US Open:  Retief Goosen is so laid-back he's almost horizontal; and there are times when you wonder if he has a pulse at all.

What the South African does have, though, is an ability to handle pressure when the going gets tough, which he again showed in winning the 104th US Open at Shinnecock Hills on Sunday - his second success in the championship in just four years - when fans gave a hint of the jingoism that the European team can expect to experience at the Ryder Cup later this year.

While Phil Mickelson was energised by the phenomenal support of fans in the final round, Goosen had to close his ears to such jibes from outside the ropes as "Lose Goose!" or "Here comes Phil!" as he coolly made no fewer than 12 single putts - seven of them on the back nine - to shoot a 71 for four-under-par 276, a two-shot winning margin over Mickelson, the only other player to finish the championship under par.

Of the shouts from the crowd, Goosen said: "You expect it out there, and I expected that people would be rooting for Phil and not me, which is quite natural. If this tournament was in South Africa, they'd all be rooting for me. I'm quite used to it by now, being the underdog, and it doesn't really bother me."

Indeed, his caddie, and Irish Times columnist, Colin Byrne, from Howth, observed: "Mickelson had the crowd on his side, and obviously the fans were with him . . . but it's pretty bad etiquette, appalling. I heard someone yell out, 'it's yours to lose' and stuff like that. Retief doesn't hear it, it doesn't faze him at all. You just face it with resignation, they (American fans) don't like to be beaten."

Probably the best answer of all was delivered by Goosen's composure, where he constantly made the right course-management decision. There were a number of critical moments, as Mickelson - who had trailed by three shots after 11 holes - made a charge that took in three birdies in four holes from the 13th.

Goosen - who later confirmed his next competitive appearance will come at next week's Smurfit European Open at The K Club - made a magnificent par on the 13th where his two iron off the tee finished in thick rough to the right and his recovery was pulled left across the fairway into an area trampled by spectators. He played an exquisite chip to 15 feet, and holed the par putt.

On the next, he salvaged a bogey that could have been any number - his approach plugged in a greenside bunker and he only barely escaped the trap, finishing in thick greenside rough - where he again single-putted in holing a 20 footer. Time and time again, Goosen made putts that mattered. His outward demeanour was of someone totally calm with the world, but he later confessed: "When you stand over a putt, you're nervous. You're shaking on the inside like any other player does, and Tiger does too.

"It's just how you've learned to play under that kind of pressure, and in a way it sort of becomes natural that you can only play your best golf when under real pressure. Sometimes, when you're not under pressure, your focus is not there."

The pivotal moment, in Byrne's eyes, came on the par five 16th where Goosen decided to lay-up with his approach, rather than go for the green. "Retief was edging that way and I definitely supported him," remarked Byrne, of the player's decision to opt for a wedge lay-up instead of going for the green with a five-iron from 228 yards. His reward was a third shot with a sand wedge that left a 12-footer for birdie that brought him level with Mickelson and, by the time he was ready to tee-off on the 17th, he had been handed a two-shot advantage after US Masters champion's travails on the green ahead where he three-putted from seven feet for double bogey.

"The course suited Retief," commented Byrne (40) after bringing home his first major winner as a caddie in almost 20 years of caddying. "He loves fast greens and it was like putting on a patio on those greens. He holed a lot, which is a sign of confidence.

"Like everyone he is not a machine, he has his ups and downs. He seems to be seasonal but when I saw this course I knew that it suited him, and he did as well. It reminded him of Southern Hills (2001). We kind of crept up in our slippers . . . it is nice to sneak in around the back."

Of his relationship with Byrne, who was handed the job as caddie at the start of the season after Fanny Sunesson turned down his initial approach, Goosen remarked: "Colin's a very relaxed guy by nature. I mean, he tells you what he thinks but, at the end of it, he wants you to do what you feel you have to do.

"He's not trying to talk you into doing what he thinks you should do. You know, Colin is more relaxed out there than me. He's just one of those guys that nothing really puts him off."

On the golf course, of all players, no one can look as calm as Goosen as he goes about his business.

"It wasn't any easier than the first time, (but) I wasn't letting my guard down. I just stayed focused until we finished this tournament off . . . from the last time (he beat Mark Brooks in an 18-hole play-off at Southern Hills), I know that it's not over 'til its over. They say that first one is the toughest but, I'll tell you, the second one is just as tough. I don't believe winning a second one is any easier . . . I think it is just experience and self-belief that makes you stay in the hunt. I kept telling myself over the past couple of days, "you've done it before, you can do it again. Just get out there and do it'."

Which is exactly what he did do. This second major victory was the 21st professional win of Goosen's career and came in a season where he has now had seven top-10 finishes, six in America and one in Europe. It ended a spell of seven months without a tournament success, but Goosen didn't believe it validated him as a world-class player.

"I don't think winning another US Open puts you down as a great player . . . this game can turn on you very quickly and, next week or the week after, when you tee it up you're just the same player again as the rest of the field. You've got to play hard to win."

One thing's for sure, there is no danger of Retief Goosen living in cloud cuckoo land. His feet are firmly planted on solid ground.