By John Craig 

FARMINGDALE, NY – Everyone’s taking a little bit of Bethpage State Park home with them and not from the souvenirs. It’s the mud on their shoes.

Lucas Glover is taking home a bit more.

When he stepped up to the microphone to answer a few questions on Monday afternoon, Glover didn’t want to hold what he had just earned.

But they twisted his arm.

“Heavy,” Glover said of the weight of the U.S. Open Trophy.

It was a huge weight off his mind, however, after a long, stop-and-start, out-of-sync, sloppy, muddy Open at Bethpage Black.

His wallet is heavier now too, winning $1,350,000.

Ironically, he played in the final group of the final round with Ricky Barnes, who he played during the first two rounds of the Open in 2002, the last time it was held at Bethpage State Park. Neither made the cut then.

Actually, in three previous Open appearances, Glover had never made a cut and needed to survive a 36-hole sectional just to get into this year’s tournament.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous,” Glover said in his South Carolina drawl. “I had the knees knocking pretty good on 16, 17 and 18 but I pulled it off and executed some pretty good golf shots.”

Tiger Woods won here in 2002. This time it was a Clemson Tiger who took the trophy.

Glover, 29, says he has an affinity for New York. He’s a fan of the New York Yankees and even honeymooned in New York.

“I dreamed about it as a kid and pulled it off. Here I stand,” he said.

Glover says he will keep his commitment and play the Travelers Championship in Hartford this week, the next stop on the PGA Tour.

Glover has one PGA Tour win, the 2005 Funai Classic at Walt Disney World Resort. He played in the 2001 Walker Cup and the 2007 President’s Cup.

One more thing, to pass the time this week, with all the weather delays, he read. Glover likes murder mysteries and authors like Clive Cussler and Daniel Silva. 

THE OTHER TIGER’S FINISH 

Tiger Woods shot a one-under par 69 in the final round, shooting the last three rounds under par. But he couldn’t make up his 74 with his first round that was cut short Thursday by heavy rain and not started again until Friday morning.

“It’s pretty frustrating,” Woods said after finishing even for the tournament. When he was done he was the leader in the clubhouse. “I gave myself so many chances.”

Woods says the Open should come back to Bethpage someday.

“This is a great golf course, it’s just that the USGA got the short end of the stick on the weather,” he said. “We have yet to play it hard and fast the two years we’ve played. It was kind of getting that way in ’02 at the beginning of the week until it rained on Friday.”

Woods then walked to the parking lot, thanked his New York State Police security detail who had been with him for the week, got into his car and was driven away.

By John Craig 

Phil Mickelson

Phil Mickelson (tied for second): “Certainly I’m disappointed, but now that it’s over, I’ve got more important things going on, and, (long pause) oh well.” Mickelson is now off on a family vacation before his wife, Amy, begins treatment for breast cancer on July 1^st.

“The people here are incredible and I just keep thinking that this is like the ideal spot to hold The Ryder Cup. The golf course is terrific because 16, 17 and 18 are so close together and the way the fans are, I think we’d have a big advantage.” 

David Duval (tied for second): “I stand before you certainly happy with how I played, but extremely disappointed in the outcome. I had no question in my mind I was going to win the golf tournament today.” Duval says he’s tired and is headed home to Colorado but plans to play the John Deere and then fly to Scotland to play the Open Championship at Turnberry, a course he’s never played before. Duval won the 2001 British Open at Royal Lytham and St Annes.

Ricky Barnes

Ricky Barnes

(tied for second): “It was a great week. If you told me I would have been two-under, if you told me I was second, bridesmaid isn’t too bad. But when you know you’re right there, it’s a tough one to swallow. But I would say a lot, lot more good came out of this week than bad.” He also told a quick story from the Trophy ceremony. Traditionally a silver medal goes to the runner-up. There was only one and three golfers in a tie for second. Barnes said Mickelson said to him and Duval: “I’ve got four, I’m plenty good,” so we got a kick out of that. 

