Lenny Ignelzi, Associated Press
	Retief Goosen, of South Africa, kisses the U.S. Open trophy after winning the championship yesterday at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y. MORE COVERAGE Gerry Dulac: U.S. Open grind tests resolve U.S. Open Notebook: Woods -- Golf course was out of control

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. -- Retief Goosen, who once missed a 2-foot putt to win the U.S. Open, didn't have to worry this time. When he reached the final hole at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, awash in the setting sun over Long Island, he needed only to three-putt from 20 feet to win the 104th U.S. Open. On a day of treachery, though, nothing was a given.

Goosen never flinched. The man who was once struck by lightning proved lightning can strike again by winning his second Open championship in four years. And he did it by surviving Shinnecock Hills -- the toughest thing on Long Island since Bob Nystrom -- and the adopted son of New York, Phil Mickelson.

When he sank a 4-foot par putt on the final hole, Goosen stood as more than a repeat champion of the U.S. Open, the 21st multiple winner in history. After finishing at 4-under 276, two shots ahead of Mickelson, he displayed the same resolve he displayed three years ago when he came back from his final-day disaster to beat Mark Brooks in an 18-hole playoff.

"My main goal was to two-putt there and enjoy it," Goosen said. "It was a little easier coming up with a two-shot lead rather than one."

That might have been the easiest thing he had to do all day.

In a round when 28 players shot 80 or higher and the scoring average was 78.7, Goosen and Mickelson were the only players under par. They each shot 71 on a day when the lowest score was 70 by Robert Allenby.

But, when it was all over, Goosen stood as the champion, thanks to a reliable putter -- he one-putted 11 times in the final round -- and a crippling double bogey at the par-3 17th by Mickelson, a Masters champion who was beginning to put on an Augusta-like charge.

"I really thought Ernie [Els] was going to be the guy I had to watch out for," said Goosen, who has won four times on the PGA Tour. "It turned out to be my day."

Els, though, was like a lot of other players on this day. He shot 80 to finish tied for ninth at 287. Tiger Woods, who hasn't won a major since the 2002 U.S. Open, shot a final-round 76 to finished tied for 17th at 290. It was the sixth major in a row in which Woods has finished over par.

"If you were out there watching me, I really grinded," Woods said. "I did the best I could. That's the best I could end up with today. [But] that golf course got out of control."

Mickelson's chance to become only the sixth player to win the Masters and U.S. Open in the same year ended at No. 17, a 179-yard par 3, when he bunkered his tee shot and three-putted from 5 feet for double bogey.

Curiously, it looked as though Mickelson was putting on the same kind of charge he engineered at Augusta National, when he birdied three of the final four holes to catch Ernie Els and win the green jacket. He trailed Goosen by three shots with six holes to play when he birdied three of the next four holes to take a one-shot lead.

"It's as disappointing to lose as thrilling as it was to win the Masters," Mickelson said. "To play better than everybody but one guy was disappointing."

It was the third time in six years Mickelson has finished second in the U.S. Open. He lost to the late Payne Stewart in 1999 at Pinehurst and was second to Tiger Woods two years ago at Bethpage Black. Mickelson also finished second to David Toms at the 2001 PGA Championship.

"This is my third second," Mickelson said. "It's kind of like having the wind taken out of you when you come so close. I'm proud the way I played, just disappointed it wasn't enough."

The day belonged to Goosen, almost right from the start. The third-round leader never lost his advantage until Mickelson birdied No. 16, but he reclaimed a share of the lead minutes later when he made a 10-foot birdie at the same hole.

Then he did what seemed like a difficult chore at Shinnecock -- parred two holes in a row to claim the $1,125,000 first prize.

After Mickelson, the next-closest pursuer was Jeff Maggert, who finished third at 281 after a final-round 72.

"I can't worry that somebody played better than me," said Mickelson, who finished at 278. "Retief played some great golf. I thought 2 under would have won by two, maybe three, and it just didn't."

Mickelson trailed by three shots after he bogeyed No. 12 and Goosen birdied the par-3 11th from 4 feet. But, as he did on the back nine at Augusta, he never quit coming.

Mickelson got a shot back at the par-4 13th, when he hit a wedge to 25 feet for birdie. Then, after he birdied the 403-yard 15th from 15 feet, Goosen bogeyed the 14th -- he sank a 15-footer to avoid a double -- to drop into a tie.

But, at No. 16, the hole that likely cost Mickelson a shot at winning the '95 Open at Shinnecock, Mickelson birdied again, this time from 6 feet, to take a one-shot lead. Nine years ago, Mickelson played the hole in 6-over par for four rounds. This week, he was 2 under on the hole, a difference of eight shots.

"After I birdied 16, I really thought it was going to be my day," Mickelson said.

Goosen, though, wasn't about to quit. He made a 10-foot birdie at No. 16 to tie Mickelson and heighten the drama for the final two holes.

Then came the decisive moment.

At the par-3 17th, Mickelson bunkered his tee shot for the second day in a row. But he had a good lie in the trap and blasted out to 5 feet.

"It wasn't that hard of a shot," Mickelson said. "I thought I hit a pretty good shot."

Mickelson, though, never touched the hole on his first putt, and the ball rolled 5 feet past the cup. Then, he missed the putt coming back, again not touching the hole.

"I hit an easy putt because I knew it was quick, but it still shouldn't have gone 6 or 7 feet by," Mickelson said. "The wind certainly took the first putt. It broke quite a bit the other way, left to right, and the wind was right to left. It affected it quite a bit and kept taking it down the hill."