Former amateur star Barnes living up to potential

Ricky Barnes graduated as one of the top collegiate golfers in 2003 and seemed to be destined for promising career on the PGA TOUR. It took five years longer than he expected, but he's leading after 36 holes at the U.S. Open.

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. -- Ricky Barnes certainly had the pedigree for success.

He was an All-American at Arizona and shared the Ben Hogan Award that goes to the nation's top collegiate golfer with Hunter Mahan as a senior in 2003. The Wildcat had beaten Mahan 2 and 1 in the finals of the U.S. Amateur the year before, too.

Oh, and then there was the 2003 Masters where Barnes not only played with Tiger Woods in the first two rounds, he clipped him by seven shots on the way to finishing as the low amateur.

The ultimate can't-miss kid, right? Not exactly.

Barnes spent five years playing the Nationwide Tour before earning the 25th and final PGA TOUR spot off the 2008 money list. And now that he's finally earned his card, the rookie isn't exactly tearing things up with last week's tie for 47th in Memphis his best finish of the year.

Of course, that could certainly change this week. Barnes is back on top of the golf world -- and the U.S. Open leaderboard -- after completing a bogey-free 65 Saturday morning in the second round on the challenging Black Course at Bethpage State Park.

His two-day total of 132 is the lowest for two opening rounds in U.S. Open history and it leaves him one stroke ahead of Lucas Glover and two up on Mike Weir. Barnes had never broken 70 in 10 previous rounds at the season's second major.

"Pretty stress free," was Barnes' assessment, and the numbers bore him out. He's been extremely steady this week, hitting all but five greens and 19 of 28 fairways. He's only made one bogey, too, and that came on the 10th hole in the first round.

"It's pretty cool," Barnes said. "At the beginning of the week you didn't think that score was out there. Obviously with some tees moved up and the soft greens helped it out ... And obviously my ball striking was the most probably impressive part of the first 36 holes.

"... If you would have told me I would have been 8 under and only one-shot lead, I would have said, "You're kidding me," but I'll take it.  It was solid play.  And I'm happy with in the position."

Barnes hasn't been that happy with his career to date, though. He's wondered, just like many of us, why he wasn't on the PGA TOUR and contending for titles. He's seen contemporaries like Mahan hoist trophies and play on Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup teams. He didn't even win in four seasons on the Nationwide Tour.

Barnes has tried to put that behind him, though.

"I've grown up," Barnes said. "I obviously thought after my college career that I'd be out here right away. ... I'd be lying if I said I wasn't really pissed off the first two or three years. ...

"The guys you know you competed against in every tournament and every step of the way and they're out there and you're struggling just to kind of get conditional status on the Nationwide Tour.  And nothing that a few extra hours on the range and putting green and just aging (can help), I guess."

Golf is an individual game. Barnes learned that the hard way as he came up through the Nationwide Tour ranks -- an experience Barnes said both "humbled" him and got him prepared to make the next step. 

"The guy in basketball (who is the college player of the year) is going to get drafted in the top 10," Barnes said. "He's going to get a three-year stint and settle down in the NBA.  Probably come off the bench and he's going to earn his stripes that way.    
"But he's going to get guided.  Here you get kind of thrown into the pack of wolves and go to Q school and you have to earn it.  But I like it.  The only guy I can blame is the guy in the mirror and that's why I love this sport."

There have been plenty of close calls. Barnes finished 23rd on the Nationwide Tour money list in 2006 and missed getting his card by a mere $6,137. He posted nine top-10s last year but still had to sweat for two hours during the final round of the season-ending Nationwide Tour Championship to see if he could hang onto the final PGA TOUR card.

At 28, Barnes is now a TOUR rookie, realizing a dream that began when he was a young boy. However, he started the season 47th in his eligibility category of Nationwide Tour and q-school grads so he hasn't gotten to play in as many tournaments as he would have liked. He had to sectional qualify for the U.S. Open, too.

"Can you foresee this happening?" Barnes said. "Well, it's tough to foresee something happening when you play two weeks and you ride the bench for two weeks because you're not getting any tournaments. It's sad but true but guys in my category, it's just tough to get in."

The U.S. Open is Barnes' 13th TOUR event this year -- and he's playing three weeks in a row for the first time. He more than made his 13th cut at Bethpage, though, and he stands to earn much more than the $68,000 and change he's pocketed this season.

This week could be a big step for Barnes.

"Could I have predicted I would shoot 132? No," Barnes said. "Did I know I had it in me?  Yeah.  I'm starting to play well.  Working hard on my game on and off the golf course. I think it's proven that finally earned my PGA TOUR card this year and to be able to settle the nerves once I got kind of up near the lead and kind of improve on it, I think, says a lot about it."

He'll get another test over the next two rounds.