Farmingdale: Lucas Glover left the PGA Tour in a huff last season but said lessons learned off the course had helped him capture his first major at the US Open on Monday.
A former all-America college player at Clemson University, Glover said he was slow to realise his potential because he was quick to get down on himself when things went wrong.
After claiming a two-shot victory over world No. 2 Phil Mickelson, former world No. 1 David Duval and US Tour rookie Ricky Barnes, Glover said taking time off at the end of last season made the difference.
"It was the best thing career wise I've ever done," the 29-year-old South Carolinian said about shutting down his season in early September.
"I hung them up after St Louis. I knew I had my card for this year, knew I had a job."I was not playing well enough to keep playing and feel like I could be happy on the golf course. I was taking it home, and I wasn't myself."
Glover, whose lone Tour victory had come in the 2005 Disney Classic, said his appetite for the game slowly returned.
"That was the point of it. Figure out why I got the way I got. And I did. I was too hard on myself. Just had a bad attitude when it wasn't going right.
"When I started practising again, my expectations were lower and I had something set to work on. And then starting in January, I was fresh."
Glover gained confidence from top 10s this season at Torrey Pines and Quail Hollow, two of the tour's most testing tracks, and booked a spot in the Open as a qualifier.
New-found patience was applied to a stumbling start and a three-hole stretch on Sunday which nearly derailed his bid.
"My attitude's better," he said. "Something bad happens, let it go. I doubled the first hole this week. Didn't slam a club. Didn't do anything."
In Sunday's third round, he bogeyed the sixth, double- bogeyed the seventh and bogeyed the eighth before righting the ship.
"Two years ago, if yesterday would have happened six, seven and eight, no chance I would be sitting here," he said. "No chance."
Tricky winds, drying conditions and final-round pressure increased the difficulty at Bethpage Black but Glover held firm.
After parring 17, Glover, who leads the tour in all-around driving, used a six-iron off the tee to avoid trouble and reached the green with a nine-iron to effectively end it.
Following his triumph, Glover, who had missed the cut in his three previous Opens, showed emotion only when asked about old coach Dick Harmon, who died three years ago.
"I think about him every day," said Glover.
"He always told me I was good enough," he said.
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