In a final hour packed with emotion, Lucas Glover played a steady hand to win the US Open. So many amazing stories belonged to the contenders all around him at Bethpage Black yesterday.

In a final hour packed with emotion, Lucas Glover played a steady hand to win the US Open.

So many amazing stories belonged to the contenders all around him at Bethpage Black yesterday, from Phil Mickelson's stirring bid to win for his beloved wife as she battles breast cancer, to David Duval coming out of nowhere and almost winning for the first time in eight years.

Glover kept his cap tugged low and played the kind of golf that wins a US Open under any conditions. He made only one birdie in the rain-delayed final round, and it could not have been timed any better. Glover holed a six-foot putt on the 16th hole to break one last tie for the lead, then held on with pars to close with a three-over 73 for a two-shot victory.

"It was a test of patience, that's for sure," Glover said.

"It was just heart today."

It was heartache for Mickelson. His wife, Amy, is due to have surgery for breast cancer next week. She left cards and text messages asking him to bring home the silver trophy from a US Open that has taunted Lefty for a decade.

The New York gallery came to life when he rolled in a 35-foot birdie putt on the 12th, and he followed with an approach to four feet on the par-5 13th for an eagle that suddenly gave him a share of the lead.

Right when it was in his grasp, though, Mickelson let it slip away again. He missed a three-foot par putt on the 15th hole, and another par putt from eight feet on the 17th that ended his dream finish. Mickelson closed with a 70 and wound up in a three-way tie for second with Duval and Ricky Barnes, the overnight leader with Glover.

Mickelson left Bethpage Black with the wrong kind of distinction. He set the US Open record with his fifth runner-up finish, surpassing Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Robert Trent Jones Jr and Sam Snead, in the process.

"Certainly I'm disappointed,"

said Mickelson, "but now that it's over, I've got more important things going on."

Even more stunning was Duval's revival. The former world No.1 came to the US Open as a qualifier who had plunged to No.882 in the rankings. Showing remarkable resilience all week, he recovered from a triple bogey from a plugged lie in a bunker and surged into a share of the lead with three straight birdies.

Tied for the lead with two to play, his five-foot par putt on the 17th cruelly caught the back of the lip and spun 180 degrees out on the other side. He shot 71 for his best finish on the PGA Tour since he won the Open at Royal Lytham & St Anne's, eight years ago.

"I stand before you certainly happy with how I played, but extremely disappointed in the outcome," Duval said. "I had no question in my mind I was going to win the tournament."

Barnes, who set the 36-hole Open scoring record, never had much of a chance. His swing got him into more trouble than he could handle as he went out in 40, five over par, and never quite recovered until it was too late. He shot 76.

That left Glover the most unlikely champion. The 29-year-old from South Carolina, who chews tobacco and listens to Sinatra, had not won since holing out a bunker shot on the final hole at Disney nearly five years ago. But this was no fluke.

Once he was handed the lead by Barnes' collapse, Glover was rock-solid on a water-logged course and when he hit two of his best shots of the final round to the 16th green for his lone birdie, it made for an anti-climactic finish to a US Open that had more delays than drama. It was the first time the tournament had ended on a Monday without a play-off since 1983, courtesy of relentless rain.

Glover finished at four-under 276, earned $1.35m and will move inside the world's top 20.

He pulled his cap over his head when he walked off the green and into the arms of his wife, Jennifer, stopping to hug his parents. He had enough strength left after a long week to hoist the silver trophy no-one expected to be his.

"I hope I don't downgrade it or anything with my name on there," Glover quipped. "It's an honour, and I'm just excited and happy as I can be to be on here."

Glover said he had been expecting a charge from Mickelson, who tied for second and the world No.1 Tiger Woods, who finished tied for sixth, four shots back.

"We were waiting on it,"

he said. "I knew Tiger and Phil were going to make a move, and they did. And Ricky and I started coming back. That probably motivated them more."

Not that Glover wasn't anxious as he neared the end.

"I had the knees knocking pretty good on 16, 17 and 18," he said. "But I pulled it off."

There was a concerted but ultimately fruitless European challenge. England's Ross Fisher claimed fifth, Denmark's Soren Hansen shared sixth with Woods and Hunter Mahan while Rory McIlroy finished in a tie for 10th on his US Open debut.

The Northern Irishman said he would cherish the memories and one in particular. "We were on the 10th tee on Saturday evening, me and Anthony Kim. The crowd are all roaring and shouting," he said about the late start for the third round after the galleries had enjoyed a day of refreshment.

"Kim hits his tee shot, then they announce me. They start chanting Rory-Rory-Rory-Rory' so I can't tee off for about five minutes.

"While I am waiting I see this guy out the right corner of my eye. He walks about five yards, throws up because he has had so much to drink and then he runs back to the rope and starts shouting again. Now that is a loyal supporter!"

It was a good as anecdotes get, but the story of the week belonged to Glover.