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Lucas Glover Emerges from Monsoon with US Open Victory

After days upon days of rain involving more pictures of grounds crew working squeegees across flooded greens than I ever cared to witness, the 109th playing of the US Open golf tournament ended in something like familiar fashion. A guy most folks never would have selected as the winner of this event on Wednesday played better than anyone else on the back nine during the final round of the tournament and gets to take home a nifty trophy atop a wheelbarrow full of money. It took until Monday for the golf to overcome the weather as the story of the week. Phil Mickelson finished in second place for a record fifth time, doomed by his putter and a week full of feast or famine shots. Missing two par putts on the last four holes sent Mr.Mickelson home to more important matters with another almost but not quite finish in our national championship

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16 years ago

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After days upon days of rain involving more pictures of grounds crew working squeegees across flooded greens than I ever cared to witness, the 109th playing of the US Open golf tournament ended in something like familiar fashion.  A guy most folks never would have selected as the winner of this event on Wednesday played better than anyone else on the back nine during the final round of the tournament and gets to take home a nifty trophy atop a wheelbarrow full of money. 

It took until Monday for the golf to overcome the weather as the story of the week.  Phil Mickelson finished in second place for a record fifth time, doomed by his putter and a week full of feast or famine shots.  Missing two par putts on the last four holes sent Mr.Mickelson home to more important matters with another almost but not quite finish in our national championship.  

 The fourth round began Sunday night with Rickey Barnes at 8 under par one shot ahead of Mr. Glover and five ahead of everyone else.  Even though Mr. Barnes had held the 36 hole lead in record fashion, and still led after 54 holes, I don’t think I was the only one watching who figured 3 or 4 under would be enough.  I mean really, when Mr. Barnes got to 11 under par and the talking heads were dragging out Gil Morgan and his sprint to 12 under at Pebble Beach followed by his drop thru all seven layers of hell, did anyone really believe he was going to continue to walk on water all the way to the trophy?  No.  He shot 40 on the front nine in the final round,  not surprising considering the circumstances.  Admirably he hung tough around the back nine to finish tied for second with Mr. Mickelson and a name from another decade, David Duval. 

That’s correct, David Duval, looking like he was enjoying himself for a change and playing like he used to play, hitting the ball straight, long, accurate, and making putts from all over.  He began the day on the 238 yd par 3 third hole at 3 under par.  One triple bogey later he was even par and I figured he was finished.  Granted he caught a terrible break, pulling his iron shot from the tee just a bit left and into one of those gargantuan seeming sand traps where the ball just happened to bury under the lip.  A no shot dead lie if I’ve ever seen one, which turned out to be the case.  My mistake was thinking Mr. Duval would fold up his I’m the 882nd best golfer but I used to be number one on the planet tent and vanish into the land of the many over par.  He didn’t fold at all.  He did what no one has seen him do in a long long time.  Continue to play quality golf shots, make some putts and crawl back into the lead.   Only to watch a 5 foot par putt do a 180* back at you on the 17th green.  This while Mr. Glover made his lone birdie of the day on the par 4 16th hole, acquiring a two shot lead as he marched onto the 17th tee.  I really hope that Mr. Duval is back as a player.  What a comeback script that would make.  From number one in the world to number 882 and back to say the top five in only 10 years.  A tale of one man’s inability to quit on himself when the rest of golfdom buried him long long ago.  Very cool. Although probably a psychologically questionable personality flaw, it’s a flaw I have to admire. 

Tiger Woods had numerous chances to get himself into the mix the final two days, but his putter refused to comprehend the lack of speed on the greens.  A US Open can not be won without cooperation from the flatstick.  Won’t happen.  And yet he still finished tied for 6th only four shots out of first.  If you kept score, he was four over on the 15th hole for the week.  Whatever your opinion on him, the guy is just absolutely amazing at playing this game. 

And so there was drama on the final nine, even though it was Monday morning rather than Sunday afternoon.  Lots of players with a chance to win and or lose the tournament.  Make no mistake, Mr. Glover won the trophy by playing better golf than anyone else.  He is a worthy winner as deserving as every other of the names etched on the trophy he now holds.  Congratulations.

