PINEHURST, N.C. – In golf, the U.S. Open is the most demanding test for the professional class. Like the bar exam or the medical boards, it has served over the years as a kind of barometer by which to judge the field.

From Thursday through Saturday, two-time champion Retief Goosen was once again acing the test, showcasing a rare technical prowess and icy poise on the deceptive test that is Pinehurst No. 2. But when all was said and done, it was Michael Campbell, a European Tour veteran long forgotten on these shores, who navigated the pitfalls conceived by the USGA for the final day of the U.S. Open.

Entering the tournament, everyone knew Donald Ross’s Pinehurst design would be a severe test. Its three-inch Bermuda rough, coupled with 24-yard wide fairways and greens that were smaller than they appeared from the fairway, prevented the world’s best players from breaking par. The hole locations all week were difficult, but yesterday’s seemed to create more carnage than during previous rounds. The result was nine fewer birdies than in Round 3 and 38 more bogeys. But Campbell never seemed fazed, shooting 71-69-71-69 for an even-par 280.

Entering the final round four shots back of Goosen, Campbell avoided the early dangers of the course, making a birdie on the first hole and surviving the par-4 second hole at par. The second hole, with a stroke average of 4.614, was the most treacherous in the final round (and the championship), and would be a key part of Campbell’s victory. While Campbell made par on the hole, the other seven players in the final four groups stumbled through the first two holes in a combined 13 over par. Tiger Woods (+2), Peter Hedblom (+2), David Toms (+3), Mark Hensby (+1), Olin Browne (+2), Jason Gore (+1), and Goosen (+2) all failed the test.

“I was sandwiched there just doing my own thing, patiently waiting and waiting,” Campbell said of his position at the start of the round. “I was very patient out there today on the golf course. And I had a great start, birdied the first hole. And I missed an opportunity on the fourth hole, but made some great saves.”

By the time Campbell reached the seventh green, Goosen, the overnight leader, had gone 5-over par in a six-hole stretch. Suddenly, Campbell had transformed himself from hunter to hunted, with Woods his most immediate pursuer. Following his 2-over-par start, Woods earned two shots back with birdies, doing something he had been unable to do for the first three rounds: Make key putts. Through the first three rounds, Woods was last in the field in putting, having used an even 100; in contrast, third-round leader Goosen had used only 87. But over the first seven holes of the final round, Woods used only 10 putts, including four one-putts.

“I had a chance where it looked like I probably shouldn’t have had a chance. And after that start, bogey, bogey, I’m sure most people wrote me off,” Woods said. “All of a sudden, after playing the first five holes – this golf course is unbelievable, it’s faster, harder and the pins are more difficult. If I could get back to even par on the day, I would be good, go to the back nine somehow.”

At 3-over-par, Woods was just three off of Campbell’s lead, an advantage that would be sliced by one shot when Campbell made bogey on the converted par-4 eighth hole. It was the first bogey for Campbell since the 11th hole in the third round, a stretch of 14 holes without a bogey. The two-under-par he shot over those 14 holes was due mostly to his surprisingly strong iron play; Campbell hit seven greens over the stretch and needed only 20 putts.

Over the last nine holes yesterday, Campbell faced destiny and never flinched. He made birdies on the 10th and 12th holes to extend his lead to three shots. Woods made birdie on the par-three 15th hole to cut Campbell’s lead to just two shots. But two uncharacteristic bogeys by Woods on 16 and 17 made the 18th hole a moot point.

In the end, it was Campbell’s hot putter and newfound ability to match irons shots with the world no. 1 that carried the day. Campbell needed only 12 putts over the final nine holes; Woods took 14.

Campbell’s win, of course, would never have happened if Goosen had played as he did in the first three rounds. With a ranking of 21st in putting through three rounds, Goosen fell to 60th after yesterday’s 36-putt performance, which produced an 11-over-par 81, one of the largest collapses by a third-round leader in U.S. Open history.

“Just couldn’t find the hole on the greens, and that was really the end of the story,” Goosen said.

Goosen, of all people, couldn’t have been surprised that the greens played a crucial role; after all, the brutal greens at Shinnecock Hills last year helped eliminate the competition during Goosen’s U.S. Open win there. Their level of severity – specifically the hole locations – have become a hallmark of recent U.S. Opens, and this week was no exception. Yet the players in the field accepted their fate and issued no proclamations of dismay or disgust. Instead they gave Ross’s masterpiece its due.

“It was one of the most difficult that I’ve ever seen because of the pin locations and these greens,” Woods said. “This was right on the edge of being over the top.”