PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — Lucas Glover, the 2.0 version of him (whatever that means), does things his own way. No glove, renegade agent, truth-to-power radio show. On Thursday, waiting to play the par-3 13th, a gorgeous chip-shot, downhill, hook-wind (for righties) hole, he stood alone on the far left of the tee, while his caddie, his two playing partners and their caddies stood on the far right. With his large, tanned, gloveless left hand in his pocket, he leaned on a yellow and black Nikon ad and considered his future. He’s 45. A professional golfer in the heat of battle has a limited view of his future. Your next shot, pretty much. That’s your horizon, pretty much. And Lucas Glover, a son of the South with a golf education courtesy of the Harmon brothers, was playing good.
OK, yes, there was more going on. He’s here at this 153rd British Open, the 12th Open of his long career, for the money. They pay you $175,000 for finishing 20th here. That might not sound too ambitious, but he’s never done better than 20th in the Open, which is kind of a shocker, because the man flushes iron shots, and putting, not his greatest joy, is less of a thing over here, where the greens are slower and flatter than they are on the PGA Tour. Try to contain your shock: Without a purse, you’d have maybe nine pros in the field this week.
There are other things going on. He’s 16th on the Ryder Cup points list. He’s probably a win and two top-5s away from making the team he should have been on (says this longtime Glover fan) in 2023. All Glover will say about that matter is that Keegan Bradley should have been on that team. Well, Keegan’s all suited up for the ’25 team as the captain, and maybe as a player. Lucas in the home-team uniform would be fitting.
And, of course, he’s playing, and playing well, looking for something much more noteworthy than a top-20, bring-home-the-bacon finish. Like a top-one finish. That would go nicely, what with his Monday (rain delay) win in the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black. This year’s Ryder Cup is at … Bethpage Black.
Glover said recently that he used to care a great deal about the validation he received from his fellow players, for playing well. Then came life, with no show-me-the-way manual for anybody, particularly for somebody who has to attempt his every three-footer with the whole golf-mad internet watching.
Glover hit a draw shot into a following draw wind. The pin was back right. His iron finished hole-high and maybe 20 feet left. Classic Lucas, perfect links golf. A simple two-putt par. When a course is really hard, as Bethpage was in 2009 for the U.S. Open, and as it always is, pars are your friend. You could say his divot on 13 on Thursday was a wee bacon strip. In truth, as one Irish fan in the stands said, it was more like a dollar bill. A perfect rectangle.
Crisp irons will do wonders at Opens. Ask Tiger, Trevino, Nicklaus, Hogan, Snead, Sarazen, plus a host of players not born in the United States.
He came to the 13th two-under for the day and made pars from there to the house, for an opening 69, putting him in a tie for 10th. He was three-under for two. Showy is for Masters Sunday. Opens, over here and at home, are about relentless, high-percentage golf. Enter Luke, stage right, audience left.
