Lucas Glover wins U.S. Open, holding off Phil Mickelson

After a manic Monday during which the likes of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and David Duval took turns providing back nine drama, little-known Lucas Glover emerged as the unlikely winner of the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black.

Glover, 29, a sectional qualifier who earned his spot only two weeks ago in Columbus, Ohio, played the four rain-marred rounds in 4-under par, two shots ahead of Ricky Barnes, Duval and Mickelson, who endured yet another crushing disappointment in the Open.

Seven years after Long Island adopted him as a favorite son, Mickelson finished second in the Open for the fifth time overall, the fourth time in the metropolitan area and the second time at Bethpage.

Playing his final event before his wife, Amy, begins treatment for breast cancer, Mickelson put a charge into the crowd with a birdie at 12 and an eagle at 13 to tie for the lead, but he bogeyed the 15th and 17th.

"Certainly I'm disappointed," Mickelson said, "but now that it's over, I've got more important things going on.

"And," he added, then paused, "oh, well."

Duval, once one of the world's best players but now ranked 882nd, began play in the suspended final round with a triple bogey at 3, but he later rallied with three birdies in a row to briefly tie for the lead with Glover and Mickelson at 3-under.

A bogey at 17, on which the ball spun around the left side of the hole, ended Duval's hopes.

The winning shot for Glover was a birdie at 16 that got him to 4-under. Bogeys by Mickelson and later Duval at 17 provided a cushion for Glover to approach the 18th hole with a two-stroke lead.

"It was a test of patience, that's for sure," Glover said. "It was just heart today."

Glover, who is from Greenville, S.C., had missed the cut in his previous three Opens in 2002, '06 and '07 and had won only once on the PGA Tour -- at the 2005 Funai Classic at Walt Disney World Resort.

Woods briefly excited the crowd and put a scare into the field by getting to 1-under, but he bogeyed the tough 15th on which he was 4-over for the event and was unable to add a birdie over the final three holes.

Woods was under par every round after a 74 in the first and played well tee to green Sunday and Monday, but he was unable to make big putts.

The '09 Open was bedeviled by rain, particularly a deluge that washed out most of the first round Thursday. No round finished on the day it began, and the fourth was pushed to Monday because of weather problems for only the third time ever and the first time since 1983.

Glover, a Yankees fan who honeymooned in New York, began the day tied for the lead at 7-under with fellow qualifier Barnes, who endured a rocky day before settling down on the back nine to finish at 2-under.