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Saturday Running Updates

No More Golf Today

7:09 p.m. - Play has been suspended for the day due to inclement weather and approaching darkness. The goal is to resume the third round at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday. The final pairing of Lucas Glover and Ricky Barnes had yet to begin the third round.

Play Suspended

6:55 p.m. - Heavy rains caused the suspension of the championship. The USGA forecaster anticipates the delay will only be temporary.

Play Starts

5:42 p.m. - And they're off. It is raining, sometimes heavy in spots, but the course is playable.

Round Three Setup Notes

5:34 p.m. - Here are some third-round set-up notes from our championship staff:

The greens and fairways were mown between the second and third round.

The third hole will measure 191 yards (penultimate teeing ground) with a front-right hole location. The fifth hole will use the back tee, but the seventh hole will still use the penultimate tee and play 489 yards due to the wet conditions and forecasted north wind for Sunday. That hole has yet to play the full 525 yards.

The forward tee will be used on No. 8 (142 yards) with a front-center hole location. It should play into a north wind on Sunday. The back tee will still be used on No. 9. The front of the back tee at No. 10 will be used, making the hole play 501 yards. It should play very long into a north wind on Sunday.

The lower tee will be used at the 11th hole (25 yards shorter) that creates a truly blind drive. Players must pick a distant tree for a target.

The back tee again will be used on the par-5 13th hole and should play downwind on Sunday. The 14th hole will measure 174 yards with a hole location set on a back tier. The new front-left hole has yet to be used, so players could expect it for the fourth round.

And No. 17 will measure 196 yards.

Third Round Update

5:23 p.m. - The third round is scheduled to commence at 5:30 p.m. EDT with the golfers going off in twos from the first and 10th tees in eight-minute intervals. The final pairing of Lucas Glover and 36-hole leader Ricky Barnes are scheduled to tee off at 7:22 p.m. They should get at least four or five holes in before darkness suspends play for the day.

Tiger Woods goes off the 10th tee at 6:42 p.m. and Phil Mickelson from the first tee at 6:34 p.m.

More Cut

4:15 p.m. - Johan Edfors converted a 4-foot par putt on No. 9 (his 18th of the day) to finish at four over and Kevin Sutherland salvaged a bogey at 18 to also finish at four over. That is not good news for those golfers at five over. Trevor Murphy made a birdie at 16 to go to two over, so he appears safe to play the weekend.

Cut Update

3:26 p.m. - Johan Edfors has reached the par-4 ninth (his 18th hole) in regulation. If he two-putts for par, it's looking real good that the cut will be exactly 60 players making the 36-hole cut. Right now, 60 players are at four over or better. Kevin Sutherland is at three over playing the 18th hole, while local/sectional qualifier Trevor Murphy, a former nationally ranked ski racer before an ACL injury ended that career, is at three over with three to play. If those players finish at four over or better, then anyone at five over and higher can make travel plans.

No Worries

3:05 p.m. - Following a 3-under 67, Geoff Ogilvy said today's second round was "as stress-free as U.S. Opens can get." He's even par for the championship.

Westwood Silently Moves Up

2:59 p.m. - Lee Westwood, who finished third in last year's U.S. Open, fell to two under par for the championship with a difficult birdie make, from some 21 feet away from the hole.

Stricker Finalizes Solid Round

2:45 p.m. - Tiger Woods immediately knew he didn't like his drive off No. 9, his final hole of the round. He sent the ball wayward and into the right rough. With less than 200 yards to the hole, his approach dropped short of the green. He was forced to pitch, leaving a 6-foot putt to save par and salvage a 2-under day. The putt didn't fall and he finished with a 1-under 69.

Meanwhile, Steve Stricker capped a 4-under 66 with a par on his final hole to get to one under for the championship.

Third-Round Update

2:11 p.m. - If the weather should hold, the third round will begin at 5:30 p.m. So said a USGA official.

More Stricker

1:55 p.m. - Steve Stricker just rolled in a 10-foot birdie putt at No. 15 to go to five under for the round and two under for the championship. He is the only player who teed off on Thursday morning who is in the top 10.

Stricker Rising

1:51 p.m. - Steve Stricker, who always seems to play well at majors, particularly the U.S. Open, is four under par for the second round and one under par for the championship. Wouldn't be shocked to see this steady player take home the trophy. Stricker and Ryan Moore are the players with the lowest totals among the group that started Thursday morning in the rain. Moore, a three-time USGA champion, also stands at one under.

Amateur Update

1:02 - A total of 15 amateurs started the 2009 U.S. Open, the most since 18 qualified for the 1981 Open at Merion. But it looks like just a couple will survive the cut. That group is headed by Canadian Nick Taylor, who was a first-team All-America selection this past season for the University of Washington. Taylor carded a second-round 65 to get to two under for the championship.

Drew Weaver, who graduated from Virginia Tech last month, is doing his best to hang on. After a first-round 69, he is three over in round two with four holes left. He is at two over par. The cut could come at four over.

Cameron Tringale, another recent graduate (Georgia Tech), is at three over for the round and championship. Meanwhile Rickie Fowler, who did make the cut last year, appears like he'll fall short in 2009. He is at six over with three holes remaining in his second round. Clemson's Ben Martin also sits at four over par through eight holes, while Kyle Stanley, who will turn pro next week, finished at four over par. Stanley spent three seasons at Clemson.

So far it's been a good week for the Tigers, with Lucas Glover sitting in solo second at 7-under 133.

