• US Open: What They Said

Mickelson heartbroken after latest demise

Phil Mickelson experienced devastation once again at the US Open © AP

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Phil Mickelson was forced to settle for his sixth runner-up finish in his national championship, the one event he remains desperate to win.

"For me it's very heart breaking," Mickelson said. "This could have been the big ... a really big turnaround for me on how I look at the US Open and the tournament that I'd like to win, after having so many good opportunities.

"Also playing very well here and really loving the golf course, this week was my best opportunity, I felt, heading in, certainly the final round, the way I was playing and the position I was in."

Mickelson shared second with Jason Day, who picked up his second runner-up finish in this event. He said: "I think I've just got to keep putting myself in position to win. And I feel that my game is in a really good spot right now. I'm doing the right things. I'm doing the little things that count.

"I've been close so many times now in majors, especially at a young age, which is nice. And you've got to understand that Scotty [Adam Scott] is in his young 30s and same with Rosie [Justin Rose], I guess. I'm still 25. I turn 26 at the end of the year. I've got plenty of majors to play in and hopefully I can keep doing the same as I'm doing, and hopefully win one soon."

Luke Donald hit a female volunteer on the third and never recovered, eventually finishing just inside the top-ten after contending for much of the first three rounds. He said: "I come away with some positive feelings. I got in position in a U.S. Open. I haven't really done that in my career. So there's definitely positives.

"I know what I need to work on. I need to continue to get better in my ball‑striking and control that trajectory and that line."

Ernie Els notched another top ten, and said: "It's been an unbelievable venue this week. The course definitely held up. Started the week with people saying there could be record scores. I totally disagreed with that. It was a great setup. The rough was tough. Yeah, everything about it was just wonderful. And the fans were unbelievable. It definitely shouldn't wait another 32 years [for a US Open]."

Tiger Woods endured his worst ever finish in a major championship, but expressed his satisfaction with some elements of the tournament. He said: " It was a good week overall. I'm sorry that the golf wasn't what I would like to have it.

"But it was a fantastic atmosphere, the people were into it. Obviously there weren't as many people as some of the US Open sites. But this was, I think, more intimate. People were very close to you. Sometimes we get a lot of people, like at Bethpage, but they're so far off away from us. Here, because the property is so small, I think the galleries were a little bit closer than they have been in most US Open sites."

Luke Donald was out of sorts all day © AP

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Defending champion Webb Simpson matched Woods' score: "I did what I thought I needed to do except I didn't a make any putts."

Rory McIlroy was one shot worse off. "It was great," he said. "I thought it was a really good test. I thought the atmosphere out there ‑ obviously when you're in a group like I was the first two days, it's going to be great anywhere. I enjoyed the week. Regardless of not playing my best. I thought it was a great venue and a venue that hopefully we come back to."

Sergio Garcia finished 15-over, having dropped 16 shots at the 14th and 15th over the course of the week. The Spaniard also had to endure some heckling from fans due to his recent comments about Tiger Woods, and seemed finally to have been upset by the attention.

Asked if he thought he had been treated unfairly, he said: "I don't know. You ask them that."

Asked whether it was a difficult week for him, he repeatedly said: "What do you think? What do you think?" When the reporter said he thought it had been tough, Garcia simply replied: "Okay."

Adam Scott also finished 15-over. He said; "I hit a lot of good putts that didn't go in. That was the difference. You need all your putts going in at a US Open, whether you're playing good or bad, otherwise the score doesn't show up very well at all."

He finished well down the field, but Shawn Stefani had perhaps the shot of the day - the first ever recorded hole-in-one in a US Open at Merion.

"I didn't know what to do but jump up-and-down for joy," Stefani said. "We're in Philly. There's some great fans up here and I know they can be tough on you and they can love you forever. So I'm sure they appreciated me going to the ground and kissing it, because obviously the ground is where the kick started and the ball kicking right and going on the green."

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