Barnes leads through 3 rounds of U.S. Open

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FARMINGDALE, N.Y. (AP) — The U.S. Open moved one round closer to a conclusion Sunday afternoon, even if
very little was settled on soggy Bethpage Black and the champion would not be decided for at least one
more day.
Ricky Barnes scratched out an even-par 70 and kept his one-shot lead over Lucas Glover.
It was the final hour of the rain-delayed third round that suddenly raised so many intriguing
possibilities.
Not long after Barnes became only the fourth player in U.S. Open history to reach double digits under
par, his game became a struggle. He went to the back nine with a six-shot lead, but when his 4-foot par
putt on the 18th didn’t touch the hole, most of that was gone.
Barnes, who has never held a 54-hole lead anywhere but the minor leagues, was at 8-under 202 and paired
in the final group with Glover, who rallied with three birdies on the back nine to shoot 70.
"I knew it was going to be wet and tough, and I knew my nerves would be tested," Barnes said.
"I wouldn’t have liked to bogey the last hole and end it that way. But I’ve got to go back, take my
shoes off and think, ‘Hey, I shot even par on Saturday with the lead.’ If I go out and do the same
thing, someone is going to have to really come back low … to catch me."
While it was another four shots to find the next group of challengers, they were optimistic —
particularly Phil Mickelson.
Mickelson, determined to finally bring home a U.S. Open trophy to a wife battling breast cancer, knocked
in a 30-foot birdie on the 16th hole and finished with a 35-foot birdie on the final hole to shoot 69,
leaving him six shots behind.
He made his share of mistakes, as always. But he also made seven birdies.
"I’m one good round away," Mickelson said. "I feel like if I can get a hot round going, I
can make up the difference."
David Duval, winless in eight years and now No. 882 in the world ranking, continued to stay in the
picture. Right when he looked to be fading, he carved a shot out of the trampled rough and around the
trees to 10 feet for birdie on the 16th, then stuffed a 7-iron into seven feet on the final hole for
another birdie and a 70. He was at 3-under 207 with rising star Ross Fisher of England, who had a 69.

The fourth round started at 5:45 p.m., with the leaders likely to get in only a couple of holes before
darkness forced them to return for a Monday finish.
Eleven players remained under par, a group that did not include defending champion Tiger Woods.

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