SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. - Phil Mickelson lumbered to the 17th tee with that goofy grin and a one-stroke lead in the U.S. Open.

The New Yawkers were going bonkers, thoroughly convinced that Lefty - the Southern Californian turned one of their own - was going to win another major championship.

Then, without warning, the old Phil returned at Shinnecock Hills on Sunday. The shaky putter. Two excruciating misses. An opportunity lost.

Instead of Mickelson, it was Retief Goosen who hoisted the trophy on the 18th green as Open champion. The masses cheered politely, but their heart wasn't in it.

Their man was Phil.

The runner-up.

"I really thought it was going to be my day," Mickelson said.

Goosen shot a 1-over 71 for a two-stroke victory, his second Open title in four years secured with a performance that would have made Houdini proud.

The South African kept getting into trouble - in the high grass, in the sand - but escaped time and time again with his putter. On 12 of the 18 greens, the Goose walked away after using it only once.

"I had people yelling at me on just about every hole. 'Retief's in the bunker' and 'Retief's in the rough,'" Mickelson said. "Then I would look up at the scoreboard and see he was making pars. I don't know if that was good information or not."

It was.

Mickelson's putter had worked fine all week - until he got to 17.

After flying a shot out of the bunker a little too far, he missed a tricky downhill putt from 5 feet to save par. Then he yanked a 4-footer coming back, finally tapping in for double bogey.

One hole back, Goosen had finished off another one-putt birdie, then walked over to 17 to watch Mickelson self-destruct.

"He was putting for par when I was on the tee," Goosen said. "And I saw him miss that."

Goosen teed off with a two-stroke lead instead of a one-shot deficit, also putting his shot in the sand. Unlike Mickelson, he managed to get up-and-down for par, securing a special place in golf history.

One major can be a fluke. Two is the sign of greatness.

Goosen will no longer be just the guy who three-putted from 12 feet on the 72nd hole in the 2001 Open, forcing him to win an 18-hole playoff against Mark Brooks the next day.

Now, Goosen is one of just 22 players to win golf's toughest test twice.

How tough? No one broke par on the final day. Twenty-eight players - including two-time Open champ Ernie Els - failed to break 80.

"It was actually quite painful," Goosen said.

Not as painful as it was for Mickelson, who broke through for his first major title at the Masters two months ago, then fell back into a disturbing habit.

This was his third runner-up finish in the Open. The first two came while he was going through an 0-for-42 frustration as a pro in the majors, a decade-long stretch that turned him into golf's most beloved loser.

This was supposed to be the new Phil - the course manager instead of the wild risk-taker. He's worked diligently on his short game, not ending practice until he sank 100 straight 3-foot putts.

Maybe he should start working on the 4- and 5-footers.

"This is a championship I really want to win, so it's disappointing," said Mickelson, who closed with a 71 that could have been a 69. "But I also feel like I played well in some very difficult conditions."

Indeed, Mickelson shouldn't hang his head too low. He was one of only two players to break par, managing a 2-under 278 that was eclipsed only by Goosen's 276.

Mickelson surged into the lead for the first time all day with a stretch of three birdies in four holes, capped with a short putt at the par-5 16th that sent the gallery into another Phil phrenzy.

If nothing else, he was the people's champion.

Goosen knew that better than anyone. He hit a brilliant shot at the devilish par-3 seventh, getting muted applause from a gallery that then erupted when Mickelson teed off on the next hole.

"I respect that he's a great player, and everybody would like him to win," Goosen said. "There were people out there supporting me as well. But obviously, everybody was behind Phil."

True to his reputation as the most unflappable player around, Goosen two-putted from the fringe at 18 and celebrated like he had just won the John Deere Classic - not the U.S. Open.

A tip of the cap. A wave. A smile.

That's about it.

"I really focused a lot on just getting down in two, make my par and let's go home," Goosen said.

A lot of people felt that way after being overwhelmed by Shinnecock Hills. The fairways were crusty. The greens sloped in all directions and could've passed for concrete. The late-arriving wind made things even tougher on the final day.

Many golfers grumbled that the U.S. Golf Association had finally gone too far, setting up impossible conditions that made a mockery of the game. Especially at No. 7, the 189-yard "Redan" hole, where the tiny blades of grass wilted away before the final round even began. The first two players took triple bogey when they couldn't keep their drives on the severely sloped green. Maintenance workers resorted to hosing down the grass between groups just to keep it alive.

"I felt like I played some of the best golf in my life," Mickelson told reporters. "I hit some great shots. I putted better than I've ever putted. And still I didn't shoot par. You tell me."

It was essentially a two-man race. Jeff Maggert was third, five strokes behind the winner. Mike Weir and Shigeki Maruyama were eight shots back in a tie for fourth.

Tiger Woods closed with a 76, his highest score in the Open since turning pro and leaving him 14 strokes behind Goosen. The only solace was keeping the No. 1 world ranking that Woods has held since August 1999.

As for Mickelson, at least he still has that green jacket.

"Having now won a major, I don't have to answer the same questions about being second again," Mickelson said. "I played very well in difficult conditions and came so close."

AP-ES-06-21-04 0111EDT