Huber Blog: A rare U.S. Open that won't end on Father's Day

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 Sunday edition.

By Jim Huber, Special to PGA.com

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. -- It is Father's Day and so it must be the final round of the U.S.Open.

Well, it is Father's Day.

For the first time since 1983, weather will force the Open to at least a Monday finish. They will try and get all of the third round in today and then close it out-playoff permitting-tomorrow. It is one of golf's most astonishing facts, when you think about it. In 109 years, only the one weathered Monday.

But there is a caveat; it wasn't until 1965 that the USGA instituted a four-round system. Until then, they played 36 holes on Saturday to finish. Still, even with that, there was only one time -- 1959 -- that weather forced it to spill over to a fourth day.

I cannot come to a U.S. Open or pass a merchandise tent without thinking of my own father. For years, it was my habit to come to the Open early on Monday, go straight to the tent and buy a shirt or a jacket or cap, ship it to my father, and be finished with my Father's Day purchase with days to spare.

When he died in 1999 -- just a month before Payne Stewart -- my mother found a cache of Open memories in his closet worthy of a Hall of Fame and dutifully passed them on to family.

SMALLEST POSSIBLE FIELD: The 60 men who made the cut here at Bethpage Black constitutes the smallest final 36-hole field that is possible at an Open. Low 60 and ties and anyone within 10 shots got you in.

There are 29 majors among those 60 still playing, 14 of which belong to the guy tied for 34th at the moment.

FOUL WEATHER MOOD: There has been much grumbling this week about the weather that has greeted the U.S. Open every time it has ventured onto this island the last decade. Shinnecock Hills, in fact, hosted the last weather delay back in 2004, but the first venture here in 2002 was beaten up pretty good.

But the alternatives, along the usual Open rotation, wouldn't have been much better this year. Either bad storms or exhausting heat has been the norm along the Open trail.

DEAD, SOLID PERFECT TWEET?: With all of the turmoil in Iran, during which much of the news has come from the social pages on the Internet, the Supreme Leader there has warned that he is following the writers. "When Ayatollahs tweet ..." has become the newest version of "when pigs fly."

But we have our own version of such an aberration here this week. The venerable, wonderful Dan Jenkins, author of acclaimed and classic Dead, Solid Perfect, is actually working on Twitter from the Open.

One of his best lines regarding the incessant delays: "It's the old saying, the Open doesn't start until the back nine on ... Wednesday."

SEARCHING FOR WORDS: The golf literati are scrambling to put what Ricky Barnes is doing into some kind of perspective. As one goes back to Francis Ouimet in 1913, another needs go no further than Jack Fleck's win over Hogan in 1955. The best line thus far, however, for the 2002 U.S. Amateur champion who fell on such hard times over the next eight years, is, "he went from having his face on magazine covers to milk cartons."
 
BARNES JOINS RARE COMPANY: When Barnes eagled the fourth hole today and rose to 11 under par, he became only the fourth man in Open history to reach double digits at any time during the championship. Astonishing for the 519th-ranked player in the world.

NO BEEPS ARE GOOD BEEPS: Must be mixed emotions for Sean O'Hair, who is wearing a beeper today a la Phil Mickelson 1999. Beeper goes off, Sean heads for the airport because his wife is giving birth. Beeper stays quiet and Sean stays in the hunt a little longer.

O'Hair has been given a lot of conflicting opinions this week on what he should do. Some think being in the mix on an Open weekend is a life-changing experience and, hey, the child isn't going to know if he's there or not. But others realize the true nature of his priorities. Sean's seven back at the moment but still on the leaderboard

LET'S DO THE TIME WARP: This has been such a convoluted week that Tiger Woods says he's not only lost track of what day it is but what round he's playing. He complimented the galleries, saying that Saturday "they had obviously had a little bit to sip but then, they had plenty of down time to do it in." He said they were yelling some very imaginative things but also he couldn't repeat them. "Funny stuff," he laughed, "but not for public consumption."

2 +2: Phil Mickelson apparently lost track of the leaderboard, which is hardly like him. After his third-round 69 which moved him within seven shots of the lead at that stage, he said he felt good "with only two guys in front of me." He was thinking Ricky Barnes and Lucas Glover but obviously left Ross Fisher and David Duval out of the equation. Forgivable, considering what that guy's going through.

THE ANTI-RAIN MAN: Ricky Barnes remains one of only eight players left in the field of 60 who have yet to play a single hole in the rain this week, thanks to the draw. Sunday provided a few sprinkles but never anything to disrupt his play. Certainly nowhere near the deluge that was expected.

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.