just keep feeling heartbreak.”

Rose was pacing in the scoring area, waiting for Mickelson to finish, wondering if he could catch him. At one point, he looked above the TV to that famous photo of Hogan hitting 1-iron into the 18th green in the 1950 U.S. Open to set up a playoff that he won the next day.

“When I walked over the hill and saw my drive sitting perfectly in the middle of the fairway, with the sun coming out, it was kind of almost fitting,” Rose said. “And I just felt like at that point it was a good iron shot onto the green, two putts — like Hogan did — and possibly win this championship. So I felt like I did myself justice, and probably put enough of a good swing where Ben Hogan might have thought it was a decent shot, too.”

As usual, someone’s big moment in the U.S. Open came at Mickelson’s expense.

All the stars were aligned. None of the putts fell in.

Lefty somehow blasted out of the rough to 8 feet on the 16th hole, but he missed the putt. His tee shot on the par-3 17th was just short enough that it didn’t catch the funnel toward the hole, and he missed a long birdie putt. From the rough left of the 18th fairway, he couldn’t quite reach the green and to chip in from about 40 yards.

With his caddie tending the flag, Mickelson’s chip raced by the cup, and Rose was the U.S. Open champion.

Mickelson wound up with a bogey on the 18th for a 74 and tied for second with Jason Day, who closed with a 71.

The last Englishman to win the U.S. Open was Tony Jacklin at Hazeltine in 1970, though Rose added to recent dominance of the Union Jack at the U.S. Open as the third winner in four years. The others were Graeme McDowell (2010) and Rory McIlroy (2011) of Northern Ireland.