The Live Report, Round 4: FBR Open
The FBR Open is the fourth tournament of the PGA TOUR season. PGATOUR.COM's The Live Report will provide updates all day long for each of the five rounds, so check back often. (All timestamps listed for Eastern Time.)
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PLAYOFF PLAY-BY-PLAY (6:44 p.m.): Hoffman cozied his lengthy putt right up on the low side of the hole, leaving Perry a putt to win and ... Perry just made it. Perry rolled in the 20-footer, right in the heart of the cup, to end the drama and get career win No. 13.
(6:42 p.m.): Hoffman just blasted out from the bunker and got his shot to trickle onto the green as he went pretty much right at the flag, but stopped about 35 feet away. Meanwhile, Perry's bump-and-run didn't carry far enough and stopped on the edge short of the green.
(6:38 p.m.): Hoffman's tee shot on No. 17 just landed in a terrible spot, right of the green and up against the edge of the bunker. Just getting it on the green would be a good shot, never mind near the hole. Perry is right of the green as well, but in the short grass, setting up a slightly tricky, albeit easier, shot.
(6:33 p.m.): Perry had a downhill, right-to-left putt that he just left a couple of inches short. That opened the door for Hoffman. He couldn't take advantage, however, and rolled his on the low side left. Onward we go to No. 17...a drivable par 4.
(6:31 p.m.): Hoffman almost flopped his shot right into the hole, but it rolled just past the edge and stopped about 10 feet from the flag.
(6:29 p.m.): Perry was left with just 97 yards from the green from the left rough, but it wasn't the best lie -- the ball was in what looked like a tire track. The result: Perry landed about 15 feet away.
(6:25 p.m.): Hoffman just bombed his drive on the par-4 10th and it landed practically green high after getting a big bounce off the cart path. Meanwhile, Perry just hit what looked like a solid tee shot only to see it finish in the rough as well.
(6:22 p.m.): Perry's putt never touched the hole and he tapped in for a second straight bogey and Hoffman did the same. The two will now head to the dogleg par-4 10th hole. Hoffman has birdied the 10th hole all four days this week, while Perry has just once.
(6:21 p.m.): Nick Faldo just said it best ... "No real conviction in his stroke." when talking about Hoffman's putt that just came up a good 2 feet short.
(6:20 p.m.): Hoffman just hit about as good a pitch as he could hope for, leaving himself just off the green but only about 10 feet from the hole. Perry, meanwhile, had a tricky lie that was a little buried and left his shot a little closer.
(6:19 p.m.): Things just got a little interesting with rules official Slugger White coming out to determine who's further from the hole ... it was Hoffman by about 6 feet.
(6:16 p.m.): Hoffman just got a little stuck on his shot from the bunker and left himself in maybe the worst possible spot, coming up well short of the green and in front of the greenside bunker on 18, meaning that he'll have to hit a career shot to get his ball anywhere close to the hole.
(6:15 p.m.): From 175 yards, Perry just hit over the back of the green to the left, but he left himself with a much easier pitch than the last time around.
(6:12 p.m.): Kenny Perry and Charley Hoffman each just blasted their drives into the fairway bunker on the 438-yard par-4 18th, though Perry might have the more difficult shot. He hit it almost exactly where he hit it at the end of regulation. That's pretty ironic considering Perry is probably the best driver of the golf ball on the PGA TOUR.
MORE ON THE PLAYOFF (6:09 p.m.): Kenny Perry and Charley Hoffman are headed to the 438-yard, par-4 18th for a sudden death playoff.
Hoffman has birdied the hole just once this week and that came in yesterday's third round. Perry, meanwhile, has two birdies on the hole, but of course has that costly bogey he just made. -- Brian Wacker
PLAYOFF FOR PERRY, HOFFMAN (6:00 p.m.): Thanks to Kenny Perry's inexplicable mini-implosion bogey on the 72nd hole, the FBR Open has gone to a playoff with Perry and Charley Hoffman.
Hoffman's lone win on the PGA TOUR came via a playoff victory over John Rollins at the 2007 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.
Perry, meanwhile, has been in four previous playoffs and has a 2-2 record. His last playoff came at last year's AT&T Classic, where he defeated Brad Adamonis and Jay Williamson.
This is also the second year in a row the FBR Open has gone to a playoff with J.B. Holmes holding off Phil Mickelson in extra holes last year. -- Brian Wacker
TOMS BACK ON TOP OF GAME (5:32 p.m.): After a 2008 in which David Toms battled injuries and admitted he simply didn't focus on every shot, it appears the major winner has his mind and game back to where it was a couple of years ago.
