PHIL MICKELSON came up short in a US Open for a record fifth time as Lucas Glover held his nerve to claim a surprise two-shot victory on a dramatic final day.
Glover had started the day with a five-shot lead over the field at seven under par alongside co-leader Ricky Barnes as the rain-delayed championship moved into a fifth day at Bethpage Black in New York.
Barnes faded with six bogeys in seven holes
and Glover was caught by Mickelson and David Duval at four under and three under, while England's Ross Fisher also challenged.
Yet Glover's rivals fell away at the most crucial time of all, all bogeying either the 15th or 17th holes or both as 29-year-old Glover stayed calm to win at the 109th US Open.
"I didn't expect this on Thursday, to say the least," Glover said. "But I was playing well coming in and I knew if I put four (rounds) together I might have a chance."
Glover, with one previous victory on the PGA Tour in 2005, won his first major with a one-birdie, four-bogey final-round, three-over 73, good enough to hold off Mickelson (70), Duval (71) and Barnes (76) by two strokes.
Mickelson, who moves ahead of four-time runners-up Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Robert Trent Jones Jr and Sam Snead, will now step away from the game to be with his wife, Amy, who begins treatment for breast cancer on July 1.
"Certainly I'm disappointed, but now that it's over, I've got more important things going on," Mickelson said.
Fisher finished fifth, his best major finish, a further shot behind following a 72 with 2008 winner Tiger Woods tied for sixth at level par.