On the driving range before Monday’s final round finish, Tiger Woods had a hacking cough….Steve Stricker came over and chipped a ball under Tiger’s foot, Tiger turned and smiled…The U.S. Open finished on a Monday for the second year in a row. Last year it was a playoff. The last time the 72-holes had to finish on a Monday was 26 years ago, when Larry Nelson beat Tom Watson in 1983…the Trooper who had been with Tiger all week joked on the range this morning that he thinks he caught Tiger’s cold he was so close…

Stone and gravel was brought in to form a solid walkway to cross the first fairway over the muddy mess but there was still a huge puddle up against it…ironically, a Thursday grounds ticket was found laying in the mud next to the cross over at the 17^th… walkways for spectators were cut back due to the heavy rains and mud including the area between the first and 18^th fairways, along the fourth hole and the left side of the 13^th, just too muddy to navigate…

A guy wearing a Yankee hat joked he came to the Monday at Bethpage rather than see a game at the new Yankee Stadium because the ticket was cheaper ($100)… after missing a six-foot birdie putt, Lee Westwood gladly gave up the ball to begging fans but it took three tosses to eventually one to grab his golf ball out of the air behind 14 green…Tiger stuck his tee shot on 14 to five feet from the cup and made his birdie putt. The masses went wild when he gave it a mini-fist pump. “Fist pump, Bobby,” said a fan. “It’s all over”…

Despite being five-over at the time on the day, Steve Stricker held up the rope for the teen volunteer carrying the standard sign with the names and scores in his group as he crossed from 13 green to 14 tee…there was a volunteer shortage because of the Monday finish so some manual magnetic scoreboards went un-manned, much to the crowd’s dismay…some concession stands never opened around Bethpage, including no deli sandwiches next to the first, 17^th and 18^th.

Some smells: there was new hay thrown down in spots but that didn’t keep it from, when the wind kicked up, to smell like a barn or cow pasture…but the best smelling stand, “Nuts,” that boasts “warm cinnamon glazed” and “salted” nuts finally opened at 11:15 AM behind the two huge 18^th bleachers…

Finally, Hunter Mahan, who made a charge: “So unbelievable. Hopefully someone taped it. I’d love to watch it because it looked like fun.”

By John Craig 

FARMINGDALE, NY – Ordinarily, the horns you hear in the New York/Long Island area are car horns — lots of them. But this week, the air horn was the repetitive sound. It signaled suspensions and re-starts around the golf course and over the five days of the 109^th U.S. Open.

So when the air horns echoed around Bethpage State Park Monday morning, fans erupted with cheers to see the finish of the USGA’s National Championship, which would eventually go to Lucas Glover.

And standing behind the first tee to watch Drew Weaver’s and Jim Furyk’s tee shots as they resumed play were some buddies from the Capital Area, Jack DeNyse of Niskayuna and Jack Geary of Albany.

“I took the day off from work,” Geary said. “I enjoy these events. I’ve been to the PGA 2003 in Rochester. They’re just so much fun.” 

THURSDAY’S TICKETS RE-USED

They used Thursday tickets to get in Monday. DeNyse and another friend drove down Thursday in a nuisance rain. By the time they got to Bethpage Black the skies really opened up.

“Two people sitting on 18 with a PING umbrella, that was all you saw,” DeNyse said.

Play was suspended at 10:16 AM Thursday and never resumed as the rain cascaded down.

“We saw an approach shot up 18 and that was it,” DeNyse said. “We got on the hill behind 17 green and as soon as we got set up they blew the horn.”

They waited it out with passes to a hospitality pavilion but play was done for the day. 

“The only people loving it had to be the merchandise pavilion,” he said. “Everyone was going there.”

When the USGA, under public backlash, reversed its ticket policy — allowing re-entry if there was Monday golf — he called Geary and they set out at 4:30 AM down the Thruway to catch a shuttle bus at Jones Beach.

Geary, 53, is an electrician and serves as the director of security for the Times Union Center.

“For me, it’s nice to be on the other side of the event, Geary said. “You don’t have to worry about anything. They’re so organized at these events.

“It’s a real power of example, crowd-control and everything,” Geary added. “It’s well run. These guys know how to do a tournament.” 

FOLLOWING PHIL 

After Furyk sent his ball into the gloomy Monday sky, the men set out to find some of their favorite golfers, including Phil Mickelson.

“It’s the chance of a lifetime, it really is,” Geary said. “I’m a huge Phil fan and he’s not out of it.”

As for playing the famous public course, which has no hosted two U.S. Opens in seven years, Geary shook his head.

“I wouldn’t attempt to play this course,” he said. “That sign scares me off,” referring to the sign posted at the first tee that reads: “WARNING –The Black Course is An Extremely Difficult Golf Course Which We Recommend Only For Highly Skilled Golfers.”

DeNyse is more optimistic.