Toms just turned in a round of 68 to creep into the top five. That makes two top fives for Toms in three weeks with a runner-up two weeks ago at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
Toms led the field in driving accuracy this week and has just one round in the 70s this season -- a 70 in the first round of the Sony Open. For the season, he's 48 under -- that's awfully impressive even if that includes a 23-under total at the birdie fest known as the 50th Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer, where he tied for 25th. -- Brian Wacker
DOWN THE STRETCH (4:52 p.m.): With the leaders coming down to the final holes, once again the edge goes to Kenny Perry, at least according to how he, James Nitties and Charley Hoffman have played the last three holes this week.
Perry is a cumulative 4 under on Nos. 16 through 18 with four birdies, including two yesterday on No. 17 and 18. Likewise, Hoffman birdied 17 and 18 yesterday, but has played the three holes in 2 under this week with three birdies and one bogey. Nitties, meanwhile, has played the holes in 3 under with three birdies. -- Brian Wacker
SABBATINI STRONG START, FINISH (4:35 p.m.): Rory Sabbatini was making a late charge at the leaders, having birdied three of his last four holes to get to 11 under before a triple bogey on No. 17 derailed him.
His worst hole of the week notwithstanding, it's clear the South African is carrying his good play from the end of last season through to this year.
Sabbatini ended 2008 with a T8 at the Valero Texas Open and tied for seventh at the Omega Mission Hills World Cup before opening '09 with a T12 at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
Starting strong is something Sabbatini has done each of the last three years. In 2008, he was T2 at the Sony Open and T3 at the Buick Invitational. In '07 he tied for ninth at the Nissan Open and in '06 he was T2 at the Sony Open, T10 at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, second at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and first at the Nissan Open. -- Brian Wacker
PAMPLING'S BEST (4:02 p.m.): Rod Pampling is in with the lowest round of the day so far after shooting a 6-under 65. As a result, he's jumped 30 spots on the leaderboard and is looking at his best finish since a T3 at last year's AT&T National. The Aussie, who made the FBR Open his first tournament of the year, has been struggling since that T3 with six missed cuts in his last nine events coming into this season. -- Brian Wacker
WORTHY EXEMPTION (3:49 p.m.): Scott Piercy has already proven to be a worthy sponsor's exemption this week and if he hangs on to win he'd become the first sponsor-exempt player to do so since Jason Gore in 2005 when he won the 84 Lumber Classic by a stroke over Carlos Franco. -- Brian Wacker
THE BACK NINE (3:35 p.m.): With the leaders all on the back nine at TPC Scottsdale, the advantage right now has to go to Kenny Perry. Not only for his experience in moments like this, but for the fact that he's played the final nine much better than either James Nitties or Scott Piercy.
Through the first three rounds, Perry has played the back nine in 10 under with 11 birdies and just one bogey -- and that came in the first round on No. 14. Piercy, meanwhile, has played this stretch in 6 under with 10 birdies and four bogeys -- three of which came yesterday. Nitties is just 1 under on the final nine with six birdies, two double bogeys and one bogey. -- Brian Wacker
THE FINAL THREE (3:15 p.m.): If the Masters doesn't start until the back nine on Sunday, then the FBR Open might not start until the last three holes at TPC Scottsdale.
As long as all three of the players currently tied for the lead can manage a few difficult holes in the early stages of the back nine (Nos. 11 and 12, for example), the final three holes will very likely decide the outcome of this tournament.
Nos. 16 and 17 have been playing as two of the easiest holes of the week, but you can guarantee their will be some nerves at the raucous 16th, and No. 17 is a drivable par 4 so that sets up all sorts of possibilities. The 438-yard, par-4 18th, meanwhile, is playing as the seventh most difficult hole this week. -- Brian Wacker
Here's a closer look at each of the last three holes:
| Down the stretch at TPC Scottsdale | ||||||||||||||||||||
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FIRST PAY DAY (3:00 p.m.): Whether PGA TOUR rookie James Nitties is able to catch Kenny Perry or not, this will be the biggest pay day of his young PGA TOUR career.
The former Big Break star, who finished second at q-school last year, didn't make a cut this season until this week and had just two rounds below 71.
A big reason the 26-year-old Aussie has had such success this week? He's currently tied for third in birdies with 19 and is tied for first in putts per round at 21.5, both sure fire ways to put yourself into contention. -- Brian Wacker
NO THREE PUTTS (2:45 p.m.): Current leader Kenny Perry has not had a three-putt here all week, extending his streak to 71 holes (through the first six holes today) in a row without one.
Perry, whose bugaboo has sometimes been the flat stick, last three-putted on No. 8 at Waialae during the final round of the Sony Open in Hawaii. -- Brian Wacker
WATCH PERRY ON THE BACK (2:30 p.m.): Kenny Perry is hanging onto a one-shot lead, but he really hasn't done anything that spectacular, at least not yet.