Tiger Coming On

12:42 p.m. - Tiger Woods drained an 8-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th. The hole, tucked back left, invited a downhill roll. Woods finessed the ball in to a moderate roar. He was one under through his first nine today and three over for the championship until birdieing No. 1. He poked in a 10-footer. He's now two under.

Raining

12:03 p.m. - It is raining here. Will get heavy in roughly an hour.

Interesting Stat

11:58 p.m. - Television just showed that Tiger Woods is six over on the par 4s this week.

That Darn 15th

11:45 a.m. - Tiger Woods won't be singing the praises of the par-4 15th hole at Bethpage Black. In the first two rounds, he's played the hole in three over par. He three-putted the green in round one for a double-bogey 6 and he bogeyed it today. Woods is at four over for the championship and flirting with missing the cut at an Open for just the second time as a professional. Three years ago at Winged Foot he didn't play the weekend on the heels of his father's death.

Weather Moving In

10:51 a.m. - As feared, there is inclement weather coming in. The system is showing lightning behind it. No word on when it's supposed to arrive, but it is starting to become dark.

More Info

10:19 a.m. - With Barnes' achievement thus far, he put himself ahead of some pretty good company. See below:

Lowest Score, First 36 Holes

132 — Ricky Barnes (67-65), Bethpage State Park (Black Course), Farmingdale, N.Y., 2009

133 — Jim Furyk (67-66), Olympia Fields (Ill.) C.C. (North Course), 2003

133 — Vijay Singh (70-63), Olympia Fields (Ill.) C.C. (North Course), 2003

133 — Lucas Glover (69-64), Bethpage State Park (Black Course), Farmingdale, N.Y., 2009

134 — Jack Nicklaus (63-71), Baltusrol G.C. (Lower Course), Springfield, N.J., 1980

134 — Tze-Chung Chen (65-69), Oakland Hills C.C. (South Course), Bloomfield Hills, Mich., 1985

134 — Lee Janzen (67-67), Baltusrol G.C. (Lower Course), Springfield, N.J., 1993

134 — Tiger Woods (65-69), Pebble Beach (Calif.) G.L., 2000

134 — Phil Mickelson (68-66), Shinnecock Hills G.C., Southampton, N.Y., 2004

134 — Shigeki Maruyama (66-68), Shinnecock Hills G.C., Southampton, N.Y., 2004

134 — Mike Weir (64-70), Bethpage State Park (Black Course), Farmingdale, N.Y., 2009

Ricky Barnes And The 2002 U.S. Amateur

10:16 a.m. - “I’m on top of the world right now. I’ve won a couple of tournaments in my life, but the way I feel right now is unbelievable,” said Ricky Barnes.

Said when? After following up a first-round 3-under-par 67 with a 5-under 65 to lead the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black?

No, after winning the 2002 U.S. Amateur Championship at Oakland Hills C.C.’s South Course in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., to become the 500th champion in USGA history.

Then a senior at the University of Arizona, Barnes defeated Hunter Mahan, the 1999 U.S. Junior champion, and at the time a standout at Oklahoma State. (Mahan is two under after rounds of 72-68 – 140.)

Record Score

10:05 a.m. - By shooting a 5-under 65 and posting 8-under 132, 2002 U.S. Amateur champion and 2009 PGA Tour rookie Ricky Barnes established a 36-hole U.S. Open scoring record previously held by Jim Furyk and Vijay Singh at Olympia Fields when both shot 133 in 2003.

Calm Before Storm

9:35 a.m. - Although conditions are quite benign at the moment, the heavy weather is closing in fast. Radar is showing the impending storm has reached Allentown, Pa., and it's only a matter of hours before it moves into Long Island. That doesn't bode well for the group of players who began the second round at 9 a.m. in 11-minute intervals. That group includes defending champion Tiger Woods.

Can anyone say Monday finish.

Early WD

9:34 a.m. - Matt Jones of Australia withdrew Saturday with an undisclosed injury. He had opened with a 78.

Glover In

8:56 a.m. - Two solid rounds by Lucas Glover. In fact, two exceptional rounds for the former 2001 USA Walker Cup player. He shot 6-under 64 and at the halfway point stands at seven under.

While coming off, former U.S. Amateur champion Ricky Barnes equaled his aggregate score with a birdie on the 478-yard, par-4 fifth, which shows a slight dogleg right off the tee.

Interesting enough, Bethpage Black presents a number of blind shot areas, the fifth being one of them. Players landing their ball on the left side of the fairway could be faced with this when looking at the green.

Weir Catches Glover

8:29 a.m. - With two consecutive birdies on Nos. 12 and 13, Mike Weir caught Lucas Glover for the lead at seven under.

Back On Track

7:49 a.m. - David Duval got off to a rough start in his second round, but has since righted the ship with four birdies over his last eight holes to get back to even par for the round and three under overall. Duval recorded birdies on seven, 11, 13 and 14.

Play Resumes

7:24 a.m. - Second-round play has officially resumed. Judging from the weather report, it appears the heavy rains won't reach us here on Long Island until sometime this afternoon. Let's keep our fingers crossed that we can at least complete round two today.

So far the biggest move has been made by Japan's Azuma Yano, who is six under par for his round and four under for the championship. He has birdied three consecutive holes from No. 12 and sits two strokes off the lead held currently by Lucas Glover.

Again, if you have an issue or concern, feel free to e-mail kklavon@usga.org.

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