“Pretty close to 100,” he said. “I’m not saying I could break 100, I might threaten it for a while, for a while.” 

PHIL’S FINISH 

The two men certainly made the most of reusable tickets. At 11:45, Mickelson eagled the 13^th to tie for the lead. But bogeys on 15 and 17 dropped him back from the lead.

 “The one on 17 was not a good putt,” said Mickelson. “I needed to give it more speed because it was slightly uphill and I didn’t hit it firm enough at all.”

At 1:00, however, Mickelson was the leader in the clubhouse at two-under par. He would finish tied for second for the fifth time in the U.S. Open.

“I feel different this time,” he said. “I don’t know where to go with this because I want to win this tournament badly.”

His fans, including the two Jacks from the Capital Area, did too.

By John Craig

David Duval is tied with four others for third as play was called for darkness Sunday night.

After his third round, Duval, 37, talked about staying in contention and returning to the spotlight in a Major ten years after being ranked number-one in the world.

“I like to think I enjoyed it immensely, you know, eight, ten years ago when I was on top of the world,” he said. “But with a life that’s a little more complete, I probably honestly enjoy it more now. I have no less desire at this point than I did back then. However, I probably feel like I don’t simply do it for myself anymore. And that’s a nice feeling.”

Duval is still here after 95 players missed the cut including current big names-in-the-game like Padraig Harrington, Paul Casey, David Toms, Ernie Els, Luke Donald, Rory Sabbatini, Zach Johnson and 2005 U.S. Open Champion Michael Campbell all missed the cut.

He is one of 60 players to make the cut after the second round concluded Saturday evening, the lowest possible number of golfers.

“The benefit I have heading into the [final] round is that I also know the other side of it,” said the 2001 British Open Champion. “I know what the awful golf is about, too. I’m going to go out and play and I’m probably going to hit a lot of good shots in this next round and hit a couple squirrelly ones, too. I’m sure I’ll miss a couple of fairways.

“But I feel comfortable in what I’m doing and confident in what I’m doing and that’s all you can ask for.”

Duval is tied with Phil Mickelson, Hunter Mahan and Ross Fisher, all at two-under par. The leaders are Lucas Glover and Ricky Barnes at seven under par.

Play resumes Monday morning and the USGA hopes it will finish by early in the afternoon.

By John Craig

FARMINGDALE, NY – Capital Area golf fans that made the trek down to Long Island on Sunday thought it would be to see a champion crowned at the U.S. Open on Father’s Day. Mother Nature had other ideas.

“You see it on TV but you’re surprised at the conditions when you get here,” said Josh Koumjian, 24, of Guilderland. “The course itself looks fantastic, you can barely tell that it rained [Saturday] night. But when you’re walking around it’s muddy, kind of a mess. But they still did a great job getting it in any kind of condition to have play here.”

Koumjian and his father Jim, 49, of Glenville got up at 3:00AM and made the drive down the Thruway to spend the day at Bethpage Black. By the time they got to the Jones Beach parking lot for the shuttle, they found out that the starting time had been pushed back from 7:30AM to noon.

So, they hit the merchandise tent and got some souvenirs, including a replica of the famous sign that hangs behind the first tee at Bethpage Black that reads: “WARNING –The Black Course is An Extremely Difficult Golf Course Which We Recommend Only For Highly Skilled Golfers.” Josh says he’ll hang that in his apartment.

They tried to get breakfast but were told the concession stand had already run out of breakfast sandwiches. So they got a hot dog. By 11:00 AM, Jim Koumjian had also had an ice cream cone and a brownie.

“Breakfast of champions,” Jim said.

“That’s what being up since three will do to you,” added Josh.

PLANNING AND RE-PLANNING

Father and son planned the trip a couple of months ago, buying tickets off the internet.

In the past, the two have gone to a Yankee game or other sporting event, so the timing was right.

“He wanted to do something different than go to Yankee Stadium or something like that and since he’s been golfing a lot we wanted to come to something like this, it’s close by,” Jim said.

Jim has two other sons, Kurt, 21, and Tyler, 17, but they are not into golf so when dad gets home, there are other things planned on other days.

They had planned on walking the course and following Tiger Woods but since they got there so early, they mapped out where the players would be – because of the rain, players were going off the front and back nines – and decided to grab seats in the right hand bleachers of the 17^th green and watch them all come through.

They saw Woods chip in from the front rough for a birdie.  It was one of just two birdies there they saw all day. They saw Phil Mickelson put his tee shot close but leave his birdie putt short and tap in for par.