Perry has been near perfect with greens in regulation on the back nine at TPC Scottsdale, where he's hit 25 of 27 greens through the first three rounds. And that includes a streak of 22 in a row.
Perry's always been a wonderful ballstriker -- he was 13th on the PGA TOUR in GIR last year -- and if he keeps it up, it will be hard for anyone to overtake him.
This course has always suited the Kentuckian's eye and it's showing, even though he's never won here. In 2008, he ranked near the bottom in GIR at just 59.7 percent, but he's already long surpassed that with his 74 percent through three rounds. -- Brian Wacker
A BIG BIRD FAN (1:56 p.m.): Ted Purdy might have on the coolest hat on the property. His PING hat is adorned with an Arizona Cardinal. Ted is no bandwagon fan, though. He's actually a season ticket holder.
Because of his equipment contract with PING, he couldn't wear his Cardinals hat. So Ted took the scissors to the hat and removed the Super Bowl-contending Cardinal's insignia. He then adhered the bird to the bill of the cap that pays the bills.
Ted is a native of Phoenix whose number did not come up to gain entry into the FBR Open. The Thunderbirds were kind enough to give their native son an exemption and he's taking full advantage in the early stages of the final round. Ted is four shots back early on Sunday. There are just 14 holes left before Ted can concentrate all his energy on the big game. -- John Maginnes
ROOKIES AND VETERANS (1:45 p.m.): The European Tour had a first-timer win this week's event, when 19-year-old Rory McIlroy captured the Dubai Desert Classic over Justin Rose by one shot. McIlroy became the seventh-youngest player to win on that circuit.
The PGA TOUR might have a first-timer win as well. Rookies James Nitties, who's currently 2 under through four holes, and Scott Piercy are hoping to overtake veteran Kenny Perry.
When J.B. Holmes won the FBR Open in 2006, he became the only rookie to capture a title there. The youngest person ever to win the FBR was Jerry Pate, who did so at the age of 23 years, three months and three days in 1977.
The oldest was Julius Boros who, in 1967, was 46 years, 11 months and nine days old. Perry, 48, would break that record with a win at TPC Scottsdale. -- Lauren Deason
AND THEY'RE OFF (12:55 p.m.): The final pairing of Kenny Perry, Scott Piercy and Kevin Na has now hit the course. They've got their work cut out for them, though. James Nitties and Ted Purdy birdied the first hole to move from a tie for sixth into a tie for third, while Rocco Mediate and Cliff Kresge also birdied No. 1 to move into the top 10.
Kevin Na is two strokes behind Perry at the start of the day, but he does have history on his side. He finished second at the FBR Open in 2005 and tied for fourth last season at TPC Scottsdale. Na also has caddie Kenny Harms in his corner. Harms looped for Hale Irwin for many years and has the experience to help Na capture his first PGA TOUR event. He's also caddied for Michelle Wie. -- Lauren Deason
NEARLY PERFECT PERRY (11:42 a.m.): According to the stats, Kenny Perry is having his best week of the year.
Before the FBR Open, he'd only made one putt outside of 20 feet. This week, he's made five putts outside of that length -- including a 43-footer on the 18th hole in Round 1 -- with Sunday's round still to go.
Perry has been near perfect in hitting the green in regulation on the back nine. He has hit the green 25 out of 27 times through three rounds, with a streak of 22 straight at the moment. This is an average of 8.33 per round. The two misses came during the first round, and he has been perfect since. -- Lauren Deason
| Perry through three rounds at the FBR Open | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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THE RACE IS ON (11:30 a.m.): There are 24 players who could move into first in the FedExCup standings with a victory at the FBR Open this week. Four players could take over the top spot with a solo second, while three could with a solo third place finish.
Perry is currently ranked 29th in FedExCup points with 98. Last season, the three-time 2008 winner entered the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup as the second seed behind Tiger Woods.
Piercy is one stroke behind Perry on the FBR Open leaderboard but is currently one spot ahead of him in the FedExCup standings. He had 104 points before this week after finishing inside the top 20 in his first two starts of the year. Before this season, though, Piercy's best finish in a TOUR event was a tie for 15th at the 2006 FBR Open.
Kevin Na, currently 27th in the FedExCup points race, is likely experiencing a little déjà vu. He finished inside the top 5 at both the Sony Open in Hawaii and the FBR Open in 2008. This season, he tied for fifth at the Sony Open and is tied for third going into the final round at TPC Scottsdale.
Brian Gay and Geoff Ogilvy are two players in the top 10 in the FedExCup standings at the moment. Ogilvy could move into first with a solo third place finish.
The chart to the left illustrates what the top 10 in the FedExCup standings would look like if the tournament finished after the third round. -- Lauren Deason
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