As I write this, today's golf is reaching the end of its 11th hour. The skies are still grim, the rain is still falling, but something magical has happened at Bethpage since the 5:30 p.m. restart: the fun is back!

All the hand-wringing about the rain-check policy and the weather delays has been replaced by the raucous cheers that defined the last Bethpage Open. Maybe the fans are delirious from such a long day. Or drunk from the long break between the end of the second round and the start of the third.

Whatever, it's delightful to hear the roars again. It's taken a while, but it feels like the U.S. Open has finally begun. Hopefully this energy can be sustained tomorrow, and maybe, just maybe, this tournament will get the memorable end it deserves.