FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — Ricky Barnes carries the square-jawed, broad-shouldered presence of a prime-time athlete. On first glance, it requires no grand imagination to picture him roaming the defensive backfield, searching for wide receivers to flatten.
That would be useful if this were the Super Bowl, but it’s the U.S. Open.
Barnes once counted as The Next Big Thing in golf. It was an understandable if premature label, triggered by his victory in the U.S. Amateur in 2002 and his dynamic appearance in the next year’s Masters.
Barnes played alongside Tiger Woods in the first two rounds at Augusta National — and dusted him by six shots.
Now, after six years of rampant frustration as a professional, Barnes suddenly stands center stage in an Open lurching along in the rain at Bethpage Black. He reached the tournament’s halfway point at 8-under-par 132, setting the Open record for lowest 36-hole score.
Barnes still has 36 more holes left, because rain flooded the greens Saturday night and forced USGA officials to suspend play early in the third round. Barnes will return to Bethpage today nursing a one-shot lead over Lucas Glover, with Mike Weir trailing by two. Phil Mickelson lingers at 1-under, with Woods back in the pack at 3-over.
This Open surely will be remembered for soggy, sloppy conditions nearly as much as the (eventual) outcome. But on a day when New York fans were at their throaty best, loudly chanting the names of even the most obscure players, Barnes resurrected his heady amateur success, putting the finishing touches on a second-round 65.
That was the kind of performance routinely expected of the can’t-miss kid from Stockton, Calif., and the University of Arizona. Barnes earned All-America honors in college and pocketed the U.S. Amateur title at Oakland Hills in suburban Detroit, beating Bill Haas in the semifinals and Hunter Mahan in the finals.
Seven years later, Haas is firmly established in his fourth season on the PGA Tour. Mahan owns one tour win and a Presidents Cup appearance. And Barnes, at 28, is scraping through his rookie season on the big tour.
“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t really (mad) the first two or three years, seeing other guys I played with getting out here and playing well,” he said. “It’s humbled me. I’ve grown up.”
Barnes, weary of life on the Nationwide Tour, rededicated himself to working on his game last year, hiring a new swing coach, Dean Reinmuth of San Diego. Barnes finished 25th on the Nationwide money list in 2008, earning the last available promotion to the PGA Tour.
Still, his 2009 season has flowed with more frustration — 12 starts and only one top-50 finish, last week’s tie for 47th in Memphis. Those are hardly the numbers he envisioned, given his decorated amateur career, but Barnes took a novel route and offered no excuses.
“I can only blame the guy in the mirror,” he said. “That’s why I love this sport.”
Said Kevin Sutherland, a longtime pro who reached the PGA Tour at 31: “Sometimes, it takes time. Ricky’s obviously a very good player. Sometimes, guys hit their stride in their late 20s and take off from there. It’s too early to judge.”
Barnes, like nearly every other player on the Bethpage leaderboard, benefited from a favorable draw in the first two rounds. He didn’t hit a single shot in Thursday’s storm, played his entire opening round and part of his second in calm sunshine Friday, and then finished Saturday morning.
That advantage vanishes now, with the field cut to 60 players and everyone on a similar schedule. Barnes hasn’t started his third round yet, so he faces the prospect of playing 36 grueling holes today, trying to protect a slim lead.
He prepared by strolling to the putting green shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday, before the rain came. Mickelson called out from across the green to wish Barnes well, and Tom Lehman came over to shake his hand.
For that moment, at least, Barnes belonged.
U.S. Open/Glance
Site: Bethpage State Park (Black course) in Farmingdale, N.Y.
The course: The Black is one of the five 18-hole courses at Bethpage State Park, the largest public golf facility in the country.
Length: 7,426 yards.
Par: 35-35—70.
Format: 72 holes of stroke play.
Playoff, if necessary: 18 holes of stroke play.
Purse: TBA ($7.5 million in 2008). Winner’s share: TBA ($1.35 million in 2008).
Defending champion: Tiger Woods.
TV: 8 a.m. ESPN; 9 a.m. KUSA Ch. 9; Monday (if necessary) 10 a.m. ESPN
U.S. Open leaders
Through Saturday’s second round at Bethpage (par 70):
Ricky Barnes, above 67-65—132
Lucas Glover 69-64—133
Mike Weir 64-70—134
Azuma Yano 72-65—137
David Duval 67-70—137
Peter Hanson 66-71—137
a-Nick Taylor 73-65—138
Sean O’Hair 69-69—138
Ross Fisher 70-68—138
Todd Hamilton 67-71—138
Lee Westwood 72-66—138
Today: 8 a.m. ESPN; 9 a.m. KUSA-9
Hole of the day
459-yard, par-4 15th
Stroke average: 4.365
Rank: 2
Key fact: Tiger Woods had a double bogey and bogey on the uphill hole, the total number of strokes over par he finished for the first 36 holes.
The Associated Press
Tiger tales
Slight improvement, still way behind.
The defending champion and world’s No. 1 player shot 69 on Saturday and now stands at 3-over-par for the week, trailing leader Ricky Barnes by 11 shots.
Woods missed a 10-footer for par on his closing hole, then swiped his putter in frustration before tapping in to end his four-birdie, three- bogey day.
“You never know,” Woods said. “I’ve got 36 more holes, over the next probably three days. It’s one of those things where if I keep plugging along, just like any U.S. Open, keep
plugging along, make a birdie here and there and we’ll see where it ends up.”
The Associated Press
Walking tall
Mike Weir.
Followed his 6-under-par 64 in the opening round with an even-par 70 to stay in the thick of the race.
Nick Taylor.
Canadian matched the best score by an amateur in U.S. Open history, finishing the second round with a 5-under 65, putting him 2-under for the week.
Phil Mickelson.
Shot an even-par 70 in the second round and stands 1-under-par for the tournament. Not bad.
Downward spiral
Ernie Els.
Backed up his first-round 78 with a 77 on Saturday, finishing at 15-over-par and missing the cut by a mile.
Padraig Harrington.
Consecutive 6-over 76s and a 12-over-par total translate into an early flight home.
David Toms.
Shot a 69 in the first round but soared to a 76 on Saturday, knocking him out of the tournament.
The Denver Post
