David Duval looks set to return to the pinnacle of golf after his second-place finish at the US Open on Monday.

The 37-year-old has not tasted success for eight years and has slided down the world rankings to 882nd.

But Duval showed he has what it takes to belong at the top after he finished alongside Phil Mickelson and Ricky Barnes, two shots behind champion Lucas Glover at Bethpage Black. It was his best performance since winning the Open in 2001.

Duval had a sight of the title when he briefly tied for the lead with Glover after a late run of birdies on the final day.

However, a fairytale victory was not to be as his challenge effectively ended when a par putt on the 17th lipped out.

But a tie for second still represented a remarkable change of fortune for a man whose career had been in freefall almost since the moment he secured his maiden major at Royal Lytham eight years ago.

He had won 11 times in 18 months on the PGA Tour between October 1997 and April 1999, including a round of 59 on the final-day of the 1999 Bope Hope Chrysler Classic, and briefly displaced Tiger Woods as world number one.

"It's what I want," Duval told Sky Sports News. "It may be arrogance, but it's where I feel like I belong.

"I was glad to come up here and hit the golf ball and control myself like I've been saying I've been doing, and how I've been talking about how I know I'm playing a lot better than my results have been showing."