U.S. Open
Barnes Leads as Third Round Gets Underway
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Sunday, June 21, 2009; 1:03 PM
FARMINGDALE, N.Y., June 21 -- Phil Mickelson's first swing of a Sunday at the U.S. Open came from the left rough on the second hold at Bethpage State Park's Black Course. Tiger Woods's came on the 11th, just a hole-and-a-half into his third round.
No, this doesn't feel like a typical Open Sunday, when players would tee off in order and determine a champion. But they are, at least, playing golf at Bethpage Black, with the third round -- already stopped by rains Saturday night -- picked up midstream, and leader Ricky Barnes finally on the course.
The third round -- originally scheduled to resume at 7:30 a.m. Sunday -- finally got underway at 11:55 a.m., with Barnes protecting his one-shot lead over Lucas Glover on what is, increasingly, a completely saturated Bethpage Black. The course absorbed another eight-tenths of an inch of rain overnight, but officials from the United States Golf Association still hope to finish the third round Sunday and begin the fourth and final round sometime Sunday evening, with a Monday finish. A playoff, if necessary, would be held Monday afternoon.
"The forecast for the afternoon is relatively good," said the USGA's Mike Davis, who is in charge of the course setup. "We could see some light showers, but they are not thinking thunderstorms or anything heavy. So if that's the case, we will play as long as we can."
Barnes, the unlikely leader, began his day with a par at the first and a birdie at No. 2, and continues to hold a lead over Glover, the South Carolinian who is his playing partner. Woods, the defending Open champion who also won in 2002 at Bethpage, has not made a move, parring the first four holes of his third round despite makeable putts. He entered the day 3-over par, 11 shots behind Barnes's lead.
Mickelson, who entered the third round 1-under, made a birdie at the third, but bogeyed the fifth to remain there. Mike Weir of Canada, the 2003 Masters champion, made par on his first two holes of the day to stay at 6-under, trailing only Barnes and Glover.
The players, though, have made less news than the course and the weather. But even with all the rain on Long Island over the past month, Davis said tournament organizers are optimistic they will complete the tournament Monday.
"Believe it or not, this course can keep handling this type of rain as long as it's not a complete downpour," Davis said. "The water is seeping down. It's a very sandy soil, so that's the great part. If we were at some other U.S. Open venues right now and this kind of rain was happening, I can't even begin to think what we'd be doing."