 

As a small aside, I never hope the talking heads have so much time to fill ever again.  When weatherman Al Roker is the star talking head something is amiss.  Normally I can tune out the voices, but they reached the level of the ridiculous so quickly today, and then went way beyond that in short order, I was throwing things at my television and yelling at them to shut the heck up.  The inanity reached such a level that I neglected to realize I could hit the mute button, but like rubberneckers at a six car- semitruck accident I had to keep an ear out for every gory sentence.  It may take some time before I can forget statements like Dan Hicks made about Mr. Barnes after a chip shot finished tap in distance from the hole.  Something to the effect that "once again he’s responded to the pressure"  this after Mr. Barnes had yanked three successive tee shots into the deep do do and even hit a second shot further left.  The guy is melting in front of my eyes and just about to come out of skin, but he’s responding to the pressure in a good way.  HAH!  I just threw a pair of socks at the computer.  Time to say goodbye. 

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1 Comment

  1. Tyler

    Jun 24, 2009 at 12:46 am

    Eric,

    Congrats on the Sportscenter mention. I found the video of it if you missed it.

    -Tyler

    Post #16
    http://www.golfwrx.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=273077&hl=

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Tour Rundown: Bend, but don’t break

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3 weeks ago

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Aug 4, 2025

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I’m going to gush in this intro paragraph, to get the emo stuff done early. I’ve not pulled harder for a professional to win, than Cameron Young. I coach golf in New York state, and each spring, my best golfers head to a state championship in Poughkeepsie. I first saw Cameron there as a 9th grade student. I saw him three more times after that. I reconnecected with Coach Haas from Wake Forest, an old interview subject from my days on the Old Gold and Black, the Wake newspaper. He was there to watch Cameron. After four years at Wake Forest, Young won on the Korn Ferry Tour, made it to the big tour, almost won two majors, almost won five other events, and finally got the chalice about 25 minutes from the Wake campus. Congratulations, Cameron. You truly are a glass of the finest. #MotherSoDear

OK, let’s move on to the Tour Rundown. The major championship season closed this week in Wales, with the Women’s Open championship. The PGA Tour bounced through Greensboror, N.C., while the PGA Tour Americas hit TO (aka, Toronto) for a long-winded event. The Korn Ferry lads made a stop in Utah, one of just two events for that tour in August. The many-events, golf season is winding down, as we ease from summer toward fall in the northern hemisphere. Let’s bask in the glory of an August sunrise, and run down a quartet of events from the first weekend of the eighth month.

LET/LPGA @ Women’s Open: Miyu bends, but she doesn’t break

Royal Porthcawl was not a known commodity in the major tournament community. The Welsh links had served as host to men’s senior opens, men’s amateurs, and Curtis and Walker Cups in prior years, but never an Open championship for the women or the men. The last-kept secret in UK golf was revealed once again to the world this week, as the best female golfers took to the sandy stage.

Mao Saigo, Grace Kim, Maja Stark, and Minjee Lee hoped to add a second major title to previous wins this season, but only Lee was able to finish inside the top ten. The 2025 playing of the Women’s Open gave us a new-faces gallery from day one. The Kordas and Thitikulls were nowhere to be found, and it was the Mayashitas, Katsus, and Lim Kims that secured the Cymru spotlight. The first round lead was held at 67 by two golfers. One of them battled to the end, while the other posted 81 on day two, and missed the cut. Sitting one shot behind was Miyu Yamashita.

On day two, Yamashita posted the round of the tournament. Her 65 moved her to the front of the aisle, in just her fourth turn around a women’s Open championship. With the pre-event favorites drifting off pace, followers narrowed into two camps: those on the side of an underdog, and others hoping for a weekend charge from back in the pack. In the end, we had a bit of both.

On Saturday, Yamashita bent with 74 on Saturday, offering rays of hope to her pursuing pack. England’s Charley Hull made a run on Sunday closing within one shot before tailing off to a T2 finish with Minami Katsu. Katsu posted the other 65 of the week, on Saturday, but could not overtake her countrywoman, Yamashita. wunderkind Lottie Woad needed one round in the 60s to find her pace, but could only must close-to’s, ending on 284 and a tie with Minjee for eighth.

On Sunday, Yamashita put away the thoughts of Saturday’s struggles, with three-under 33 on the outward half. She closed in plus-one 37, but still won by two, for a first Major and LPGA title.

