Remembering The 2009 US Open At Bethpage Black

A wet week at Bethpage led to a Monday finish where Lucas Glover eventually prevailed to win his first and only Major to date

Remembering The 2009 US Open At Bethpage Black

Bethpage State Park's Black Course hosts the 2019 USPGA Championship, almost 10 years after it was last the venue for a Major.

The course held the 2009 US Open, but you may be forgiven for forgetting the tournament.

It was a memorable week for Lucas Glover, who won his first and only Major to date, but it won't go down as one of the all-time greats.

Glover eventually outlasted Ricky Barnes, David Duval and Phil Mickelson to capture the trophy in what was a very wet week.

Ricky Barnes was in the driver's seat after 54 holes, but five bogeys on his front nine in the final round derailed his hopes.

He eventually finished in T2nd after a six-over-par 76 to end at two under.

Lucas Glover closed with a 73 (+3) to win by two at four under.

The final round began on Sunday afternoon but the leaders Barnes and Glover only managed a single hole.

The weather was the story of the week, with the first round being suspended at 10.15am on Thursday morning and not restarting again until Friday morning.

Round two began on Friday afternoon and finished on Saturday afternoon, round three began on Saturday evening and finished late Sunday before the final round got underway late Sunday and finished on Monday.

The 2009 US Open was another of Phil Mickelson's runner-up finishes and this was one of his best chances.

Lefty eagled the 13th to tie the lead, despite starting the round six back, but then missed chances at 14 and 16 which were sandwiched between a three-putt bogey at 15 and another dropped shot at 17.

"I put myself in a great position but didn't finish it off – disappointed," he said afterwards.

However, he could be forgiven as golf really wouldn't have been on the forefront of his mind that week as his wife Amy was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier in the year.

Mickelson announced that he was taking a break from golf indefinitely to be with Amy during her treatment.

Thankfully Amy recovered and what followed were emotional scenes at the 2010 Masters when he captured his third Green Jacket.

Former World Number One David Duval, who went from 882nd to 142nd in the world with his T2nd place, was well in with a shout after three birdies in a row on the back nine before a bogey on 17.

He eventually finished two shy and that was after an ultimately costly triple-bogey at the par-3 third.

Ross Fisher was the top Englishman in fifth, his best Major performance to date.

However, he could have finished higher up the leaderboard had it not been for a cold putter in the final round.

Still, a one under par total won him nearly $300,000 and left him just three back of the winning score.

Fisher finished T13th at the 2009 Open and T19th at the USPGA.

He also won the 2009 Volvo World Match Play and reached a career-high 17th that year.

Tiger Woods was one further back, but got to one under on the back nine after birdies at 13 and 14, however a bogey at 15 halted his momentum.

Woods was double-defending champion of sorts, as he had won the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines and also prevailed at Bethpage at the 2002 US Open when the tournament was last held there.

It wasn't to be for the World Number One who, like Fisher, struggled on the greens.

"My good putts aren't going in and my bad putts aren't even close. I gave myself so many chances. I made nothing," he said.

Lucas Glover closed with a 73 to win his maiden Major by two, thanks to a level par back nine which included a birdie on the 16th and two pars to close out.

It was clutch from the American, who had won just one PGA Tour title before, had never had a top 10 in a Major and had never even made a cut at a US Open.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous," Glover said.

"The old knees were knocking pretty good. I dreamed about this as a kid and here I stand. I held it together."

Watch Glover's birdie at 16 and par on 18:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_UAA0Fb0bg

Since then, Glover has won just once on the PGA Tour at the 2011 Wells Fargo Championship.

He was 5th at the 2009 USPGA Championship but since then has had very little success in Majors.

Glover has missed the cut in the last seven US Opens.

2009 US Open final leaderboard -

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