US Open – 20 Top Triumphs and Upsets to Remember

#17: Payne Stewart electrified the crowd en route to the 1999 US Open title, his last professional victory.

The 1999 event at Pinehurst was the site of two significant events in golf history: Payne Stewart’s final win as a professional and Phil Mickelson’s first runner-up finish at the US Open. The two men walked through the final round together and were tied for much of Sunday afternoon, leading to a nail-biting finish.

Both Stewart and Mickelson held a share of the lead after two rounds, but the former, an SMU product, shot a Saturday 72 to take it for himself. Mickelson, trailing by one heading into Sunday, was awaiting the birth of his first child; he carried a beeper with him and vowed to immediately walk off the course if his wife went into labor.

Fortunately, it never became an issue, but he nevertheless failed to mount a Sunday charge – uncharacteristically, Mickelson made just one birdie in his round. Stewart, meanwhile, supplied early fireworks by birdieing two of his first three and circled two more throughout the day, good enough to hold on for the one-stroke victory.

Tragically, the US Open was the last of Stewart’s 11 PGA Tour wins. Four months later, he died in a plane crash at the age of 42.

Next: 2015: Jordan Spieth