2012 U.S. Open: Tiger Woods Shoots A Career-Worst As Phil Mickelson Comes In Second Yet Again, This Time To Englishman Justin Roses Who Win His First PGA Major

Justin Rose becomes the first Englishman to win the U.S. Open (since Tony Jacklin in 1970) and the first to win a major (since Nick Faldo in the 1996 Masters) with a final round of even-par 70, managing to hold off Phil Mickelson and Jason Day.

"Philadelphia has been my town," Rose said, pointing out that he won the AT&T National at Aronimink, near Philadelphia in 2010. "I've had such great support here."

Rose, the number five player in the world rankings,started the day two strokes behind Mickelson, who started off Sunday with a 1-under lead Hunter Mahan. Mickelson traded the lead with Mahan and Day with Rose hanging back.

Rose hit a 5-iron to the first cut of rough, pin-high on the 17th hole for an easy par, to take the lead, before blasting a tee shot down the middle on the final hole, about 10 yards short of the famous Ben Hogan plaque. Rose then hit the approach rolling near the pin and settled against the collar of the green.

"When I came over the hill and saw my ball laying in the fairway, I thought, 'This is my moment.'", said Rose. "It was me hitting from the middle of the fairway."

Mickelson was one-shot back on the 18th hole, but missed a long chip for birdie that would have forced a playoff, adding to his U.S. Open record five second-place finishes, describing his finish as a "heartbreak."

"This was tough to swallow," said Mickelson. "This was my big chance. I felt like this was as good an opportunity as I could ask for. And this one hurts."

Tiger Woods fared much worse on the treacherous rain-soaked course, finishing in 13th place. Woods shot a final-round 74 Sunday to finish 13 over par, his worst score in an Open since he was 14 over as an amateur in 1996.

In four rounds at Merion, which was pounded by heavy rains prior to the start of the U.S. Open, Woods had 10 birdies, 20 bogeys and a triple bogey that started with a tee shot that flew out of bounds. He also had five three-putts and missed several short putts for pars and birdies.

"I struggled with the speed, especially right around the hole," said Woods. "Putts were breaking a lot more, I gave it a little more break and then it would hang. That's kind of the way it was this week."