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the shot. but at least I'm playing," he said with a smile.

The final round was also remarkable for the fact that he and Lehman are born again Christians, who happen to be close friends from Arizona - and they were paired together. "That really helped me," said Jones. "Tom calmed me down by quoting to me from the Bible and by telling me to be courageous and strong. It's a wonderful feeling to have won."

Meanwhile, a day on which American challengers assumed complete dominance of their national championship was marked with highly emotional scenes as Jack Nicklaus made possibly his last appearance in the event. No country reveres its sporting heroes better. So it was that Nicklaus was cheered to the echo when, making his 40th successive US Open appearance, he completed a final round of 72 with a par at the 18th.

As it happened, his play of that brutal, finishing hole was richly ironic. In his halcyon days, Nicklaus was renowned for the manner in which he would overpower courses with huge driving and majestic iron play. He was never noted as a chipper or pitcher of the ball, for the simple reason that he rarely missed greens.

This time was different, as he faced a nasty little chip from close to the edge of a greenside trap. And with a delightfully delicate touch, he left it within a few feet of the hole.

All of which prompted him to promise afterwards that he would be making reservations with a view to returning to the British Open at Royal Lytham next month. "I will play the (US) Senior Open and the (senior) TPC, and if my body says I can go (to Lytham), I will," he said.

Then, before departing the scene after this. his 138th successive major championship. he added the words that none of us wanted to hear "I may be back again. but this is probably my last US Open as a competitive player."

Ireland's lone survivor, Philip Walton, finished with a 77 for an aggregate of 297 - 17 over par. It was a creditable performance given the severity of the course and it brought him a share of 97th place with three competitors, including US Ryder Cup rival Jeff Maggert, and prize money of $5,165.

The humidity was relentless when we gained the first indication that the climactic moments would be soon at hand: Greg Norman, the runner up at Shinnecock Hills last year and squanderer of a six shot lead in the Masters two months ago, was making one of his famous charges. The only problem was that his four birdies on the outward journey were accompanied by three bogeys, though he remained in contention until the 14th.

Meanwhile, his long time tormentor, Nick Faldo, would have taken no consolation from the fact that his closing 70 for 285 gave him an aggregate two strokes lower than the great Ben Hogan managed in victory here in 1951. Faldo simply didn't hit sufficient greens to succeed. And when he made the putting surface in regulation, his return was a sub standard 33, 32, 33 and 32 putts, respectively, over the four days.

The challenge of Scotland's Colin Montgomerie came to grief at, the short, 170 yard 13th, where a seven iron tee shot sailed over the green for the makings of a double bogey. "To be successful this week, I needed to play well and I needed to be lucky," said Montgomerie afterwards. "I got the first one right in that I hit 12 fairways and 15 greens. But I had no luck with the putter."

Jones, making only his fourth UJS Open appearance having been tied eighth behind Hale Irwin at Medinah in 1990. raised quite a few eyebrows by claiming second position overnight, a stroke behind Lehman. And there was even greater surprise when the 37 year old birdied the ninth and 10th to tie for the lead on three under par. "I was trying to lag a 40 foot putt and it went in," said Jones, who also birdied the ninth.

His most significant move, however, came at the long 12th where he got up and down from a greenside trap for a birdie, whereas Lehman, in a bad position in a back bunker, had to hit out sideways and went on to three putt for a bogey. That gave Jones the lead for the first time and though there was still a long way to travel, he had quietly set his sights on victory.