Glover Wins United States Open

June 22, 2009

Glover Quotes | Larry Penley Quotes On Glover’s Victory | GALLERY (Photos by Rex Brown/Ai Wire)

Clemson, SC – Former Clemson All-American Lucas Glover won the 2009 United States Open on Monday at the par 70 Black Course at Bethpage Golf Club in Farmingdale, NY with a final round 73 and 72-hole score of four-under par 276. Glover finished two shots ahead of Phil Mickelson, David Duval and Ricky Barnes to become the first former Clemson golfer to win a Major tournament.

Ross Fisher finished fifth with a 279 score while Tiger Woods, Hunter Mahan and Soren Hansen finished at 280. Glover was ranked 71st in the world entering the tournament and is the fourth lowest ranked player to win the US Open since world rankings began in 1986. Glover had failed to make the cut in three previous US Opens, including the 2002 tournament at Bethpage Black.

Glover trailed Barnes by one shot entering the final round, which began on Sunday evening. Glover pared the first hole and Barnes made a bogey, leaving both players tied for the lead at seven under par when the USGA halted play due to darkness at 8:00 PM.

Glover and the 59 other competitors returned to the course to begin play on Monday morning at 9:00 AM. Glover, a native of Greenville, SC, made three bogeys on the front nine and made the turn at four-under-par for the tournament. He still held the lead, as Barnes shot a five over par score on the front nine.

Glover made five straight pars from holes 10-14 to remain at four under par. But, up ahead Mickelson made an eagle three on the par five 13th hole to tie Glover at four under par. But, Mickelson gave a stroke back on the difficult 15th hole to go to three under.

The key hole for Glover was the par four 16th hole. After having made a bogey on the 15th to drop into a tie for the lead with Mickelson at three under, Glover hit his approach on 16 to within four feet. He made the putt for birdie to go back to four -under par. Mickelson made another bogey on 17 and all of a sudden Glover had a two-shot lead. Glover made pars on the last two holes to win by two shots.

Glover was a two-time first-team All-American at Clemson. He was a member of four NCAA Tournament top 10 teams between 1998-01, including the second ranked teams in the nation in 1998 and 2001. Clemson’s 2001 team finished second at Duke, one shot ahead of an Arizona team that featured Ricky Barnes, Glover’s main competitor on Monday.

Glover was also named to the Palmer Cup teams in 2000 and 2001 and was a member of the United States Walker Cup team in 2001. He won three tournaments during his Clemson career, the 1998 Carpet Classic, the 1998 Mauna Kea in Hawaii and the 2001 Puerto Rico Classic. He also won the South Carolina Amateur Championship three times (1998-99-00) and is the player to win that tournament three years in a row. He was named to the ACC’s 50-year anniversary golf team in 2002 and was inducted into the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.

This was Glover’s second career win on the PGA Tour. He also won the Funai Classic in Orlando in October of 2005, a tournament he won by making a 70-foot bunker shot on the last hole.

With the victory, Glover is an automatic qualifier for the next 10 United States Opens, and for each of the next five Masters Tournaments. He will also play in this year’s British Open. He is also the recipient of a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour. He won $1,350,000 with the victory, the largest check in history for any former Clemson golfer on the PGA Tour.