The Thornblade Club of Greer, S.C., already known for its innovation and leadership in private club membership marketing and communications (see “Making Connections,” C&RB, April 2009), got an unexpected publicity boost that it will now be able to put to long-lasting use when Lucas Glover, a club member, emerged as the surprise winner of the 2009 U.S. Open.

Almost as soon as Glover sank the putt that gave him the two-stroke victory at the Bethpage Black course in Farmingdale, N.Y. —Glover’s first Tour victory since 2005, and the first U.S. Open where he had survived the cut—the Thornblade Club’s General Manager, Patricia Calder, sent a message noting that Thornblade now has three current champions among the 16 active Tour golfers who are members of the club. In addition to Glover, the club membership includes Jay Haas, the current Champions Tour champion, and Matt Bettencourt, the current Nationwide Tour champion (and who finished 10th to Glover in the ‘09 Open).

Calder also noted that “our younger players [at Thornblade Club] are also making us proud,” with 18-year-old Crawford Reeves winning the 37th South Carolina Amateur Match Play Championship and 18-year-old Haley Stephens taking the 2009 Heritage Junior Championship in the same week in June. The two young golfers have also been named the male and female 2009 South Carolina Golf Association Junior Players of the Year.