"You don't have to run down the last stretch on a white stallion. You can limp in and say 'thanks for the trophy'."
Johnny Miller, golf commentator, 2006.
The 2006 US Open at Winged Foot.
Known for the collapse of multiple golfers over the finishing holes - handing the trophy to Australian Geoff Ogilvy, for his first and only major championship.
Phil Mickelson's collapse on 18 is the most widely remembered, given how man poor decisions he took, leading to comparisons with Jean van de Velde's all-time melt-down at Carnoustie in the 1999 British Open.
Such was 'Lefty's' screw up that it nearly overshadowed Colin Montgomerie's 18th hole, which also saw him make double and miss out on a play-off by a shot.
But not to be forgotten are Jim Furyk and our own Padraig Harrington - who is currently competing in the 2023 US Open at the Los Angeles Country Club.
While their collapses were not visceral and historically significant as the others, both men threw away precious opportunities to seal one of golf's four biggest tournaments.
How It Happened
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The Sunday at Winged Foot began with Mickelson and England's Kenneth Ferrie in the lead at two over par, with Ogilvy a shot back, Monty two shots further back, and Furyk and Harrington another shot back on six over.
Harrington was the first to tackle the final few holes, and after birdie's on 12 and 14, to get him to four over, he knew that finishing the final three on level par would likely see him into a play-off.
While he was wrong, as he could have afforded himself a bogey, it mattered not because he finished his round with three bogeys.
Furyk would bogey 15, leaving him on five over par going into the last, and knowing that par would give him a reasonable shout at a play-off. He to would make bogey.
Monty And Mickelson
Then came Monty, by then one of the European greats, an eight-time Order of Merit winner, but still searching for a first major, having finished runner-up on four previous occasions.
He would make a 50-foot birdie putt on 17, and in the knowledge that a par on the last and a four over finish in total would almost guarantee him a play-off and possibly the trophy.
However, despite an excellent drive, after hitting his approach he could be audibly heard saying "what shot was that", as his approach finished short, right and into deep rough. He chipped onto the green and three putted for a double.
Then came Mickleson. Playing in the final group, with Ogilvy in the clubhouse on five over, he knew that a par would give him the tournament outright.
His drive on 18 went miles left, and and unfortunately struck a grandstand. But instead of sensibly taking the easy route back to the fairway, and aim for the play-off, he tried to ride his luck once more but instead hit a tree, leaving himself in a similar position for his third shot.
From there he would land into bunker with a plugged 'fried egg' lie, from which he sent it through the green and into the rough, leaving himself needing a chip in for bogey and a play-off.
He would miss and hand the tournament to the patient Australian, who finished with four pars.
Padraig Harrington Takes Solace In Defeat
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For Padraig Harrington, the disappointment immediately after his round would only increase as he saw the leaders continue to falter.
However, while Mickelson is still searching to this day for that elusive US Open, having won the other three majors, and Monty finished his career as arguably the best ever golfer never to have won a major - Harrington would use his experience at Winged Foot to set himself up for his legendary run from 2007-2008 which saw him land three majors.
"I was playing the best golf of my life on Sunday, and I thought I needed three pars to win,” Harrington recalled.
“When I bogeyed 16, I panicked, thinking I needed to birdie 17 or 18, and as it turned out, I didn’t. I three-putted 18, took three from 25 feet.
"But I didn’t see it as a negative. It was the first time I played in a major where I felt like I could have won
"Bob Rotella came up to me afterward to console me, and I told him, ‘No, no, this is the greatest day of my life, because now I realize I can win majors without help from someone else’.
"It brought a huge amount of confidence. At Winged Foot, it was all part of a plan and it went the way it should have gone, it wasn’t out of the blue.
"It was, 'OK, let’s keep doing this and it will happen'."
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