A Rainout to Remember

There's no shortage of intriguing storylines from the ongoing monsoon that was the US Open at Bethpage Black. Let’s touch quickly on five:

A New Champion

Although relatively unknown in most households, Lucas Glover is somewhat recognizable to most golf fans. He ranks in the top 75 in driving distance, driving accuracy, and putting this year. There’s nothing flashy about Glover’s game: he simply hits fairways and makes putts. That formula means he’s got a better chance of winning another major and rising above other names who won the US Open before fading into anonymity (Rich Beem, Steve Jones, Scott Simpson, etc.).

The Comeback Kid

David Duval’s resurgence is arguably the biggest story of the weekend. To put it in perspective, you have to think about the arch of Duval’s golf career in the last fifteen years. He was the 1993 National Player of the year at Georgia Tech, and became the world’s number one ranked player on the PGA Tour in 1999. Duval won the British Open in 2001, which somewhat amazingly, was his last win on tour. Duval came into this year's tournament with a shocking world ranking of 882 (which is now held by David Bransdon, who has competed in one tournament, the 2009 GS Caltex Maekyung Open on the Asia Tour). Duval's professional and personal struggles have been well-documented. Even if Duval isn’t back on top, he’s back in the conversation with a second place finish, and that means a lot to the former world number one.


Coming up Short

Phil Mickleson gave all he had this weekend, if only enough for a runner-up finish. Phil did what he does best: crush the ball of the tee well enough to give him a shot to win it all come Sunday. There was a moment, as the ball was rolling in the cup for an eagle on the 13th hole in the final round where most of America though Mickleson would give his wife a reason to smile. Phil went on to bogey two of the last four holes, obviously physically and emotionally spent.

World's Best? Not this week.

Frustrating is probably the one word that describes Tiger’s weekend better than any other. His drives were sprayed across the course and his putting was inefficient and painful to watch at best. That said, Woods was the only golfer to shoot three rounds in the sixties at Bethpage Black. It’s going be to hard to bet against Mr. Woods when the British Open goes to Turnberry next month.

Potential Finally Realized

If Ricky Barnes’ performance had come in 2003, no one would’ve been shocked. At one time, Barnes was the next American star: powerfully built, brash, and seemed to be in a class all his own...on the amateur level at least. The 2002 US Amateur champion has had a rough transition to the pros since posting an impressive 21st place finish as an amateur at The Masters in 2003. The man Barnes defeated for his amateur title in 2002, Hunter Mahan, has had a much more impressive career to this point. This weekend, however, may have been a coming out party for Barnes, who hadn’t placed in the top ten in any PGA event until Bethpage. Barnes brings big game and personality to golf, so let’s hope he has finally arrived.