“I’m interested to see Anthony Kim,” Josh said. “I really like his game, an up and coming guy.”

PLAYING TOGETHER

“I’m surprised how tough the course is, just to look at it visually,” Jim said. “The greens are small compared to a lot of courses that the average person plays.”

Like a proud dad, Jim thinks his oldest son could fare pretty well at this public course. Josh is not so sure.

“I don’t think I’d break 100,” Josh said. “The distance would kill me.”

The two Capital Area men play golf together once a week and Josh is quick to point out, “I own him.”

“He plays a lot,” Jim retorts.

Neither was disappointed that they would not see a champion crowned, even though they had Sunday tickets.

“I think it’s cool to just come and see them play,” Jim said. “It doesn’t matter as long as you get to see your favorite players. You’re pretty up close with them. You can’t help the weather.”

By John Craig

FARMINGDALE, NY – Around 11:00 AM Sunday morning there was a huge ovation at the 17^th green here at Bethpage Black. It was not for a hole-in-one or any top star on the links.  In fact, third-round play had not even restarted.

The roar from the crowd was for men not wielding clubs but rakes and T-shaped PVC piping headed to the bunkers and rough around the par-3 hole. The grounds crew was being hailed as heroes for getting the course back into shape after yet another deluge of rain on Long Island.

One crew member responded in kind and led the fans in a spontaneous chant. One side shouted “Bethpage” and the other bleacher “Black.” It was a stadium-like atmosphere and tribute from the rain-soaked and patient golf fans that are, like the players, grinding it out.

“We got about eight tenths of an inch of rain overnight into this morning, so we couldn’t start again at 7:30 AM [as planned]” said Mike Davis, the USGA’s Senior Director of Rules and Competitions.

“Believe it or not, this course can keep handling this type of rain, as long as it’s not a complete downpour. The water is seeping down – it’s a very sandy soil, so that’s the great part.”

RAIN ON THE LONGEST DAY

So far this June, it has rained on this course all but a couple of days. It has rained here for at least parts of 34 of the past 47 days at Bethpage as the USGA attempted to set up the Black Course for its premier event.

“The greens do puddle up quickly, but they also do surface drain and we literally have over 100 volunteers out there using squeegees,” Davis said. “It’s just when it rains hard, that’s when we have to suspend.”

Sunday is the first day of summer but it doesn’t feel like that, with temperatures like the scores, in the upper 60’s and low 70’s.

It’s also the longest day of the year, long enough to get in the third round and see the 519^th ranked player in the world, Ricky Barnes, 28, become just the fourth player ever in U.S. Open history to get to double-digits under par. The last guy to do that was Jim Furyk (currently ranked 10^th in the world) in 2003 when he won the Open and before that, the number one player in the world, Tiger Woods, in 2000. He won the Open too. But play was suspended at 7:59 PM at the start of the final round.

TICKETS FOR MONDAY

So they will come back Monday to finish this Championship. Tickets were issued for a possible Monday playoff and, after just three hours and 16 minutes of golf Thursday, before play was suspended due to heavy rains, those tickets are good too.

Thursday ticket holders can enter through the admission gates but if they have lost or misplaced their ticket they can report to one of the Will Call facilities and their purchase will be verified through USGA records or they will have to show a receipt. USOPEN.com has more information.

By John Craig

FARMINGDALE, NY – After searching and searching for some local ties, there he was, staring me in the face outside the merchandise pavilion, wearing a bright orange golf cap with the words that gave it away emblazoned on it: “Town of Colonie Golf Course.”

“I wanted to see them up close,” Dave Leonardo said of the competitors at the 2009 U.S. Open, the first Major golf tournament he has ever attended. “A lot of the top-10 golfers that are here I’ve seen up close, on the practice green and on the driving range as well.”

Leonardo is a sergeant with the Town of Colonie but has been downstate since Tuesday night.

He came to the practice round Wednesday and attended each day of competition through Sunday.

“It really is a nice venue,” he said. “Too bad that the rain has ruined a lot of the aesthetics, if you will. But other than that, it’s been fantastic.

“I’ve been here for long hours. I come here early in the morning, leave late at night and it really has been nice.”

He’s spent some time with another man from Latham, who is volunteering during the Open and spends shifts in the merchandise tent. When he’s not working, the two are climbing the golf course.