PGA Tour @ Wyndham: Young gathers first title near home

Cameron Young grew up along the Hudson river, above metro New York, but he also calls Winston-Salem home. He spent four years as a student and athlete at Wake Forest University, then embarked on tour. This week in Greensboro, after a bit of a break, Young opened with 63-62, and revved the engine of Is this the week once more. Runner-up finishes at the Open, the PGA, and a handful of PGA Tour events had followers wonder when the day would come.

On Saturday, Young continued his torrid pace with 65, giving him a five-shot advantage over his closest pursuer. Sunday saw the Scarborough native open with bogey, then reel off five consecutive birdies to remind folks that his time had, at last, arrived. Pars to the 16th, before two harmless bogeys coming home, made Young the 1000th winner of an official PGA Tour event (dating back to before there was a PGA Tour) throughout history. What’s next? I have a suspicion, but I’m not letting on. Mac Meissner closed with 66 to finish solo 2nd, while Mark Hubbard and Alex Noren tied for third.

Korn Ferry Tour @ Utah Championship: Are you Suri it’s Julian?

Who knows exactly when the flower will bloom? Julian Suri played a solid careet at Duke University, then paid his dues on the world’s minor tours for three years. He won twice on two tours in Europe, in 2017. Since then, the grind has continued for the journeyman from New York city. At age 34, Suri broke through in Beehive state, outlasting another grinder (Spencer Levin) and four others, by two shots.

Taylor Montgomery began the week with 62, then posted 64, then 68, and finally, 70. That final round was his undoing. He finished in that second-place tie, two back of the leader. Trace Crowe, Barend Botha, and Kensei Hirata made up the last of the almost quintet. As for Suri, his Sunday play was sublime. His nines were 32 and 31, with his only radar blip a bogey at ten. He closed in style with one final birdie, to double his winning margin. Hogan bloomed late…might Suri?

PGA Tour Americas @ Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos – CBM Aggregates

Some tournament names run longer than others. This week in Toronto, at the Heathlands course at TPC Toronto, we might have seen the longest tournament title in recorded history. The OVOPBVCCBMA was a splendid affair. It saw three rounds of 62 on Thursday, but of those early risers, only Drew Goodman would stick around until the end. 64 was the low tally on day two, and two of those legionnaires managed to finish inside the top three at week’s end. Saturday brought a 63 from Patrick Newcomb, and he would follow with 64 on Sunday, to finish solo fourth.

Who, then, ended up winning the acronym of the year? It turns out that Carson Bacha had the right stuff in TeeOhhh. Bacha and Jay Card III posted 63 and 64, respectively, on day four, to tie for medalist honors at 23-under 261. Nathan Franks was one shot adrift, despite also closing with 63. If you didn’t go low on Sunday, it was about the check, not the championship.

Bacha and JC3 returned to the 18th hole twice in overtime. Card nearly chipped in from the thick stuff for birdie, while Bacha peeked and shoved a ten-feet attempt at the win. On the second go-round, Card was long with his approach, into the native grasses once more. He was unable to escape, and a routine par from the fairway was enough to earn the former Auburn golfers a first KFT title.

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2025 Wyndham Championship

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4 weeks ago

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Jul 29, 2025

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GolfWRX is live this week from the final event of the PGA Tour’s regular season, the Wyndham Championship.

Photos are flowing into the forums from Sedgefield Country Club, where we already have a GolfWRX spirit animal Adam Schenk WITB and plenty of putters for your viewing pleasure.

Check out links to all our photos below, which we’ll continue to update as more arrive.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.

 

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BK’s Breakdowns: Kurt Kitayama’s Winning WITB, 3M Open

Published

4 weeks ago

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Jul 28, 2025

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Kurt Kitayama just won his 2nd PGA Tour event at the 3M Open. Kurt is a Bridgestone staffer but with just the ball and bag. Here are the rest of the clubs he used to secure a win at the 2025 3M Open.

Driver: Titleist GT3 (11 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD VF 7 TX

3-wood: Titleist GT1 3Tour (14.5 degrees, A3 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 8 TX

7-wood: Titleist GT1 (21 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 9 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P7CB (4), TaylorMade P7MB (5-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-12F, 56-14F), Vokey Design WedgeWorks (60-K*)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Scotty Cameron Studio Style Newport 2 Tour Prototype
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy 1.0PT

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Bridgestone Tour B XS (with Mindset)

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