FARMINGDALE, N.Y.  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 victory in the 109th United States Open. Mickelson finished two strokes back, and was in second place at the event for the fifth time.

Mickelson took a watch from his pocket and wrapped it around his wrist. He then shook hands with two locker room attendants and said: “Thank you for everything. You guys do a great job. I’m sorry we took an extra day of your time.”

Mickelson removed his golf cap and walked to the simple men’s room at the end of the hall. He splashed his face with water, pushed his wet hands through his hair and stared at the mirror above the white porcelain sink for a long second.