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Barnes, Glover stay in hunt

Source: Agencies | June 23, 2009, Tuesday | Print Edition

THE US Open trophy was on display at Farmingdale, New York, yesterday morning. It remained anyone's guess who would hoist it at day's end.

With only a slight chance of rain, the final round of the oft-delayed championship resumed with Ricky Barnes and Lucas Glover tied for the lead at seven-under. They were on the second hole at the time of going to press, and had a five-shot cushion over their nearest challengers, a group that included Phil Mickelson, David Duval, Hunter Mahan and Ross Fisher.

A dozen players were within seven shots, including defending champion Tiger Woods, who trailed by a staggering 15 strokes at one point during third-round play on Sunday and erased more than half that deficit by nightfall.

This US Open is far from over.

Barnes threatened to make it a runaway on Sunday, leading by six strokes at one point. But he made bogey on six of the final 13 holes he completed before dark, falling right back in the pack.

Mickelson, determined to bring a fairy-tale finish to a US Open career filled with disappointment, made seven birdies in his third-round 69 that left him six shots behind. He has been the runner-up four times at the US Open - three times in New York - and is desperate to bring a silver trophy of cheer home to his wife Amy, who is battling breast cancer and begins treatment on July 1.

"I'm one good round away," Mickelson said.

Mike Weir was six shots off the pace, and the world No. 1 isn't out of it yet, either: Woods made a putt in the dark for birdie at the seventh hole just as play was stopped on Sunday night, getting to even par and still in the hunt for his second straight Open title.

"You have to play a great round of golf and get some help," Woods said. "Obviously, it's not totally in my control. Only thing I can control is whether I can play a good one or not."

It's an unlikely duo in the final group. Forget leading: Barnes has only been within 10 shots of the lead after the third round of a PGA Tour event three times before in his career, and Glover has exactly one win on tour.

For a while on Sunday, they seemed by far the class of the field.

Taking advantage of Bethpage's soft fairways and greens - and making plenty of great shots along the way - Barnes joined an exclusive group early in his third round, when he made a 25-foot eagle putt on the par-five fourth hole. That sent him to 11-under; in US Open history, only Woods, Jim Furyk and Gil Morgan had ever been double digits below par.

It didn't last.

Barnes started to leak shots around the midpoint of the third round, quite possibly feeling the strain that comes with leading a major for the first time.

He went 33 holes without a bogey before, without warning, making par became a struggle.
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