Sometimes if you listen closely people do say the quiet part out loud.

After winning the John Deere Classic,  Lucas Glover offered an ever so small glimpse into what the 2009 US Open champion must have been dealing with during a 10-year winless drought.

“I never lost sight of believing I could win again,” he said during an interview on the CBS broadcast. “The most gratifying thing is I proved myself right and a lot of other people wrong,” he said.

Glover took control of the tournament with 5-birdies in his last seven holes.

He put a little cushion between himself and the field with a par save from a bunker on his last hole to shoot a 7-under 64 and win by two shots.. 

Whether it was because his faith in his work and talent led him back to the top of a leader board or the questions that arose during the last decade motivated his desire to win again is only known to Glover.

The 3-time Clemson All-American didn’t stumble into a win at the TPC Deere Run course.

Glover has 3-top-10 finishes this season. His scorecards in those events have more 60s than 70s marked down.

Even in tournaments he finished back in the pack, there have been rounds that showed he was close.

“I felt some good golf coming. I didn’t know how good. I’ve been playing well and had some good rounds and had some good finishes of late. 63 and a 64 in a week, proved myself right on that, I guess” he said.

The last time Glover won was in 2011, in Charlotte at the Wells-Fargo.

“I understand that this game is hard, and there’s going to be struggles. Nobody has ever come through a long career on TOUR and not had a difficult time at some point, whether it’s 10 years or 10 weeks. It happens,” he said.

During those last ten years Glover has had to play twice in the Korn-Ferry Tour finals to maintain his status on Tour.

“That was pretty low, but as far as how I kept going, it’s just self-belief and the ability to work hard, trust what you’re working on and believe in yourself, and I’ve always done that, “ he said.

Glover credits his improved play to being more serious about his conditioning and changing his putting routine.

“I started taking a practice stroke behind the ball instead of beside it, taking a practice stroke right down my line right behind the ball and then just walking in and going,” he said.

The win was his fourth career victory, but it was the first his wife Krista and two children, Lucille and Lucas Jr. could experience with him.

“I remember that was my biggest takeaway when Tiger won his last Masters is that his kids got to see him as a champ. That was a goal of mine, too,” he said.

Glover will next play in the British Open and at 41 isn’t giving any thought to slowing down.

“I’m working harder now and more efficiently than I did in my 20s when I was having the most success. I still play 25, 26, 27 events a year and I still can honestly say I can do it. I’ve never doubted that, “ concluded the John Deere Classic Champion.

The win moves Glover up to 33rd in the Fed/Ex Cup Rankings. It also earns the Greenville native an invitation to The Masters, the PGA Championship and the Tournament of Champions.

Scores from the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic https://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html