Lucas Glover again showing a liking for Bethpage Black

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. (AP) — Majors at Bethpage Black seem to bring out the best in Lucas Glover.

The 39-year-old won the U.S. Open in 2009 by two shots on the Long Island public course and is playing on the weekend in the PGA Championship.

Glover shot his second straight 1-under 69 on Saturday and finished 54 holes at even par. Not bad for a guy who underwent arthroscopic knee surgery after missing the cut at the U.S. Open at the start of last summer.

The hard part for many, Glover included, is remembering it’s been 10 years since he won the national title.

“Somedays, it feels like yesterday and other times it feels like 20 years,” Glover said after his third round. “I was back for The Barclays in ’16 and here this week. It’s always fun to be here and I got a lot of cheers, so it’s nice.”

Glover missed the cut at The Barclays in 2016, but he enjoyed his time and the rowdy crowds, which haven’t changed much. He said the 7,459-yard hilly course also has not changed, other than a new tee on No. 12 and a section added to the green on No. 11.

“It’s still really hard, but it’s fair,” Glover said. “If you hit a good shot you get rewarded. If you hit a bad shot, you get penalized and that’s the way it should be.”

Glover has been dealing with knee problems since a body-surfing accident in Hawaii in 2012. He had his right knee surgically repaired that year and had the left fixed last summer.

“I felt I was playing pretty good leading into that knee surgery, but you do it,” said the three-time winner on the PGA Tour. “Now I’m playing better. It’s just wear-and-tear injuries and aging and all that stuff.”

Glover played in 18 events last year, earned just over $789,000 and was 135th in the FedEx Cup standings. He secured a full card by going to the Web.com Tour Finals, finishing seventh among the top 25 who made it back to the big leagues.

Glover’s third round at the PGA included four birdies and three bogeys.

“I haven’t made many putts. I hit it nice today and didn’t make a thing,” he said. “I’m here for the weekend, and as a golfer, I’m never happy. I could have hit it better the first couple of days and putted better today. But that’s the nature of our game and the nature of us.”