The U.S. Open Lives Up to the Drama

The 109th U.S. Open proved to be just as exciting as many others have been in the past. The leaderboard was jam packed going into the final round, but Tiger Woods wasn't really among them.

For much of the tournament it was a two-way duel between two unexpected guys; Lucas Glover and Ricky Barnes. Glover ended up taking home his first major by two strokes over Barnes.

Barnes at one point led Glover by six strokes in the third round before gradually dropping strokes and closing out at a respectable 2-under par for the championship.

There were a few faces that people did recognize, one of them being the gallery-favorite Phil Mickelson. The other familiar face was former number one ranked golfer in the world, David Duval. The two ended up finishing tied for second with Barnes, which were both great stories in their own separate ways.

We all know what Mickelson is going through with his wife Amy recently being diagnosed with breast cancer. Just about every fan in the gallery was cheering for Mickelson who came up just short in the end with a score of 2-under par.

David Duval had basically been in hibernation since winning the British Open over seven years ago. This weekend's finish marked the first Top 10 finish for him since 2002 in Las Vegas.

And then there was Tiger Woods. Tiger was easily the clear-cut favorite going into Thursday after winning his last event at the Memorial tournament, but another bad start for Tiger marked a comeback that was even too much for Tiger.

Tiger still only finished four strokes off the lead, which makes me think he would've won his 15th major if not for his opening round 4-over par. You also have to wonder if things would've been different for Tiger if he hadn't have had the bad luck of playing in horrible weather conditions on Thursday that others didn't have to face.

Another great U.S. Open championship is in the books and I can't wait for next year's U.S. Open at Pebble Beach!

U.S. Open Final Standings

1. Lucas Glover -4
T-2. Phil Mickelson -2
T-2. David Duval -2
T-2. Ricky Barnes -2
3. Ross Fisher -1
T-4. Tiger Woods E

Notables

T-10. Sergio Garcia +2
T-16. Retief Goosen +3
T-27. Vijay Singh +6