Retief Goosen of South Africa missed an 18-inch putt for par on the last hole that would have given him the U.S. Open title on Sunday and instead made a bogey to set up an 18-hole playoff with Mark Brooks.
Goosen had fired a 6-iron dead at the flag on the treacherous 18th green with a 12-foot putt for birdie awaiting him.
The title and $900,000 top prize appeared to be his as Stewart Cink, with whom he was tied at five-under, had hit his approach into deep rough on the left side.
Cink chiped out weakly and barely missed his putt for par. Then, putting out so that Goosen could finish triumphantly, Cink shockingly missed his bogey putt due to an apparent lapse of concentration.
The double-bogey dropped Cink out of a tie with Brooks at four under par.
Then it was Goosen's turn to provide a shocker. Needing two putts to ice the victory from 12 feet, Goosen hit his first putt firmly by the hole on the right.
With Cink's startling miss fresh on everyone's mind, the South African made his own amazing gaffe by missing from about 18 inches as he missed off the right edge.
Goosen then collected himself before sinking the last one-footer coming back to finish at four-under and in a tie with an utterly surprised Brooks.
"I don't understand what went wrong with the second putt," Goosen said afterwards. "The third one was probably the hardest of all.
"Tomorrow is going to be a very interesting day, but I'm not worried about it. I like this course and I'm looking forward to playing it again."
Said Brooks: "I'm in shock right now. It's shocking. I really feel bad for him.
"I had already cleaned out my locker and was ready to go."
The 18-hole playoff, the first since a three-way playoff at the 1994 U.S. Open at Oakmont, will begin at 11.00 a.m. (1700 Irish time). Goosen finished with a one-over-par 71, while Brooks shot an even-par 70 to finish tied at four-under-par 276.
Reuters