Day 3: Fight to the finish
By T.J. Auclair, PGATOUR.COM Interactive Producer
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Want to win THE PLAYERS Championship and the 16-pound Waterford Crystal trophy and the $1.71 million first-place check that goes with it?
Well, join the crowd.
If Sunday's final round resembles a classic slugfest, don't be surprised. Everyone who's anywhere near sniffing distance of the lead after 54 holes will have a puncher's chance at TPC Sawgrass, with the wind -- and possibly some thunderstorms -- throwing the occasional low blow.
The man everyone will be chasing also happens to be the one with seemingly nothing to lose -- 43-year-old self-described journeyman Paul Goydos. Through 54 holes, Goydos has pieced together a masterful 7-under total, and just five players -- Kenny Perry, Sergio Garcia, Jeff Quinney, Bernhard Langer and defending champ Phil Mickelson -- are within five shots of him.
This is unfamiliar territory for Goydos, which is the reason it would seem anyone has a chance on Sunday. After 16 years on TOUR and 392 starts, Goydos has two wins but has never held a 54-hole lead ... until Saturday . He certainly wasn't expected to be here leading THE PLAYERS, but now he's the leader on one of golf's grandest of stages, a place where in nine previous starts his best showing was a tie for 38th.
"This is why we play. We don't play for any other reason than trying to test yourself and go out there and do the best you can," Goydos said. "This is why I've been playing and practicing for the last, who knows how many years, 30 years, I guess, now. It's a good opportunity, it's a great field, it's a great golf course. I'm hoping the weather holds off. I think Sunday here, it's going to be a great experience irrespective of the outcome."
If Goydos has a hiccup, plenty of players will be looking to pounce.
First there's Perry, who has had tremendous success on difficult TOUR courses in the past but hasn't had a win since 2005. Perry's greatest asset this week has been avoiding the big number. He's made just four bogeys, including two in the third round, through 54 holes.
Garcia seems primed to finally break out in a big tournament, but as usual it's that erratic putter that's driving the Spaniard bananas.
And then there are those 2 unders. There's one name that jumps out there, of course. If Mickelson were to hoist the hardware when the tournament concludes, he'd be the first to go back-to-back at THE PLAYERS.
Even from five shots back, Mickelson would seem to be the most likely candidate to overcome a deficit with his poker player's "all-in" mentality. However, that could also be Lefty's downfall. At a place like TPC Sawgrass, you've got to pick your spots and take what the course will give you.
Or perhaps it will be someone from back of the pack. Only once in the history of THE PLAYERS has any winner rallied from more than five strokes down after 54 holes. That was Raymond Floyd in 1981, who overcame a six-shot deficit to Barry Jaeckel, with a par on the first hole of a playoff that also included Curtis Strange. If there's ever going to be another big rally, Sunday would seem to be the day. After all, there aren't a lot of people you have to leap-frog, and the guy in front is an untested leader.
Who's to say someone like Boo Weekley (1 under) or former PLAYERS Champions Stephen Ames (even) or Davis Love III and Adam Scott (each 1 over) won't post an early low score and make everyone else sweat?
But while Goydos enters the final round as the pre-fight favorite, he's well aware of who the fan favorite will be.
"I would think Mickelson," he said, bluntly. "I don't know where Mickelson stands. I'm sure Mickelson is not going, 'Well, [I guess I'm] playing for second.' "
To be crystal clear, Goydos isn't playing for second either.
ROUND OF THE DAY: Greg Kraft's 4-under 68. A sensational round for the man who, at age 44, won his first PGA TOUR event earlier this year in the inaugural Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular.
Kraft was one of just four players out of the 74 who made the cut to post a sub-70 third round. He went out early and used five birdies over a seven-hole stretch starting at No. 7 to get most of his scoring done.
SHOT OF THE DAY I: Kevin Stadler's sand wedge from 95 yards on the 386-yard, par-4 fourth hole. After pounding a 292-yard drive, Stadler holed the sand wedge for the two. It was the 25th eagle made on No. 4 in PLAYERS Championship history and the first since Kenny Perry in the second round of 2007.
The first player to eagle No. 4 in PLAYERS history was Lyn Lott in the final round of the 1982 event.
SHOT OF THE DAY II: Kenny Perry's approach from the right rough and 194 yards out on No. 14. Perry's brilliant second shot settled 8 feet, 3 inches from the hole and he rolled home the lone birdie of the day on the hole.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY: Compliments of Anthony Kim, whose colorful back nine of 7-over 43 consisted of two birdies, one par, four bogeys (in a row, beginning at No. 11), a double bogey on No. 18 and a triple bogey on No. 17, for an 18-hole total of 7-over-par 79.
Kim, who has toned down his temperament considerably recently, was asked how he would have reacted to the same score a year ago.
"I wouldn't be standing here," said Kim, laughing. "That bag may be in the water. I'm just glad I have all my clubs and I'm standing here. You know, I don't know if I would have been able to eat dinner last year. I feel fine. You know, it's not the end of the world. I've learned a lot from today, especially from the string of bogeys I made. Making great swings, I know if I tone it back a little bit, I'll be fine."
LOOKING AHEAD: Here are three points to ponder going into Sunday's final round:
| 1 | The number of birdies made, respectively, at Nos. 14 and 18 in the third round of THE PLAYERS. |
| 18 | The number of sub-par rounds in recorded on Saturday. |
| 4 | The number of those sub-par rounds that were in the 60s. |
• How badly, if at all, will the weather affect play? A cold front is moving in overnight and temperatures will dip into the high-70s on Sunday -- quite a difference from the 90-plus degree temperatures that have been around all week. Along with the cooler climate, there is a 50 percent chance of scattered strong storms with strong winds. All of the bad weather is expected to roll in right around 3 p.m. (ET), shortly after the leaders tee off.
• How will Paul Goydos perform with a one-shot lead? Shockingly, despite his 16-year career on the PGA TOUR, we have no history to draw upon when it comes to Goydos and a 54-hole lead. After the third round, Goydos seemed like the furthest thing from a nervous man. That could make him dangerous in the final round. At age 43, Goydos is kinda like Kevin Costner's character in the movie, "For Love of the Game." Costner played a 40-year-old pitcher in the movie working on a perfect game. If Goydos has the same outcome as Costner, it'll be good times.
• Which Sergio Garcia will show up for the final round? The Sergio that can't miss a putt in the Ryder Cup? Or the Sergio that can't buy a putt in stroke play? It could be argued that even though he trails by two shots, Garcia has been the best ball-striker this week and could be running away if it weren't for his misbehaved putter. After all, he's ranked dead last in putts per round among the players that made the cut (tied with Jason Bohn and Rory Sabbatini). He used 34 putts on Saturday. If he can correct that just slightly on Sunday, Garcia could very well be the next PLAYERS Champion.
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