Glover doesn't let Open victory affect work plans

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Lucas Glover will leave the Big Apple to return to the course this week because it's "the right thing to do."

CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) -- Nobody would have begrudged Lucas Glover a week off.

After all, the 29-year-old journeyman won the U.S. Open on Monday, spent Tuesday guesting on TV shows and took his new trophy to the top of the Empire State building.

But on Wednesday, Glover was in Connecticut playing in the pro-am for this week's Travelers Championship, which begins on Thursday at TPC River Highlands. Glover will be among 156 players competing for the 500 FedExCup points afforded to the winner.

"I feel that's the right thing to do," Glover said. "Just because I won a golf tournament doesn't change anything. I was committed, and I'm going to honor that commitment."

It wasn't just a golf tournament, it was the U.S. Open. And while Glover said he had fun doing the media blitz that accompanied his instant fame, he also decided playing golf was the best way to remove himself from that whirlwind. It was advice Glover said he received from several golfers, including Zach Johnson, who did the same thing after winning the Masters in 2007.

"Because of everything else that's hitting you, all these things that are coming at you from so many different areas, you just don't know what to expect," Johnson said. "It's overwhelming. So, one of the least overwhelming experiences is getting back in the ropes."

Glover said he also wants to strike while he's in form, hoping to use last week's play as a springboard for the rest of the season.

"I don't want to fizzle out after two wins or after one big win," he said.

Glover will be part of one of the strongest Travelers fields in recent memory, as golfers including Sergio Garcia, Vijay Singh, and Johnson make the quick hop over Long Island Sound from Bethpage for the event.

But some of their focus will be on several golfers who cannot be here.

Phil Mickelson has begun his family vacation to be with his wife, Amy, as she fights cancer, and Chris Smith, who was supposed to be an alternate at this tournament, is dealing with last weekend's auto accident that killed his wife and critically injured his two children.

That accident came just two weeks after a crash that led to the amputation of Connecticut local Ken Green's lower right leg and killed his brother and girlfriend.

"Right now, we're all just giving them their space, try and let them handle it and giving them time to be with their families," said Hunter Mahan, who won here in 2007. "But when some time passes, we're going to do what we can to help them out and if they need anything, obviously we're here and we're here to help everybody. It's a tough situation to go through three tragedies like that. It's very tough."

There was good news on Wednesday from weather forecasters, who said that after days of rain, skies were expected to be clear on Thursday, with only a chance for an occasional thunderstorm over the weekend.

"It will be nice not to have them roll out and have to deal with weather delays and stuff like that for a week," Mahan said.