A key player in this duel wasn't even on the course. Mickelson's wife, Amy, was back home in Scottsdale, Ariz., set to give birth to the couple's first child. So Mickelson carried a beeper during his final-round clash with Stewart and his famous plus-fours. If Amy went into labor, Mickelson said he'd skip out of the Pinehurst Country Club to be with his wife. The beeper stayed silent. Tied at the par-3 17th hole, both Stewart and Mickelson hit mesmerizing tee shots that landed near the hole. But Mickelson missed his eight-footer for a birdie, while Stewart sank a three-footer. Stewart, however, muffed his drive on the final hole and needed to make an 18-foot, right-to-left breaking putt to save par and prevent a playoff. He sank the longest winning putt in U.S. Open history. Mickelson's wife gave birth the next day. Stewart, a two-time U.S. Open champ, died in a plane crash four months later.
Top 10 U.S. Open Golf Duels
At last year's U.S. Open in Torrey Pines, Calif., Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate faced each other in an unforgettable playoff. Can a match at Bethpage Black live up to Tiger-Rocco? Throughout its 113-year history, the U.S. Open, which will be played June 18-21 in Bethpage, N.Y., has staged some of the most dramatic, and colorful, duels in golf. Here are TIME's 10 best.