by Jeff Skinner
I am up in Connecticut today at the Travelers Championship and of course, just like at the US Open, it is raining again. The whirlwind week for US Open champ, Lucas Glover continues. He is scheduled to tee off in the Pro-Am at 12:50pm. I wonder what the amateur partners thought last week when they saw they were playing with Glover. I bet their attitude changed big time on Monday night. They go from playing with a PGA Tour Pro with a moderate track record, to playing with the US Open Champion. Talk about the luck of the draw!
Glover has been non-stop since kissing the trophy on Monday night. He’s been to the top of The Empire State Building for a photo shoot, done a half dozen radio shows, appeared on Regis and Kelly and read Letterman’s Top Ten List last night. In the interview tent he said,” It was one the greatest but most tiring days of my life in New York City. It was great.” Glover has turned into the star attraction up here. When asked if he ever thought of cancelling this week and not coming to The Travelers he responded with an emphatic “No Sir…I was committed before the US Open and I’m committed to be here next weekend (at the) John Deere, I’m going to keep those commitments. I feel that’s the right thing to do. Just because I won golf tournament doesn’t change anything. I was committed and I’m going to honor that commitment.” This is a guy that is answering questions with Yes Sir, No Sir and speaks of honoring his commitments. He spoke of all the text messages and calls he has received and how many of his Tour associates have made a point of congratulating him. He was a true diplomat when asked which of his experiences he enjoyed most he deferred, choosing to say that they were all different but all fun. “Each was very different. So I don’t want to rank them on ahead of the other. But the Empire State Building, we were on the 103rd floor….not many people have been up there, it’s not open to the public. That was really neat.”
He was asked at what point he thought he had a chance to win The Open and his response was surprising. “Well I played probably the round of my life that second round to get in contention. The third round, I played pretty well on the back nine. I thought if I kept doing what I’m doing, I would be there in the end. Never did I think if I keep doing what I’m doing I’m going to win. It’s if I keep doing what I’m doing I’m going to be there and have a chance to win. That’s the bottom line, and that’s what kept my focus. It was not planning on winning; it was having the opportunity to.”
The first words Glover said to his caddy, Don Cooper, when he sank his last putt on eighteenth green were “You owe me.” Cooper had told his boss awhile ago that for his next win Cooper would buy him a Corvette. I asked him how the negotiations were going for his Corvette. He laughed and said,” I don’t know. That’s in his court. That was his deal a couple of years ago. He just told me in the car one day he said, all right, next one I’m buying you a Vette. So I’ll leave it to him. I’m not going to hold it to him unless he just wants to. But it was the first thing that popped into my head after that putt went in. I saw Coop standing there and said you owe me pal.”
Glover’s demeanor is that of quiet, calm, southern gentlemen. He speaks of honoring commitments and is courteous and humble beyond belief. He is the biggest star here today, but he really would just like to play some golf and then get good nights sleep.
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