Leonardo said the practice round was his best memory. A golfer himself, he enjoyed watching how the pros practice and conduct themselves.

“They’ll actually look at you, make comments back to you,” Leonardo said. “You can actually bring cameras that day and get pictures of them. So Wednesday was really stress-free for everybody and it was really nice. We had good weather and everybody was in a great mood.”

He was happy that one of his “all-time favorites” David Duval was in contention and he got to follow him. Plus, he caught sight of Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, Kenny Perry and Rocco Mediate.

“Unfortunately, we’re not going to see the final round,” Leonardo said. “It would have been nice to if Mother Nature cooperated.”

CAGWIN ROOTING FOR LEFTY

Also marking Father’s Day at the U.S. Open was Gary Cagwin of Delanson. How did I find him in the sea of more than 40-thousand people? He asked me where the restroom was. What are the odds?

Anyway, Cagwin drove down and is staying in New York City with his 25-year old son Jason and they came for the weekend rounds.

“It’s a dream come true to come to the U.S. Open with your son,” Cagwin said. “We both enjoy golf and I enjoy it a lot, especially when I play well but to be here with my son is a special day.”

Cagwin is a six-handicap and plays the Town of Colonie golf course regularly but says Bethpage Black is a different beast.

“I’ve seen a lot of rain,” Gary said with a chuckle, “and some great golf. It’s a tremendous, huge golf course. I’ve never seen a golf course this large. Just to walk it is grueling.

“I have a fairly good game but this would probably beat me up to where I might not break 100.”

Cagwin, a left-handed golfer, is rooting for Phil Mickelson to win his first U.S. Open.

“I like Tiger,” he said. “Certainly, he’s got the best game in the world but every dog has his day and I’m hoping it’s Phil’s day rather than Tiger’s to be honest.”

WHO’S FATHER’S DAY PRESENT?

Finally, not so much a local tie, as a funny story. Jay Jones and his buddy Ray Castro from the Bronx, who have year old daughters, came for the Sunday round at Bethpage. We found them in the Lexus tent posing with a replica of the U.S. Open trophy the USGA will hand out after 72 holes (or more if there’s a playoff).

“This is our Father’s Day present,” Castro said. “Our wives bought us the ticket for Father’s Day. They get rid of us for the day so we think we’re having a present, they’re having a present. They don’t have to deal with us for the day.”

The two men have ventured up the Thruway, playing Apple Greens in Highland, NY, off Exit 18. They said they would have liked to see a champion crowned on Sunday but found a bright spot anyway.

“Coming in, all the preparation that they did the one thing they can’t handle is the weather,” Castro said. “It’s unfortunate, but you just have to deal with it.”

“At least this area still has two more days of golf to watch the best people in the business,” Jones said. “That’s the silver lining.”

By John Craig

TIGER WOODS’ largest 36-hole comeback is nine shots. He is 11 back at three-over and teed off at 6:42 PM off the tenth hole.

“My score doesn’t reflect how I’ve been playing and it is what it is,” Woods said. “But you never know. I’ve got 36 more holes over the next probably three days.”

Lucas Glover

LUCAS GLOVER, a shot back, is in the final group with RICKY BARNES. Both played together for the first two rounds of the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black and both missed the cut.

Glover tied the course record of 64 in the second round. “I liked it in ’02, I just didn’t play well…with the graduated rough [this year] and the soft conditions, and I hit my long irons and mid-irons very good Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. So I had a pretty good vibe coming into Thursday.”

Overheard at the driving range Saturday morning from a fan: “Seattle’s like beautiful every day. They’re like burning up wondering what that thing in the sky is.”

MATTHEW JONES, who shot a 78 in the first round, withdrew on Saturday because of a back injury. He was two over par through nine holes of the second round.

STEVE STRICKER is paired with Phil Mickelson in the third round. Both are seven shots back. He said conditions on the golf course were not bad. “It’s just enough of a rain to be bothersome, but the course is holding up great. The work that they must have done here to get this place ready for [Friday’s] round, I’m losing track of days, but had to be unbelievable the amount of rain we had and the way it’s playing, it’s remarkable.”

MIKE WEIR is in the second to last group of the third round, two shots off the lead. He finished his second round Saturday morning and went back to the hotel until he found out when he’d be headed back out. “It’s been a lot of starting and stopping this week. It’s just been a test of patience and trying to be in the right state of mind each time you come out not to let things change too much. It’s difficult for everybody.”

