Lucas Hendley Glover (born November 12, 1979) is an American professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour. He is best known for winning the 2009 U.S. Open.
Early years and amateur career
Glover was born in Greenville, South Carolina, the son of Ron Musselman and Hershey Hendley (the daughter of former pro football player Dick Hendley). Musselman and Hendley separated in 1981 (when Lucas was two) and divorced the following year. Musselman had a career as a major league baseball player from 1982 to 1985, but after his baseball career ended, Musselman fell behind on child support payments and went more than six months without seeing his son. This led to a loss of parental rights after the matter went to court in 1992; Musselman also was barred from seeing Lucas (then 13) until he turned 18. Meanwhile, Hendley remarried to Jim Glover, and Lucas Glover today only recognizes his stepfather, Jim Glover, as his father.
Lucas' grandfather Dick Hendley introduced Glover to golf at age three, and by the time he was a teenager Lucas Glover was a three-time High School All-American at Wade Hampton High School. He won the South Carolina State High School championship as a freshman and sophomore and finished as the runner up as a junior and senior. Glover was All-State for all four years of high school.
Glover attended Clemson University from 1998 to 2001, where he was a brother of Alpha Tau Omega. He was named first-team All-American in 2000 and 2001 and honorable mention All-American in 1999. He was a member of the 2001 United States Walker Cup team and the 1999 USA vs. Japan Cup Team. He won three college tournaments and also won the South Carolina Amateur in 1998, 1999 and 2000 and the Sunnehanna Amateur in 2001.
Professional career
2002–2003: Nationwide Tour
Glover turned professional in 2001 after graduating from Clemson. He joined the Nationwide Tour in 2002, making 7 of 12 cuts while recording two top-10 finishes and five top-25 finishes in his rookie season. He earned $64,692 and finished 67th on the money list. Glover went to PGA Tour qualifying school for the first time where he finished tied for 39th which was not good enough to earn his tour card.
2003 was Glover's breakthrough year on the Nationwide Tour. He made 17 of 26 cuts while recording six top-10 finishes and 7 top-25 finishes. He picked up his first Nationwide Tour win at the Gila River Classic at Wild Horse Pass Resort. This win helped Glover finish 17th on the money list with $193,989. Glover's high finish on the money list earned him his PGA Tour card for 2004.
2004: PGA Tour rookie
In his rookie season on tour, Glover made 17 of 30 cuts while recording two top-10s and five top-25s. His best finishes came at the Wachovia Championship and the FUNAI Classic at the Walt Disney World Resort where he finished in a tie for 10th. He earned $557,454 and finished 134th on the money list, just shy of the top 125 which would have earned him his tour card for 2005. This forced him to go back to Q-School, although he was ultimately able to regain his card.
2005: First PGA Tour victory
Glover had a much better second year on tour. He made 16 of 28 cuts while recording 7 top-10 finishes and 9 top-25 finishes. He picked up his first PGA Tour victory at the FUNAI Classic at the Walt Disney World Resort in dramatic fashion by holing a 35-yard bunker shot on the 18th hole for birdie to avoid a playoff with Tom Pernice Jr. Glover went on to finish 30th on the money list with earnings of $2,050,068.
2006–2007: Continued success
Despite not winning an event in 2006, Glover played well on tour. He made 23 of 31 cuts and finished in the top-10 9 times and the top-25 17 times. His most impressive finish came at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational where he finished in a tie for fourth. Another impressive finish came at The Tour Championship where he finished in a tie for eighth. He also made his first cut in a major at the PGA Championship where he finished in a tie for 46th. Glover earned $2,587,982 in 2006 and finished 31st on the money list. He was ranked in and out of the top 50 of Official World Golf Rankings during the year.
2007 was another good year for Glover. He made the cut in 22 of 29 events and recorded three top-10s and 13 top-25s. His best finish came at the PODS Championship where he finished in a tie for fourth. Glover earned $1,664,167 on the year and finished 53rd on the money list. He was selected for the 2007 Presidents Cup where the United States defeated the International team 19½ to 14½. Glover went 2–3 in his matches.