Mark Officer Golf

American Lucas Glover today won the second tournament of his career the 2009 US Open played at the Bethpage Black course in Farmingdale New York today. He shot a three over par 73 which gave him a 4 under total good enough to win by two from Ricky Barnes, Phil Mickelson and David Duval. At times it looked like it was going to be Mickelson’s tournament or Duval’s but short missed putts late in the round cost both players dearly. So many amazing stories belonged to contenders all around him Monday at Bethpage Black, from Phil Mickelson’s stirring bid to win for his beloved wife as she battles breast cancer, to David Duval coming out of nowhere or what would have been his first win in eight long years.
Glover kept his cap tugged low and played the kind of golf that wins a U.S. Open under any conditions.
He made only one birdie in the rain-delayed final round, and it could not have been timed any better. Glover holed a 6-foot putt on the 16th hole to break one last tie for the lead, then held on with pars to close with a 3-over 73 for a two-shot victory.
“It was a test of patience, that’s for sure,” Glover said. “It was just heart today.”It was sheer heartache for Mickelson. His wife, Amy, is due to have surgery for breast cancer next week. She left cards and text messages asking him to bring home the silver trophy from a U.S. Open that has taunted Lefty for a decade.
Right when it was in his grasp, Mickelson let it slip away again.
He missed a 3-foot par putt on the 15th hole and another par putt from 8 feet on the 17th that ended his dream finish. Mickelson closed with a 70 and wound up in a three-way tie for second with Duval and 54-hole leader Ricky Barnes.
Mickelson left Bethpage Black with the wrong kind of distinction. He set the U.S. Open record with his fifth runner-up finish. “Certainly I’m disappointed,” Mickelson said, “but now that it’s over, I’ve got more important things going on.
“And,” he added, then paused, “oh, well.”
Even more stunning was the revival of Duval. The former No. 1 player in golf came to the U.S. Open as a qualifier who had plunged to No. 882 in the world. Showing remarkable resiliency throughout the week, Duval recovered from another big number — a triple bogey from a plugged lie in a bunker — and surged into a share of the lead with three straight birdies.
Tied for the lead with two holes to play, his 5-foot par putt on the 17th cruelly caught the back of the lip and spun 180 degrees out on the other side. He shot 71 for his best finish on the PGA TOUR since he won the British Open in 2001. Barnes, who set the 36-hole U.S. Open scoring record, never had much of a chance. His swing got him into more trouble than he could handle as he went out in 40, 5-over par, and never quite recovered until it was too late. That left Glover the most unlikely champion.
The 29-year-old from South Carolina, who chews tobacco and listens to Sinatra, had not won since holing out a bunker shot on the final hole at the Children’s Miracle Network Classic nearly five years ago. But this was no fluke.  Once he was handed the lead by Barnes’ collapse, Glover was rock solid on a water-logged course. And when he hit two of his best shots of the final round to the 16th green for his lone birdie, it made for an anticlimactic finish to a U.S. Open that had more delays than drama. Hopefully Lucas Glover will contend and win more tournaments and perhaps majors and players like Duval and Mickelson can also add to their career record in majors. It would be a shame if Mickelson was not able to add a US Open to his resume as he has certainly proved that he has the game for the open course set ups and he has been one of the most dominant players of the past decade.

1	1	Lucas Glover	-4			69	64	70	73	276
T2	3	Phil Mickelson	-2			69	70	69	70	278
T2	1	David Duval	-2			67	70	70	71	278
T2	1	Ricky Barnes	-2			67	65	70	76	278
5	2	Ross Fisher	-1			70	68	69	72	279
T6	9	Tiger Woods	E			74	69	68	69	280
T6	9	Soren Hansen	E			70	71	70	69	280
T6	1	Hunter Mahan	E			72	68	68	72	280
9	16	Henrik Stenson	+1			73	70	70	68	281
T10	22	Rory McIlroy	+2			72	70	72	68	282
T10	15	Matt Bettencourt	+2			75	67	71	69	282
T10	10	Sergio Garcia	+2			70	70	72	70	282
T10	5	Ryan Moore	+2			70	69	72	71	282
T10	2	Stephen Ames	+2			74	66	70	72	282
T10	5	Mike Weir	+2			64	70	74	74	282
T16	9	Anthony Kim	+3			71	71	71	70	283
T16	8	Retief Goosen	+3			73	68	68	74	283

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