Could The 2009 US Open Be Any Stranger?

Not since Jack Flack heard voices in his hotel room telling him that he’d win the 1955 US Open and then went out and defeated Ben Hogan in an 18-hole playoff, has an Open been as bizarre as what is currently taking place at Bethpage.

Ricky Barnes is leading the tournament at eight-under par and has set a new 36-hole US Open scoring record.

The fact that anyone in the field is at eight-under par on this brutally difficult golf course is shocking enough, but Ricky Barnes?

Sure, Barnes won the 2002 US Amateur over Hunter Mahan, but he has only competed in two major championships in his career and has never won a professional event.

What about Lucas Glover, who is currently sitting just one stroke behind Barnes?

Glover has missed the cut in six-of-11 major championships he’s played in, and he is now just 36-holes away from adding the US Open trophy in his trophy case alongside the other hardware he's won from the 2001 Oklahoma Open and the 2005 FUNAI Classic. 

The Oklahoma Open and FUNAI Classic really are professional golf tournaments, just in case you were wondering.

Then we have David Duval, who is three-under par and just five strokes off the lead.   Duval’s last win came at the 2001 British Open. 

Wouldn’t it be nice if Duval could follow up that British Open win with a US Open win, even if it does come eight years later?

Lucas Glover shot a 64 in his second round, and he wasn’t the only one to have flirted with Johnny Miller’s major championship record of 63. Mike Weir also shot a 64 in his opening round, and take away one bad tee shot that led to a double bogey, Weir could have easily shot 62.

Mike Weir is currently sitting just two strokes off the lead. 

Who was the one that said Bethpage Black was a bomber’s course?

7,400-plus yards in swamp-like conditions?

How could we have ever have overlooked Mike Weir as a potential 2009 US Open champion?

Nick Taylor is at two-under par and currently tied for 7th place. No point in wasting your time looking up Taylor in your PGA Tour media guide because he’s just an amateur who still plays at the University of Washington.

The rain comes down every time Tiger Woods steps onto the golf course.

Have the golf Gods turned on him?

When has it ever rained on anything Tiger Woods has done in his entire career?

Now, for the second time in three days, play has been suspended due to the weather. 

The average rainfall in New York for the month of June is one day; it has now rained 16 out of 20 days in June. By the time Ricky Barnes and Lucas Glover finally tee off for their third round, they may need to swap their caddies for a rowboat.

If Nick Taylor was in his hotel room tonight and heard voices telling him that he’d win the 2009 US Open over a charging Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, would it surprise anyone if at actually happened?

The way this US Open has been unfolding, Nick Taylor walking out of Bethpage with the US Open trophy would probably be a fitting conclusion to this major championship.

John Feinstein recently wrote a book titled "Are You Kidding Me?" about Rocco Mediate and the 2008 US Open......perhaps his next book will be about the 2009 Open and be titled "Now You Must Really Be Kidding Me".