by TOM YANTZ; tyantz@courant.com , Hartford Courant

"It was a whirlwind," Glover said.

So can the conqueror of Bethpage Black win the Travelers Championship after his celebrity tour?

"Physically, I'm OK," he said Wednesday before the Travelers Celebrity Pro-Am. "Mentally I'm going to have to focus a little harder because I'm tired up top."

Glover pointed to his head.

Zach Johnson, the 2007 Masters champion, understands the demands after winning a major.

"I think it's the mental fatigue of the major," he said. "It just wears on you. And then you throw in the fact that [the U.S. Open] was a five-day tournament. So just the wear and tear of that."

Hunter Mahan, 2007 Travelers champion, said he "did nothing" Tuesday after tying for sixth in the U.S. Open Monday.

"I tried to get as much rest as I could before the tournament," he said. "Mentally, just try to recoup from last week and get all that stuff out of me."

The last player to triumph the week after winning a major was Tiger Woods in 2006, when he won the World Golf Championship-Bridgestone Invitational after finishing first in the PGA Championship.

Glover won't predict a victory at the TPC River Highlands. Still, he expects to play well. He shot a 4-under-par 66 in the pro-am Wednesday.

"As hard as I've been working and as well as I've been playing, it would be foolish not to expect to play well," he said.

The man who beat Phil Mickelson, David Duval, Ricky Barnes and the rest of the Open field can say that.

But it won't be easy to win the Travelers Championship, which starts today. With the TPC River Highlands softened by rain recently, including showers on Wednesday, the tournament could produce more birdies and more contenders.

The field includes five of the top 18 players in the world ranking - Sergio Garcia (fourth), Kenny Perry (seventh), Vijay Singh (ninth), Anthony Kim (15th) and Glover (18th).

Mahan is expected be a top contender. He tied for second last year, won in 2007 and tied for second in '06.

Defending champion Stewart Cink also is a threat to win for the third time at the TPC River Highlands.

"I'm just drawing off the great memories I had here last year where I outlasted everybody," he said. "So I'll be at a slight advantage just because my memories of winning are more recent here than anyone else."

Cink, Johnson and many others congratulated Glover on Wednesday for winning the U.S. Open.

"A lot of them just came up and shook my hand, couple of them gave me a hug," he said.

And when Glover was on the first tee for the Celebrity Pro-Am, tour member Johnson Wagner nailed Glover with a shaving cream pie in the face.

Glover laughed after taking another twirl on his whirlwind tour.

"Busy 48 hours, 36 hours, whatever," he said. "One of the greatest, but most tiring days of my life in New York City. It was great."

He and his wife Jennifer took the U.S. Open trophy to the observation deck of the Empire State Building. On Wednesday, the trophy was moving again.

"My wife's flying home to take care of some things, and she's going to take it home [to Greenville, S.C.]," Glover said.

Did the trophy have a first-class ticket?

"You could say that, yes sir," Glover said.

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