Lucas Glover’s bizarre shoe removal scene at 3M Open wasn’t an AimPoint protest

Lucas Glover appeared to have had it on Sunday at the 3M Open, but everyone had the former major champion all wrong. At least, that’s the story.

The 2009 U.S. Open champion made an odd scene during the final round at TPC Twin Cities when he rolled in a birdie putt on the 10th hole and then took off his shoes to retrieve his ball out of the cup. The commentators suggested that Glover did so in protest of the AimPoint green-reading technique, something that Glover has been critical of in the past on his SiriusXM radio show.

“Statistically, [AimPoint] hasn’t helped anybody make more putts since its inception on the PGA Tour,” Glover told co-hosts Mac Barnhardt and Taylor Zarzour during an episode of his show last year. “Statistics have borne that out. It’s also kind of rude to be up near the hole, stomping around figuring out where the break is in your feet. It needs to be banned. It takes forever.”

But while Glover is no fan of the AimPoint technique, Sunday’s incident had nothing to do with that.

While Glover did not speak to the media after his final round concluded, he did respond to the social media account Flushing It after they insinuated he was protesting AimPoint. According to Glover, his bizarre reaction was because some people had complained about his metal spikes, and he responded as a way to poke fun at the issue.

PGA Tour pro Michael Kim also explained the issue on X.

Glover’s radio show was filled with his takes on a myriad of issues facing the PGA Tour, from driver testing to the Caves Valley renovation to the number of independent directors on the PGA Tour board. But those opinions will no longer be on the airwaves after Glover elected to stop his radio show after he was chosen for the 16-man Player Advisory Council and was elected chairman, which means he will replace Adam Scott as a player director for three years starting in 2027.

“I got a little grumpy. It started out being fun and jovial and then it turned into complaining about issues at the Tour. That’s not why I started doing it and not where I wanted it to go,” Glover told Golfweek back in March about ending his radio show. “It made for some good entertainment, but I wanted it to be more fun. It didn’t feel like it was me, it wasn’t my personality coming out.”

Glover’s personality came out Sunday as he tried to make light of SpikeMarkGate. He then finished in a tie for 57th and exited the Twin Cities, presumably with his shoes on.