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Phil Mickelson came close to winning the US Open several times in his career but could never cross the final hurdle. For the uninitiated, the US Open is the only major he has yet to win.
One such event was the 2006 US Open, where Mickelson fell short of the title due to his errors on the final few holes. Mickelson was the 54-hole joint leader with Kenneth Ferrie of England. At T3, Geoff Ogilvy and Colin Montgomerie, Ian Poulter, Vijay Singh, and Steve Stricker were tied for fourth.
Montgomerie had found his form again with a runner-up finish at the 2005 Open Championship. After a few highs and lows in the following year, he was in the US Open final round as one of the favorites to win it all.
Mickelson was coming to Winged Foot to claim his third straight major after securing wins at the 2005 PGA Championship and the 2006 Masters. Only Ben Hogan and Tiger Woods have won three straight majors in the history of golf.
Winged Foot is not the usual golf course, as Montgomerie was the only player in the first round to score under par. Mickelson and Furyk were just a stroke behind the Scotsman. In the second round, Steve Stricker took the single-stroke lead after carding 69 in the second round.
The third round was also high-scoring, as Montgomerie carded 5-over par to slip to T4 along with Stricker, who shot 76. Kenneth Ferrie and Phil Mickelson took a one-stroke lead after 54 holes. Ogilvy was unmoved at the third.
It was the final round that recorded one of the most thrilling final rounds of the major championships. Ogilvy started brilliantly and soon took the lead with birdies on the 5th and 6th holes. However, bogeys on the 8th and 9th meant he had to share the lead with Monty halfway through the round.
Phil Mickelson sank birdies on the 11th and 14th to take a two-stroke lead with just three holes to go. The dream of achieving a grand slam was just three holes away. However, on the 16th, he made a bogey after getting stuck on the greenside bunker. On the next, his shot landed on the tree side.
Montgomerie made a 75-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole to take the joint lead. On the final hole, he shot the ball 172 yards into the fairway and was all set for a win. After waiting and thinking for a while, he opted for a 7-iron and ended up missing the green and landing the shot into the rough. Eventually, he settled for a double bogey.
Mickelson needed a par to win the US Open or a bogey to go into the playoff. Unfortunately, his tee shot landed way left of the hospitality tent. His second shot hit the tree and landed just 23 meters away. His next shot found the greenside bunker, and then the next one went into the rough near the green.
Eventually, a double bogey in the final meant Mickelson's dream of winning the US Open was shattered once again. This was his fourth runner-up finish at the the event, and he went on to make two more second-place finishes.
Phil Mickelson said he was in shock at what had happened.
"I just can't believe I did that. I'm such an idiot," he said, as per ESPN.
This was Ogilvy's only major win of his career.
How many majors has Phil Mickelson won?
Phil Mickelson has won six majors in his career. He has won the Masters three times, the PGA Championship two times, and the Open Championship once. In 2021, he became the oldest major champion after winning the PGA Championship.
