Ricky Barnes held a one-shot lead heading into a marathon final day at the US Open after firing a five-under 65 on Saturday for a record 36-hole total of 132 at the rain-delayed tournament.
Barnes led fellow-American Lucas Glover by one stroke and faced the possibility of 36 holes at Bethpage Black on the final day as he was among 16 golfers yet to tee off for the third round when action was suspended because of flooded greens.
Reigning champion Tiger Woods, who won the 2002 Open played at Bethpage, was 11 shots back after posting a second-round 69.
PHOTO: EPA
Sixty players made the cut set at four-over 144 after the 156-man field finally finished the second round on Saturday afternoon after a backlog caused by storms that washed out Thursday’s first round after just 3 hours, 15 minutes.
Players were sent out in twosomes from the first and 10th tees for the third round, which officials hoped to resume at 7:30am yesterday, although that would be delayed if expected overnight rain damaged the already soggy course.
Soft conditions made for receptive greens and players fired at pins on the long layout.
PGA Tour rookie Barnes, the 2002 US amateur champion who had an opening 67 on Friday, came back on Saturday to birdie three of the nine holes he had left in his second round to go eight-under in the rain-marred tournament.
His 132 total was one lower than the old US Open mark shared by eventual winner Jim Furyk and Vijay Singh at Olympia Fields in 2003.
“It’s pretty cool,” Barnes, 28, said. “At the beginning of the week, you didn’t think that score was out there.”
Glover, who led by one stroke when play was halted on Friday, came back to birdie one of his five remaining holes to finish with 64 for 133.
“The greens are still holding mid-irons and long irons,” Glover said. “It’s still very soft. If you get it in the fairway, there are birdies to be had.”
Canadian Mike Weir, the 2003 US Masters winner who led after the first round, was on 134 after a 70.
Tied for fourth on 137 were Peter Hanson of Sweden (71), Japan’s Azuma Yano (65) and American David Duval (70), the former world No. 1 who has not won in eight years.
Britons Lee Westwood and Ross Fisher, Americans Todd Hamilton and Sean O’Hair, and Canadian Nick Taylor, whose second-round 65 tied the lowest US Open round by an amateur, were knotted at 138 in share of seventh.
World No. 2 Phil Mickelson was on 139, along with compatriot Steve Stricker, who fired a second-round 66.
The leaderboard reflected a big advantage for the first round’s late starters who played in dry conditions on Friday.
Stricker and Westwood were the only two from the other wave to stand among the top 16.
Woods, who was among the disadvantaged, will have to match the biggest 36-hole comeback ever in order to win his fourth US Open and 15th major. Lou Graham came from 11 behind to win the 1975 edition at Medinah.
“I need some lower scores,” Woods said. “If you don’t have mud on your ball, you can pretty much go after every flag.”
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen has become the first female player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after the Golden State Valkyries selected her in the third and final round of the league’s draft on Monday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship earlier this month. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament’s most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as
College basketballer Kaitlyn Chen (陳凱玲) has become the first player of Taiwanese descent to be drafted by a WNBA team, after being selected by the Golden State Valkyries in the third and final round of the league's draft yesterday. Chen, a point guard who played her first three seasons in college for Princeton University, transferred to the University of Connecticut (UConn) for her final season, which culminated in a national championship on April 6. While at Princeton, Chen was named the Ivy League tournament's most outstanding player three times from 2022 to last year. Prior to the draft, ESPN described Chen as a
Japan yesterday secured a second consecutive Billie Jean King Cup finals appearance with a 2-1 win over 2023 champions Canada, thanks to Ena Shibahara and Shuko Aoyama’s 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 win over Kayla Cross and Rebecca Marino in the qualifying doubles decider. Shibahara and Aoyama powered through the opening set 6-3, breaking twice for a quick 3-0 lead. Cross and Marino hit back in the second, edging it 7-5 to level the match, before the Japanese pair regained control in the third. Canada’s 18-year-old Victoria Mboko edged Shibahara 6-4, 6-7 (8/10), 7-5 in a marathon opening clash. Mboko fired eight aces to
DAY OF BLOWOUTS: Elsewhere, the Lakers clinched the third seed in the Western Conference with a 140-109 pounding of the under-strength Houston Rockets The Denver Nuggets on Friday improved their playoff position, with a triple double from Nikola Jokic helping them to a 117-109 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. The Serbian put up 26 points, 13 assists and 16 rebounds. The triple-double performance, his 34th this season, ensured that he will finish the regular season as just the third NBA player to average a triple double across an entire season. The win meant the Nuggets improved to 49-32 on the season and gave them a real chance of grabbing fourth place and home-court advantage in the playoffs. Aaron Gordon top scored with 33 points for Denver,
RSS