US Open Goes to Monday Finish, Ricky Barnes Clings to Lead

For 54 holes, Ricky Barnes was the best golfer on the planet. And then, in the few hours between his third and final round at the 109th U.S. Open, something happened. Maybe he finally realized that this was Bethpage Black and not some podunk Nationwide stop.

Or maybe his luck just ran out. It happens, especially to guys who have spent the previous six years trying to live up to expectations. After getting to 11-under early Sunday, and leading by as many as six strokes, Barnes came back to the field and begin his final 18 at 8-under, just one shot clear of Lucas Glover.

On No. 1, Barnes pull-hooked his tee shot into the junk, and bumbled his way to an ugly bogey. On the second tee, he hit his tee shot left again, this time a shank. And before he could make matters worse, the horn sounded, suspending play for the evening.

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Which means that Barnes' first shot tomorrow will be out of thick rough. But for the second day in a row, he'll get to sleep on the lead (although this time, he'll share it with Glover). And while the pressure will be unbearable, the leaders are five shots clear of the field. It's a nice cushion, but Aaron Baddeley is Exhibit A of how quickly things can turn for the worst. In 2007, he was the 54-hole leaders, and 15 minutes into the 55th hole, he had fired a triple-bogey and lost his two-stroke lead.

Behind Barnes and Glover, four players are at 2-under, including Hunter Mahan, Phil Mickelson and David Duval. And Tiger Woods, who could very well could be leading this thing if not for the last four bogey-rific holes of his first round, birdied No. 7 to get to even for the week (T8) before calling it a night.

Final round coverage starts at 9AM ET tomorrow on ESPN before moving over to NBC at 11:30AM ET. And if you're a working stiff, Shane Bacon will be cranking up the live blog machine.