NOT BROTHERS: Soren Hansen of Denmark and Peter Hanson of Sweden played their first two rounds together. Many in the media tent have dubbed them “The Hansen Brothers,” but they’re not.

Said Soren, a member of last year’s European Ryder Cup team: “I think both Peter and I are helping each other a lot out there and we are both playing well….I really feel like this golf course suits me a lot. It really fits my eye and I can’t wait to get back out there.”

Soren Hansen is nine shots back. He’s playing the third round with Retief Goosen.

Said Peter: “I think we have been trying to push each other along a little bit, apart from the fact that he is hitting it about 35 yards past me this week….the job they did to get the course playing again was unbelievable.”

Peter Hanson is five shots back. He’s playing the third round with David Duval.

PHIL’S THOUGHTS

Phil Mickelson stuck his tee shot to about three feet at the par-3, 227 yard third hole Friday afternoon, much to the crowd’s delight. They were ready for a birdie from the fan favorite. It was Mickelson’s 12^th hole of his first round.

He had to wait until playing partners Retief Goosen and Ernie Els played out and then Mickelson missed his birdie putt.

However, Mickelson turned right around and birdied the monstrous par-5, 517 yard.

He said that was where he got his putting turned around: “From there on out, every putt started on line and had a good, tight roll. They didn’t all go in but they all had a chance.”

Phil on how long the 2009 Open may take: “They’ve made it very clear we’re going 72 holes, however long it takes. And it’s nice knowing from a player’s standpoint because it allows you to play a certain way. I wasn’t out there pressing [Saturday], forcing birdies, thinking this might be 54 holes. Knowing that it’s 72 is helpful.”

Saturday, after the suspended second round was over: “If I can get hot with the putter I like my chances in the next few rounds,” he said after finishing his round Saturday morning.

On Bethpage: “I wouldn’t say that it hasn’t shown its teeth. This is a very difficult golf course. It’s long. The rough is very difficult and just a few yards off the fairways in spots is literally lose your ball or unplayable lie.”

In case you didn’t believe him: “Ernie Els, one of the best players in the game, was 15 over. It’s not easy. But if you hit good shots, with the greens being soft, you can actually get balls close to the hole and make birdies.”

Ross Fisher watched movies during his Thursday non-start.

ROSS FISHER’S DOWNTIME

Ross Fisher, from Wentworth, England, made the cut at two-under. He is renting a house this week with, among others, Graeme McDowell. The 28-year old said it was strange not playing on Thursday. They went out for breakfast instead.

“It’s a strange thing to do,” Fisher said. ‘You’re supposed to be here working and it’s tough to do anything.”

So, to pass the time they watched movies including “The Dark Knight” and “The 40 Year Old Virgin.”

“It was a movie that you could really just unwind,” he said. “We were all in hysterics pretty much all the way through the movie. That’s what it’s all about.

“Yes, it’s a big week but at the same time you need to chill out and relax and have some fun. At the end of the day, it’s only another golf tournament, that’s the way I look at it. It’s a Major, but you’ve got to try and treat it as just any other golf tournament.”

By John Craig

FARMINGDALE, NY – Long Island has long been a feeding ground for the University at Albany. A large number of students come up from the Island to Albany each year to go to school.

One man who made the trip in the mid-70’s is volunteering this year at Bethpage Black at the 109^th U.S. Open.

“They call me the Reverend,” said William Graham, better known as Billy, who lives in Rockville Center now and grew up in Massapequa, NY.

Friday the pleasant man with thick, gray mustache was found behind the wheel of an SUV as part of his volunteer job at Bethpage State Park. He has been part of a crew that shuttles some players and their families back and forth to the golf course.

“I haven’t met anybody of any consequence,” he said. “I had friends of Jim Furyk who were out here visiting, but it’s been kind of slow.”

Graham is part of an army of 5,500 USGA volunteers who give up a week to work the National Championship. They have to commit to four six-hour shifts (give or take the way the Open is going this year) and then get to spend the day on the grounds watching the action if they choose.

A FAN FOR YEARS

Graham is a golf fan who had been going to Major golf tournaments for years — including three U.S. Opens at Shinnecock, the 2002 Open at Bethpage, PGAs, a Ryder Cup – as a fan so he decided to volunteer.

He graduated from then Albany State in 1976 with a degree in Mathematics and Accounting and works in banking.

“Great school,” he said of his alma mater.

