Bridesmaid finish not all bad for tour rookie Barnes

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

FARMINGDALE, New York (Reuters) - PGA Tour rookie Ricky Barnes dwelt on the positives after tumbling back into a tie for second place at the weather-delayed U.S. Open Monday.

A qualifier for the second major of the year, Barnes was surprise leader after the second and third rounds at Bethpage Black and briefly held a six-shot cushion on the fourth day of the rain-hit tournament.

Overall, though, the 28-year-old was delighted with his performance on a tough and soaked layout after closing with a six-over-par 76 in the final round.

"A lot more good came out of this week than bad," Barnes told reporters after recovering from a run of five bogeys in seven holes from the fifth with a strong finish. "It was a great week.

"If you told me I would have been two under, if you would have told me I was second, bridesmaid isn't too bad. But when you know you're right there, it's a tough one to swallow."

Barnes, the 2002 U.S. amateur champion, charged to the top of the leaderboard with opening rounds of 67 and 65.

A stroke in front at the tournament's midway point, he surged six ahead in the third round Sunday before losing momentum after the turn on the way to a level-par 70.

One ahead going into the final round, he bogeyed the first hole before play was suspended in failing light Sunday and surrendered the outright lead to Lucas Glover Monday with his string of bogeys from the fifth.