Ricky Barnes Arrives at The 2009 Travelers Championship

CROMWELL, CT—A little more than halfway through the third round of the 2009 U.S. Open, Ricky Barnes appeared to be in full control and seemed to have at least one hand firmly placed on the trophy.

Barnes began the third round with a one-stroke lead over Lucas Glover, and after shooting two under par on the front, his lead had grown to six strokes by the turn.

But, as is so often the case at major championships, the tournament would turn on its heels in a matter of hours.

Unfortunately for Barnes, he happened to be on the loosing end of the about face that the U.S. Open would abruptly take between Sunday afternoon and Monday morning.

He shot a two-over-par 37 on the back nine of his third round, while Glover fought his way back with a 32 coming in, and the round finished just as it had began, with Barnes holding a one-stroke lead over Glover.

Barnes, who won the U.S. Amateur Championship back in 2002, was seven over par in the first 12 holes of his final round, and for the first time in two days, he found himself amongst those in pursuit of the leader rather than the one being pursued.

He would settle down on the back nine, and after a birdie at the par-5 13th, followed shortly thereafter by a bogey by Glover on the 15th, Barnes had pulled to within one stroke of the lead with three holes to play.

But Glover delivered the knockout punch with a birdie at the 16th while Barnes missed a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th that would have made Glover's heart beat just a little faster while standing over the three-footer he eventually sank for the U.S. Open title.

Less than 24 hours after his disappointing finish at the Open, Barnes travelled two hours north from Bethpage to attend the Travelers Championship, which is taking place this week in Cromwell, Connecticut.

“I knew I didn't want to rush out here and get drained physically and rush to the golf course. So I hopped in the car about 11:00 or 12:00 this afternoon...I slept 90 percent of the way here. It was rest well-needed,” Barnes said during his press conference Tuesday afternoon.

This will be Barnes's first appearance at the Travelers Championship and although he has yet to see the golf course, he is looking forward to riding last week’s success right on into this week’s tournament.  

“Good play breeds success. Someone once told me that a lot of the time you make 70 percent of your money in five or six weeks of the year. Sometimes you see guys, they play well for three out of four-week stretches, and that's what I'm looking forward to, too,” Barnes said.

Following his 2002 U.S. Amateur victory over Hunter Mahan, Barnes was thought to be destined for greatness on the PGA Tour and was showered with lucrative sponsorship deals the second he turned pro.

But his career didn’t get off to the start he or anyone else would have expected.

Barnes bounced around the mini tours and had his fair share of unsuccessful trips to qualifying school before finally earning his way onto the PGA Tour by finishing 25th on the 2008 Nationwide Tour money list.

The spotlight was shining brightly on Barnes the day he turned pro back in 2003. But, over the course of the past six years, that light had dimmed, slowly but surely.

That is, until last week at Bethpage.

The 2009 U.S. Open will be remembered more for Ricky Barnes and Lucas Glover than for Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, or anyone else.

Barnes set a 36-hole U.S. Open scoring record and held the 36- and 54-hole leads in the tournament.

As Glover stepped onto the 18th tee box, Barnes was the only player left in the field with a legitimate shot at forcing a playoff with Glover.

“I'm going to take away a lot of good things and grow from the last day knowing that, hey, if you get into a little bit of a bind, you're a good enough player to come back from that,” Barnes said.

With all of the marquee names and heartwarming storylines around Bethpage last week, it wound up being the Glover/Barnes show down the stretch.

Who would have ever thought it?

Well, Ricky Barnes has always thought it to be possible, it’s just taken him a little longer than expected to get there.