Golf: The Iceman Cometh.

At the final round of 104th U.S. Open, the immense crowds at Shinnecock Hills on Long Island were pulling for one man, and one man only.

That man, of course, was Phil Mickelson, the loveable lefty, who looked primed to win back-to-back major championships after so much heart break in 40 previous majors.

The crowd for most of the final round envisioned what it would be like for Mickelson to be walking up 18 with the U.S. Open championship in his back pocket.

Too bad Retief Goosen had to ruin the party.

Goosen played some of the best clutch golf ever witnessed on Sunday to win his second U.S. open title in four years.

Let us not forget how difficult Shinnecock was playing on Sunday, because it seemed like almost each competitor was slaying a dragon.

Throughout the day, Goosen performed some clutch, gutsy shots.

The first came on the 13th when he pushed his ball off the tee to the right.

Then, he turned a bad situation to an even worse one when he hit his approach shot dead left into the gallery.

At this point, bogey looked like a pretty good score and that par was completely out of the question.

Goosen defied these odds, and hit a gutsy pitch to within a few feet of the hole.

After holing the par putt, he had some momentum going to the 14th where he won the U.S. Open.

Sure, Goosen's birdie on 16th pulled him even with Mickelson, but it was on the 14th where he turned another horrible situation into a beneficial one.

Goosen's second shot on 14 landed into a greenside bunker.

With a very bad lie in the bunker, Goosen attempted to play onto the green.

He failed miserably, as his ball barely got out of the bunker.

After finally chipping on the putting surface, he was faced with a 26 footer for bogey.

Double bogey looked like a really good possibility now.

As Mickelson made the crowd go bonkers on 15 after making birdie, Goosen stroked a putt that was the most important of the Championship, and he drained it with ease.

Goosen now had new life, and after making birdie on 16, he watched as the last of his competitors fell victim to Shinnecock's quick greens.

Mickelson went to the 17th tied for the lead, and had just birdied three of the last four holes.

After three-putting from five feet, Mickelson was now two shots behind Goosen. His dream, crushed.

As Goosen walked up 18, the people in Shinnecock gallery finally gave the South African his due.

Let's see, he only had about 11 one-putt's on the day, and this was on a day in which putting on Shinnecock's greens was like putting on Interstate 95.

He scrambled the entire day, and never succumbed to Shinnecock's difficult layout -- a layout that produced the highest final round score average at the U.S. Open in over 40 years.

He was unfazed by the pressure of playing in the final group on the final day at the U.S. Open.

More importantly, he really could care less if Mickelson was getting the royal treatment on the course by the Shinnecock faithful.

They always said Retief Goosen has ice water running through his veins.

He proved this myth was a reality on Sunday.