Phil Mickelson sat in the second-floor locker room behind the 18th green and tied his shoelaces. The locker room that serves the Bethpage State Park golf courses is small and narrow, and when Mickelson stood, he bumped an attendant trying to gather a towel from the floor. “Oh, I’m so sorry,” Mickelson said.

Fifty yards away on the 18th green, Lucas Glover was celebrating his US Open victory. Mickelson finished in second place at the event for the fifth time. He took a watch from his pocket and wrapped it around his wrist. He shook hands with two locker room attendants and said: “Thank you for everything. I’m sorry we took an extra day of your time.”

Mickelson removed his golf cap and walked to the men’s room at the end of the hall. He splashed his face with water, and stared at the mirror for a long second.

He then walked down a twisting back stairwell that led to a side kitchen exit. Mickelson made his way to the 18th green and the trophy presentation, where he received a silver medal along with his fellow second-place finishers, David Duval and Ricky Barnes. Mickelson stood in the sun and gazed around the vast grandstand, which erupted in applause at the mention of his name.

Later, Mickelson was asked if he had allowed himself to dream about what it would have been like to win in the last tournament he would play before his wife, Amy, begins breast cancer treatment.

Mickelson said he tried not to think ahead. But standing on the green during the trophy presentation, it was easy to imagine that Mickelson knew in that moment that the ceremony and the celebration could have been for him. Only louder.

... contd.