US Open / Steven Rawlings / 22 June 2009 /

Not the result he wanted but Steve's still chiselled out a reasonable profit, and there's always next year...

2009 is rapidly turning into the year of the unfathomable winner. Hot on the heels of three virtually impossible to find winners in the Race to Dubai, we've now had Lucas Glover win a Major!

I'm not taking anything away from the likeable and unassuming American but his only win before this week was the Funai Classic in 2005, where he'd chipped in from a bunker to win. He led the 2007 Bob Hope Classic with a round to go but finished in a tie for 13th after shooting 80! As recently as two months ago he hit the front at the Shell Houston Open with five to play but then played the next three holes in eight over par to end up tied for 31st! The only evidence that he could possibly withstand the pressure of a final round of a Major had come at Quail Hollow last month, where he'd finished a never threatening tied 2nd, and for the first time since his win he hadn't buckled completely. To say I didn't trust him is an understatement. But he's won; although I can barely believe it, it's happened.

Glover made just one three-putt all week, on the 15th hole of his final round, and although late bogeys from all of his nearest challengers helped considerably, he held his nerve far better than I expected him to and fully deserved to win. From a punting point of view the lesson is clear, players do evolve, and even the dodgiest closers can battle their demons and get the job done sometimes.

It was a dramatic and exciting final round and at one point it even looked like my pick, Phil Mickelson, was going to finally end his US Open hoodoo but for the fifth time in his career he ended up a heartbreaking 2nd. When he reached four under par and was tied for the lead with Glover, with just four to play, Lefty traded at a low of [1.63], but bogeys at the 15th and 17th sealed his fate. Thankfully I layed him a couple of times, at [2.18] and then at [1.90], so I actually finished slightly in front on the outright market. But it's fair to say I wasn't exactly ecstatic.

On a more positive note, at least Glover had won by two strokes, an outcome I'd backed in the Victory Margin market, and Michael Sim had made the event a reasonably profitable one by finishing as the highest placed Australian, an eventuality I had backed at an average of [18.0].

There were other positives too. The performance of England's Ross Fisher was admirable and it was fantastic to see David Duval challenge in a Major again. Rory McIlroy's first US Open was a very good one, and he's sure to improve on this week's tied 10th in the years to come, and there was also the incredible performance of Ricky Barnes, who played a significant role in this year's story.

I admit I feel pretty deflated right now though. It's been a long and tiring event to follow and riding the Lefty wave has been exhausting and ultimately bitterly disappointing but there are two more events starting on Thursday and so there's homework to be done. I'll preview the BMW International Open and the Travelers Championship on Wednesday, once I've pawed meticulously through the formbook.

As for Lefty...Well he and his family have a real battle to fight now and it will be some time before he's seen on Tour again. He'll be sorely missed - one thing to come out of this week is that he seems to have gained even more fans, if that was ever possible!

Landmark birthdays often trigger an upsurge in performance and Lefty will turn 40 midway through next year's US Open at Pebble Beech. It's also a course he plays well and he's won there a couple of times already in the AT & T.

He couldn't, could he?

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