What might have been (Part two)

As much as Ferrie was the underdog he was also matching Mickelson stride for stride over the opening holes and it could have been even better for the Englishman.

"I got the kind of the start I was looking for, I hit the fairway and green at the first and two-putted and then holed a 15-footer for par at second. At the par-five fifth I was in the greenside bunker in two, splashed to 10 feet but missed the putt.

"At the next I drove just short of the green, chipped to six feet but missed that as well. Had I holed one of those it would have been perfect but, given this was my first time in this position and I hadn't ruined the week's good work, I couldn't have been happier."

Slowly though the mistakes began to creep in. Three putts at seven and eight were followed by Ferrie's first bad shot of the day at 10, a six-iron shoved right, and a fourth bogey in five holes was added after missing the fairway at 11.

"I wouldn't say it was frustration. I knew Phil was going along ok and that every bogey to his par I was dropping behind and when you get behind at a US Open you're struggling. You can't attack and go at the flags and you kind of have to play sensibly and hope to hole a putt or that the rest of the field comes back to you."

Neither failed to materialise, at least not until later, and Ferrie's race was run after another dropped shot at the 15th.

"I knew that was me done. I wouldn't say it was a disappointment but it was kind of an odd feeling. I had spent most of the week around the top of the leaderboard and going forward and with nine holes to play was still in there. I then had the realisation that I couldn't win any more."

With Monty making a mess of the 18th and Ogilvy getting up and down for a miraculous four it was left to the final pairing to wrap things up. A four for Mickelson and it would be a third straight Major and first US Open title.

Earlier in the week the American had birdied, bogeyed and parred the hole. Again there was something different, a double-bogey six after a sliced drive and horribly misjudged recovery.

"It was just one of those things. I think he only hit two fairways all day, he hit a pretty wild one at 17 as well and got away with it and I suppose it was one bad shot too many, at the wrong time."

Amid the mayhem Ferrie hit the perfect drive, knocked a nine-iron in to 15 feet and two-putted for a four as a stunned golfing world looked on.

"What could I say? He was world number two, I was world number 102. If it was the other way round I'm sure he would have had some nice words to give us about what he had done in the past but he was inconsolable. When you see the highlights he was just sat there with his head in his hands when I was putting. In the locker room he was just sat there, any words were pointless."

A final-round 76 had left Ferrie in a share of sixth. A bogey at the last would have dropped him into a share of 11th and out of a place at this year's Masters, something he was completely unaware of.

"I went upstairs to the locker room with my caddy and it was the strangest feeling. There was just one other person there.
I just sat there and didn't say much thinking about what score would have won it and what I had needed to do. We both talked about what might have been and he then just turned round and said at least you're in the Masters.

"I was totally oblivious of the top-eight ruling. It was kind of a cushion to the fall. If I had finished with a bogey I would have been pretty gutted so it took the edge off a disappointing last round."

Mickelson and Winged Foot 2005 will always be remembered for his staggering collapse but the fact that he was still in contention, let alone leading, was a remarkable feat and a valuable lesson for his playing partner.

"I watched a bit of the Golf Channel that week and listened to a lot of his interviews and he said he spent a lot of time before the tournament looking around at where to miss it and not to miss it and that showed in the last round. He hit a lot of crooked drives but every time he had a little pitch or bunker shot he always had a relatively easy shot.

"There were times when I thought he was dead but he always had a lot of green to play with. There's an art to get round the course when not at your best and he proved that."

So, nearly a year on, how does Ferrie now look back on events from Winged Foot?

"When I first came on Tour I said I wanted to win before I retired. I have been lucky enough to do that twice and to even come close at the US Open on a Sunday afternoon, in the last pairing with Mickelson, was a huge thrill.

"A couple of photographers were kind enough to send me a couple of disks of the week and even the screensaver on my laptop is a picture from there."

The appetite for big things has been whetted for Ferrie, he will go to Oakmont, with its emphasis on finding the short stuff, with a few more expectations than a year ago.