Lucas Glover explains real reason he took off his shoes during PGA Tour event

Former U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover has revealed the real reason why he took off his shoes after holing a birdie putt during the final round of the 3M Open in Minnesota. 

NEW: Lucas Glover doubles down after viral 3M Open shoe incident with lengthy statement

Glover drained a nine-foot birdie putt on the 10th hole at TPC Twin Cities and decided to take off his footwear before he retrieved his golf ball. 

On first viewing, it appeared the 46-year-old American was making a clear dig about the use of AimPoint on the PGA Tour and was potentially unhappy with his playing partner Max Greyserman. 

Glover has been extremely critical of the green-reading technique in the past and had even called for it to be banned to help improve pace of play. 

Greyserman also uses AimPoint and it appeared Glover may have been upset about the 31-year-old trampling all over his lines. 

But Glover has now clarified on Instagram in a response to the FlushingIt account that he was "just goofing off" as the group behind him had singled him out, accusing him of leaving spike marks. 

"I wear metal [spikes]," Glover wrote. "Someone in the group ahead of us was too. Singled me out. Just goofing off.""

Watch the clip here:

As you can see, it's no surprise that many believed Glover was clearly demonstrating his disdain for AimPoint, which is used by several major champions and multiple PGA Tour winners. 

Adam Scott, Viktor Hovland, Justin Rose, Keegan Bradley, Max Homa, Collin Morikawa, Tommy Fleetwood, Sam Burns, Ludvig Aberg and Dustin Johnson are among those who use the technique on the greens. 

What has Lucas Glover said about AimPoint?

Lucas Glover previously claimed there was no statistical data that proved AimPoint made anyone a better putter.

He suggested that it should be banned as part of his wide-ranging plan to combat slow play on the North American circuit.

Glover softened his stance earlier in the year during an appearance on the Trey Wingo podcast. 

His biggest issue, though, was players walking across fellow competitors' putting lines as they went through their green-reading routines.

"I see these people stepping all over the green and each other's lines from two feet," he told the pod. 

"It's very frustrating, but we're all out here trying to do the same thing and that's trying to get the ball in the hole as quickly as possible. 

"And if that helps people, great. It's not for me to tell them they can or cannot do it, but it is up to the players to monitor our pace sometimes.

"That's where I got frustrated a couple of years ago with those comments. Sometimes it just takes too long for somebody to get ready to hit it."

What is AimPoint?

AimPoint is a green-reading technique used by professional golfers to help determine the correct line and pace for putts. 

The system uses slope, green speed and a golfer’s feel for the contours of the putting surface to calculate where a player should aim before making a stroke.

The method requires players to assess the slope of a putt, often by standing near the line and using their feet to gauge the break. 

They then use a finger-based reference system while viewing the hole from behind the ball, with each finger representing a different amount of break.

Its usage has become increasingly common on professional tours, though many critics suggest that it only adds to pace of play problems.