Back in 2018, Lucas Glover’s wife thought he was a loser. Three years later, he’s a PGA Tour champion once again.

Glover triumphed at the 2021 John Deere Classic by two strokes for his first win since 2011. It was also the first time Glover found the winner’s circle on Tour since experiencing a familial low point, and the victory allowed him to accomplish the goal of making his kids see him as a champion.

Lucas Glover wins the John Deere Classic

Not many eyes were on the John Deere Classic this past weekend. The Scottish Open, which was being played at the same time, had far more big names in the field. And with the Open Championship just a week away, most of the world’s best golfers skipped the John Deere to prepare for the year’s fourth major.

But the tournament was still a PGA Tour event, and any win on Tour can be life-changing for lower-level players.

Glover entered the final round at TPC Deer Run a few strokes back of the leaders, but a blistering back 9 propelled him to the top of the leaderboard. The 2009 U.S. Open champion birdied five of his last seven holes on Sunday to post a 64 and take the lead at 19 under par. Glover then watched as the rest of the inexperienced field crumbled behind him, and he went on to win by two strokes over Ryan Moore and Kevin Na.

The win marked Glover’s first since the 2011 Wells Fargo Championship.

Glover’s wife called him a “loser” and attacked him and his mother three years ago

Glover’s win at the John Deere Classic was a comeback story for a few reasons. For one, he hadn’t won on the PGA Tour in a decade, and he recently slipped to as low as 147th in the OWGR. But on a much darker note, Glover redeemed himself after his wife, Krista, thought he was a perpetual loser just three years ago.

In 2018, Krista was arrested and charged with domestic battery and resisting arrest, per ESPN, after Glover shot a 78 in the third round of the Players Championship to miss the 54-hole cut. According to the arrest report, Glover told the deputy that his wife always yelled at him and called him a “loser” whenever he played a poor round. One of her outbursts occurred after he missed the cut at the Players, and it eventually turned violent.

Glover said his wife attacked him and his mother, Hershey Glover, during the altercation and left lacerations on both. After the dispute, Krista called 911 and claimed Hershey attacked her first, but Glover intervened and told the operator, “My wife has gone crazy.”

When police arrived on the scene, Krista refused to get in the squad car and damaged the door once she was finally forced inside. She later received 12 months probation for the domestic violence incident.

The Glovers have started a new chapter since then

The 2018 altercation and subsequent arrest was a low point for the Glover family, but they’ve since recovered and have started a new chapter in life. A few months after the arrest, Lucas and Krista renewed their wedding vows and put the incident behind them.

“It was the closure of everything, of all the mess for us, and a symbol of a new beginning,” Glover told Rex Hoggard of Golf Channel in 2019. “It was emotional and symbolic.”

After Glover’s win this past weekend, he was more excited that his children were able to see their dad win again than he was to actually lift the trophy.

“I remember that was my biggest takeaway when Tiger won his last Masters is that his kids got to see him as a champ,” Glover said Sunday. “That was a goal of mine, too.”