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Jeff Passan from our sister site in the US is at Bethpage and looks at the chances of Ricky Barnes or Lucas Glover pulling off an unlikely Major victory.

The final round of the 109th US Open needs some good theme music, and not one of those soothing soundtracks of rain meant to lull insomniacs to sleep, even if it's appropriate.

The tournament demands something dark and ominous, downright evil sounding, because everybody at Bethpage Black is convinced Ricky Barnes and Lucas Glover are about to go all Three Mile Island.

No offence to them. Neither has been here before. Not just leading a Major championship. Anywhere near doing so. Barnes is ranked something like 200,000th in the world, and Glover hasn't won since 2005, and that was at Walt Disney World, where Mickey asked, "Now, who's Lucas Glover again?" So their seven-under-par scores, with 17 holes remaining, aren't exactly rife with gravitas.

Never mind their five-stroke lead on a course that finally on Sunday began resembling a Major championship venue instead of some bunk muni that parlayed incriminating photos of USGA officials into hosting the Open. Skepticism still reigns, with Phil Mickelson at two-under and Tiger Woods back to even and a host of others on the prowl as the final round spills into Monday, the 60 remaining entrants continuing their fourth rounds at 9am local time.

With how Sunday ended, the disbelief looks rather fortuitous. The lasting image, as officials sounded a horn around 8pm to suspend play because of darkness, was of Barnes standing over his ball embedded in the Black Course's ravenous fescue grass. He was a boxer saved by the bell, his last shot a snap hook into the nasty stuff, which followed a bogey on the first hole, which chased another bogey on 18 to end his third round.

Barnes is patently capable of imploding. Glover's reputation on the Tour is as someone who folds in final rounds. And even one person rooting for both isn't certain either is ready for what Monday holds.

During the first two rounds of the 2002 Open at Bethpage, Barnes and Glover played together. Neither made the cut. The third player in their grouping, John Maginnes, did. He's at this Open, too - as a radio commentator. As much as he'd like to see Barnes or Glover win - Maginnes found both quite charming - he's not ready to commit there yet, not with momentum spiraling, leads dwindling and superiors in ability smelling blood.

"What's liable to happen is Tiger makes four birdies over the last 11 holes and beats one of them in a play-off," Maginnes said. "Or Tiger and Phil end up in a play-off. I don't think anyone would be surprised."

Maginnes isn't playing frontrunner. He speaks from experience. Open organisers strive each year to make it the toughest course to defeat. Players respect it and know that flukes don't win the Open (though, to be fair, this year's weather is so atypical it would be appropriate). The lowest-ranked player to win an Open was Steve Jones, who was 100th. Glover is 71st and Barnes 963,000th.

"I can't understand what it's like to be in their position," Maginnes said. "The enormity of the situation is so much. Look, this might be the exact time for these guys to win. The stars could be aligning just right. It's just tough to bet on them."

Barnes could have run away with the Open had he not gotten sloppy on the back nine of his third round. He stood at 11-under thanks to an eagle putt on four and Glover had slipped to four-under following a bogey-double bogey-bogey catastrophe. Barnes hooked a drive on ten into a bunker and pushed his sand shot into the fescue. Though he busted out of it with a brilliant approach, the eventual bogey started Barnes' descent that ended with him missing a four-foot putt on 18 and finishing the third at eight-under and a stroke ahead of Glover.

"Sour taste to a good round," Barnes said.

Maybe he should have sought a berry or two of miracle fruit to rid it. The lingering traces carried over to the beginning of Barnes' fourth round, in which he lost a stroke, sole possession of the lead and, apparently, a good bit of his composure. The back nine jangled him some, obvious in putts that fell a foot or two short, and the gravity of leading the Open after spending six years in golf's minor leagues resonated.

"I got some nerves going and stuff like that," Barnes said. "But that's golf. I think if you don't have a little bit of nerves when you're in the heat of competition, and especially in the last group, you're not human.

"So," he continued, "if I go out and do the same thing, someone is going to have to really come back low from behind, or even one-under, to catch me."

True enough. Mickelson is still around. Only his best round this week is 69. And as long as we're factoring in past experience, Mickelson and Open final rounds haven't gone together like Bethpage and rowdy drunks. His four second-place finishes are tied for the most at the Open.

And Woods? Well, he continues to say he's happy with his play, even though it took a birdie on seven to get him back to even. He started the round nine strokes behind Barnes, and the biggest final-round comeback in Open history was Arnold Palmer making up seven at the 1960 Open. And on the final 11 holes, he's made only five birdies all week - and four bogeys and a double.

Only four other players (Hunter Mahan, Ross Fisher, Mike Weir and David Duval, who is behind Barnes in the world rankings at 963,001st) remain under par. Considering Sunday's round of the day was Bubba Watson's 67 - following nine cards of 66 or better the first two rounds - the Black Course has evened out enough that hoping for a failure from Barnes and Glover may be the other contenders' only option.

It may well happen. After one bogey the first three days, Barnes had six on Sunday, with another looming Monday morning. Though Glover has been more consistent, he catches the same vibes that surround Barnes.

"I don't think there's very many people that think I can or will do it anyway," Glover said, "so that's fine."

His la-di-da attitude was surprising, considering the circumstances. It's just Glover. He's well-read, funny, self-deprecating. When asked why Barnes attracted more attention, Glover said, "He's got cooler pants than me," a friendly dig at his co-leader's loud plaid trousers.

Whatever Barnes' fashion choices, the attention will descend on Monday on him and Glover. Barnes' first swing, in particular, will be of great importance. Twice on Sunday he hit out of complete junk. The first time, from the fescue on ten, he took five practice swings. The next time, out of a hirsute patch of rough next to the 18th green, he pantomimed 11 times. Both shots were excellent.

He'll have all night to think about his next one. The lead is tenuous, the US Open at stake. The Black Course beckons, ready to crown a champion and, perhaps, witness a meltdown or two.

Jeff Passan, Yahoo! Sports / Eurosport