“My friends from Albany and I, we go to Myrtle Beach every year,” Graham added. “They’re from Florida, Rochester, Poughkeepsie, Albany, Boston, all around. We get together every year.”

In the Capital Area, he used to play golf at Western Turnpike, Town of Colonie and the Albany Municipal Course, before it was redone and is Capital Hills now.

“When I played there they actually had ball washers that were steel buckets with brushes with a piece of wood with a hole in it,” Graham said. “You’d move it up and down.”

As for Bethpage, he was thrilled when the USGA decided to stage its biggest event here.

“This course before the USGA came here was a real dump,” he said. “It was hard as a rock, the sand traps had all kinds of [stuff] in there, it really wasn’t in good condition at all and they just did a wonderful job fixing up and making it nice. I think it’s great for Bethpage.”

As for Bethpage, the 2009 version: “I’m rooting for Phil Mickelson.”

By John Craig

FARMINGDALE, NY – After two rounds in the books over three days at the 109^th United States Open, a record has been set. Not for how long it’s taken to play the first two rounds, rather what the score is: 132.  Ricky Barnes, 28, is the man at the top at eight-under par.

U.S. Open leader Ricky Banes and his brother Andy, who serves as his caddy, after they set a 36-hole Open scoring record.

“It’s pretty cool,” Barnes said. “Obviously at the beginning of the week you didn’t think that score was out there.”

Barnes credits the tees being moved up and soft greens after the area has been pounded with wet weather over the past few weeks. He hit 31 of 36 greens in regulation.

“Pretty stress-free,” Barnes said. He had just one bogey in two rounds.

His 132 is one better than the record previously held by Jim Furyk and Vijay Singh at the 2003 U.S. Open at Olympia Fields in Illinois. Furyk won that Open.

CADDY INSIGHT

To get a true picture of a golfer, ask his caddy. In Barnes’ case, that’s also his brother, Andy, who is three and a half years older than Ricky.

“It’s not like this is his first rodeo,” Andy Barnes said while balancing the golf bag and holding keys, a wallet and Ricky’s USGA issued access badge in his right hand.

“He knows what to expect, he knows how hard it is. He knows it’s not going to be easy the next couple of rounds.”

Ricky Barnes, from Phoenix, Arizona, is playing in his fifth U.S. Open. In 2002, he missed the cut here at Bethpage Black, with rounds of 78-75, 13-over par.

“I keep telling him hard work will pay off more than talent will,” Andy said.

The family is renting a house near Bethpage State Park and has packed ten inside.

TRANSFORMATION

Ricky Barnes transformed himself from, what Andy estimates was a kid brother 5-foot-5, 220 pounds as a freshman in high school to College Player of the Year at Arizona, now standing at 6-foot-2, and “a lean 205 pounds,” said Andy.

“I still think he has a blend of power and finesse,” Andy said.

Barnes worked hard on the Nationwide Tour to earn his Tour Card – he had the second most top-tens last year — but has not fared well in his first year so far, missing six of 12 cuts. His best finish was a tie for 47^th last week at the St. Jude Classic in Memphis, TN.

Ricky Barnes

“They say every shot counts but every shot really counts out there on the Nationwide [Tour],” Andy said.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t really pissed off the first two or three years,” Ricky Barnes said. “Seeing other guys that you played with getting out there and playing well…and you’re struggling.”

Andy, 31, is the assistant men’s golf coach at the University of Arizona.

“It’s a tough living out there,” Andy said. “It’s like beating your head against the wall for years.”

FOOTBALL AND GOLF

The Barnes boys are no stranger to professional sports. Their father, Bruce, was an All-America football player at UCLA. He was one of two punters drafted into the NFL in 1973. The other was Ray Guy.

Bruce Barnes played for the New England Patriots in ’73 and ’74 and then a handful of games with the Green Bay Packers. Nowadays, he still lives in Northern California and plays golf with Jim Plunkett at Cypress Point, Spyglass and Pebble Beach.

Andy said he took his brother everywhere and they played every sport they could. He knows “when to kick him and when to put him in his place.”

And there’s mutual admiration.

“At the end of the day, I have his respect as a caddy and a brother,” Andy said.

Barnes is trying to become just the 12th man to win the U.S. Amateur and the U.S. Open. Others to have done it include Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Tiger Woods.

The Barnes boys will be back at it at the final pairing of the third round, with Lucas Glover, who is a shot back.

“Everything’s a process,” Andy Barnes said. “Hard work beats talent every day.”