Matt Sullivan / Reuters

Tiger Woods celebrates after making a birdie on the 18th hole to force a playoff with Rocco Mediate during the fourth round of the U.S. Open on June 15, 2008.

Woods isn’t the only comeback story at this U.S. Open.

His chief rival this decade is Mickelson, who some thought wouldn’t make it to Bethpage when he disclosed last month that his wife, Amy, had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Lefty immediately suspended his PGA Tour schedule, although more tests indicated the cancer might have been caught early, and there was no need to rush into surgery.

That has been pushed back to the first week of July, and Mickelson will give himself yet another shot in the major that has haunted him. At 38, he already has tied the wrong kind of U.S. Open record — four times a runner-up.

Three of those have come in New York — Winged Foot, Shinnecock Hills and Bethpage Black.

Perhaps the distraction of a family crisis will work to his advantage. Mickelson at least can count on the gallery, which was smitten with him as he tried to rally against Woods in 2002 and has afforded him rock star treatment every time he returns.

“My quest is to win my first U.S. Open after four seconds, numerous close calls,” Mickelson said. “But right now, I’m just fortunate that I’m going to be able to play, and I hope to play well.”

Also returning is Sergio Garcia, still without a major, his prospects not as bleak as they were in 2002, when he played in the final pairing with Woods. Garcia finished last year at No. 2 in the world, and he had a mathematical chance to replace Woods in the spring.

But he has been in a malaise most of this year, mainly from his split with Greg Norman’s daughter. That might make him a target of New York fans who remember his constant re-gripping of the club, and an obscene gesture Garcia made when he got fed up with the fans.

For some, however, that’s the charm of Bethpage Black.

This is public golf at its finest, a favorite spot on Long Island for seven decades, so good that golfers are willing to sleep in their cars overnight with hopes of paying $50 to play the Black Course.

Justin Leonard said it was like playing on a course with 50,000 members in attendance. This U.S. Open requires accurate tee shots, strength for balls that wind up in the rough, touch around the greens and thick skin.

“The people are a little more vocal,” he said. “Some other places, you know what people are thinking. They go ahead and verbalize in New York. There’s a good energy up there. When you play well, people tend to get behind you, and it’s a lot of fun.”

Special feature Bethpage Black Course A hole-by-hole look at the site of the 2009 U.S. Open. NBCSports.com

“Nobody notices, and they don’t care,” he said. “But at least they don’t boo you like at Yankee Stadium.”

Woods appears to block out everything around him, but he’s listening. He recalls hearing so many fans talk about how they play the course, where they hit the ball. He loves the idea of the national championship going public, perhaps because Woods played most of his golf as a kid on public courses. All three of his U.S. Open titles have come on courses the public can play — Bethpage, Torrey Pines and Pebble Beach, although the latter isn’t cheap.

He also pays attention to history, especially that no one has repeated at the U.S. Open in 20 years.

“In today’s culture of being bombarded by facts and statistics, everybody knows about it — especially Tiger. He doesn’t miss anything,” Strange said. “But the only thing this means to him is another notch in the quest for 18 majors. Back-to-back doesn’t mean a thing."