PINEHURST, N.C. - No one present for the last twosome's 72nd and final hole of the 99th U.S. Open will ever forget the thoughts and emotions of the moment.
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| Payne Stewart lets it all hang out after winning his second U.S. Open title. |
A mist landing on the moist 18th green of the Pinehurst No. 2 course seemed to be the only sound early Sunday evening. Not a peep could be heard as more than 30,000 tightly packed spectators held their breath while Payne Stewart lined up his 15-foot putt.
Phil Mickelson stood nearby, ready to congratulate Stewart no matter whether he made or missed the putt. He was considering the two options, one of which was about to happen.
"I was thinking, 'Gosh, if it goes in, I'm going home tonight and I'm going to see (my wife) Amy,' " said Mickelson. "And if it doesn't, then I've got to stick around for another day (and the playoff), and I hope that the baby doesn't come."
Phil and Amy Mickelson's impending parenthood and how it affected this Open was an intriguing story all week. But as Stewart bent over his putt, attention was on just one man. All thoughts were on what was going through the mind of someone who could win the U.S. Open with one smooth stroke of his putter.
All, that is, except for the man himself.
"I was just telling myself to trust my read and get the putt up to the hole," Stewart said. "I had hit some putts in that area of the green during my practice rounds earlier in the week. I knew that even though it looks like a little knoll up there will make the ball break to the left, that I needed to hit it inside left edge 'cause it slides to the right."
He was right.
The 15-foot uphill putt broke slightly to the right as it died into the heart of the cup. Stewart was Open champion again, following on his 1991 victory and making up for last year when he led the Open by four strokes the final day only to finish second.
"I don't know high I jumped after hitting it," said Stewart. "But I know it felt so good right then to accomplish what I did."
As the ball disappeared into the cup, canceling anyone's plans for an 18-hole playoff that would have been held Monday between Stewart and Mickelson, Stewart punched the air and screamed in celebration along with the gallery. His caddie, Mike Hicks, leaped into his arms in celebration, and the two hugged for several long moments.
Afterward, Stewart credited his wife Tracey with helping him win his third major.
"She watched me play on TV yesterday and told me afterward that I was moving my head," Stewart said. "She said I kept looking up too fast to see if I was going to hit em or not."
Tracey Stewart, standing near the 18th green as her husband made his final stroke, didn't get a chance to see much after noticing that Payne kept his head still on the winning putt.
"Everyone jumped up and I couldn't see anything for the longest time," she said. "People have been telling me about all the hugging that was going on, but I didn't see any of it."
That hugging included Stewart grasping Mickelson and sharing some words while the crowd continued to roar over the drama that had just played itself out.
"He just said he's really happy for me and Amy expecting our first child," said Mickelson. "He's really excited for us. Payne is a very thoughtful individual, and I have a lot of respect for him on and off the course."
A respect now shared by anyone present for the moment.
