Dramatic Final Round On Tap for U.S. Open

Remember that giant lead Ricky Barnes had on the field (and especially Tiger) earlier today? It's disappeared. After an abbreviated start to Round 4 (we were pretty sure they weren't getting the whole round in before dark), Barnes was tied with Lucas Glover at 7-under. The rest of the field trails by at least five shots.

Tiger's not going to win. Yeah, he's tied for seventh at even par and is two shots out of third place, but he's going to need Barnes and Glover to completely collapse and hope that nobody in front of him posts a low score. He's not playing poorly by any stretch--he was only one shot off the low round in the third, a 67 by Bubba Watson. But Tiger will need to shoot one of the best rounds of his life to stay in contention.

That's not to say the Open belongs to Barnes or Glover. A lot of other players are lurking. Phil Mickelson (-2) can heat up in a hurry. David Duval, Hunter Mahan and Ross Fisher also are at minus-2. Mike Weir (1-under) is still dangerous even though he faltered down the stretch today. He posted a 64 in Round 1.

It's a shame that this tournament will drag into Monday, when most people will have to follow the endgame at work. If Barnes and Glover revert to their usually low-rated selves, this could be a wild finish. Or perhaps Barnes will continue to play like a man possessed. No, we mean actually possessed. We don't know if you're watching the Open, but on the 14th tee, his head spun completely around and he vomited green acid. It was pretty gross.

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.