Huber Blog: What a difference a year makes at the U.S. Open

TNT's Emmy Award-winning essayist Jim Huber is in Farmingdale, N.Y., for the 109th U.S. Open, and each day he will report on what he saw, heard and felt at Bethpage Black. This is his Monday edition.

By Jim Huber, Special to PGA.com

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. -- What a difference a year makes. Three-hundred and sixty-five days ago, we were engaged in one of the most remarkable and stirring duals in Open history. Played out in brilliant sunshine in the warmth of a San Diego morning, David and Goliath went tooth and nail for 19 holes, all the while hiding Goliath’s disability.

Twelve months later, in the gloom of a Long Island Monday, the resumption of the weather-plagued 109th edition with very little in the way of electricity. The teeth of this magnificent public course called Bethpage Black, however, has finally begun taking bites. At this stage, only eight of the remaining sixty players are in red figures.

FANS OF FASHION: It is quite evident as Ricky Barnes and Lucas Glover play together in the final twosome that the hugely vocal New York galleries favor Barnes. You’d think it might be his swagger or the fact that he is the son of a former NFL punter but Glover knows the real reason:

“He wears cooler pants than me,” Glover explained, tongue firmly planted, after they left the course Sunday night.

STEP RIGHT UP: This is appearing to be The Open That Nobody Wants.

Some of the most sideways golf played all week long and that probably has to as much to do with final-round nerves as the brutality of this monster of a golf course. Or perhaps it is simply validating world rankings. Ricky Barnes is currently 519th. David Duval is 882nd. There obviously are reasons for those standings.

THE SILENCE OF THE BEEPER: Sean O’Hair plays on, though it appears his mind may be on his wife’s impending delivery than all week long. He came into the final round at 1 under par but played the front nine in 3 over. 

NOT DONE YET: Following other bloggery  from around the world, put down that fork, boys. Neither Tiger nor Phil are quite ready to have it stuck in them yet as the leaders retreat under the Open pressure. Wait, Tiger just bogeyed again. Is that a "never mind" I just heard?
 
READING (OFF) THE GREENS: If you're in need of some reading material, Lucas Glover has offered up his insights. Seems he carries four or five novels with him on every trip and has had the down time this week to have consumed four -- two Stuart Woods, one Clive Cussler and a new one called "The Lost City of Z". He thinks we'll like the latter.
 
BIG NUMBERS: I know what you're wondering. The highest final-round score  by a winner ever in an Open was an 84  back in 1898 but in the post-World War II era, a pair of 4-over 75s by Hale Irwin and Cary Middlecoff share that honor. These boys today are challenging that big-time.

SUDDENLY, THE STORY CHANGES: We have suddenly gone from what was a very ordinary, pedantic, shapeless U.S.Open to one of the most remarkable and heartfelt stories for the ages. If Phil Mickelson wins this and gets that silver trophy to put in Amy's hospital room, as he said she asked early in the week, it might do more for breast-cancer research than all the doctors in the world.

COOL MAN LUKE: You would never have known Lucas Glover had just been crowned the 2009 U.S.Open champion from his demeanor. A more laid-back and quiet winner we haven’t seen in years. But perhaps it was more the daze he found himself in, having become the first man in a quarter century to win a major championship in which he had never made the cut.

Then again, maybe it took precisely that kind of countenance to withstand the astonishing and historical interruptions everyone went through this week.

TRODDING THE BOARDS: There was word moments ago that fans were tearing down the big scoreboard at 18, not knowing perhaps that golf is not like football. But then, judging from their vocal support, maybe they figure it is.

THE NUMBERS GAME: It remains a bit ironic to me that the two names immediately beneath Glover on the media center’s leaderboard are ranked No. 2 and No. 882 in the world. What a story a win would have been for either Phil Mickelson or David Duval, but for both to put their lives into painful perspective is victory enough right now.

Jim Huber is an Emmy Award-winning announcer with TNT. Check back during the 109th U.S. Open for more of his insights and observations from Bethpage Black.

The views and opinions expressed here do not reflect those of PGA.com, PGATOUR.com Turner Sports or The PGA of America.