Round 4, St. Jude Classic presented by FedEx

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Jun. 14, 2009
By PGATOUR.COM staff

MORNING RECAP (11:20 a.m.ET): A light rain is falling, but the practice range has opened with the intent of starting play at 12 p.m. ET -- four hours later than originally scheduled after a steady band of thunderstorms passed through the Memphis area in the morning.

The possibility of more bad weather looms large, though. There is a 60 percent chance of storms, possibly strong to severe, arriving around 4-5 p.m. ET.

Brian Gay, Bryce Molder and Robert Allenby will tee off in the day's final group at 2 p.m. ET. Gay owns a one-stroke advantage over Molder and a three-shot edge on Allenby. -- Helen Ross

BAD WEATHER CONTINUES (10:12 a.m. ET): The final round of the St. Jude Classic is now delayed four hours from its scheduled start. Play will begin at approximately 12 p.m. ET.

DELAY EXTENDED (9:15 a.m. ET): As storms continue in Memphis, Round 4 of the St. Jude Classic has been pushed back by another hour. Play will begin at approximately 11 a.m. ET.

TEE TIMES UPDATE (8:05 a.m. ET): Round 4 of the St. Jude Classic has now been delayed by two hours as a result of the storms in the area. The first groups will tee off at approximately 10 a.m. ET.

WEATHER UPDATE (7:20 a.m. ET): The start of the final round of the St. Jude Classic has been delayed due to inclement weather in Memphis. Play will begin approximately one hour later than the scheduled 8 a.m. ET start. There is a severe thunderstorm warning for the area until 8:45 a.m. ET with the possibility of large hail, damaging winds and frequent lightning.

The first groups are ready to tee off in today's final round of the St. Jude Classic presented by FedEx. Here's how it sets up:

Groups We're Watching

Tee time	Players
8:20 am ET No. 1		Phil Mickelson, Nathan Green, Retief Goosen Mickelson has made one bogey and two double bogeys on No. 18 this week; he'll need to do better than that to move up.
9:40 a.m. ET No. 1		Woody Austin, Bob Estes, David Toms Can Toms earn his third win at TPC Southwind? Can Estes have another bogey-free round like he did on Saturday?
10:00 a.m. ET No. 1		Brian Gay, Bryce Molder, Robert Allenby Gay is looking for his second '09 win, Molder is looking for his breakthrough and Allenby for his first since '01.

EXPERT PREVIEW: PGA TOUR Network on-site correspondent Bob Stevens previews Sunday's final round:

Sunday's forecast

PM t-storms
Temp: 89 high/74 low
60 percent chance of storms. Light winds.

For most of Saturday, Brian Gay was in Harbour Town mode, pulling away from the field as he did at the Verizon Heritage back in April. There, he increased his lead from one shot to three on Saturday, but here in Memphis, his one-stroke lead over Robert Allenby at the beginning the day was still only one shot at the end -- just this time over Bryce Molder.

In case you are interested, only three players have won at Harbour Town and TPC Southwind -- Justin Leonard, Nick Price and Greg Norman. That's a trio Gay would love to do one better by doing it in the same year.

Robert Allenby's ballstriking is almost without peer. He's second in the field in driving acccuracy and greens in regulation. It has always been his putter that has held him back. Last fall, at the Turning Stone Resort Championship, he joked with me that he actually slept with his putter on Saturday night to try to show it a little love, though it betrayed him on Sunday. He said the putter wouldn't be coming into the bedroom this Saturday night, but he might leave it with his kids and let them abuse it. He could still come back and win if he's getting along with his putter in the final round.

I saw something I'd never seen before Saturday -- and neither had Harrison Frazar. He hit his approach shot at the ninth barely into the hazard, telling me afterward he could see half of the ball above the water. So he took off his shoes and socks, put his rainsuit on, hiked the pants up to his knees and waded in. That's where things got interesting. When he swung down into the water, two golf balls came up. His went straight up in the air and came back into the hazard; a second ball that was right underneath it almost made it to the green and stayed dry. Problem is, he didn't get to pick the one he wanted to play, had to take a drop and made double bogey.

Stat of the day

Should two-time St. Jude Classic winner David Toms finish in the top 10 this week, it would be his sixth top-10 of the year, tying him with six other players for the most on the PGA TOUR in 2009 -- Jim Furyk, Kevin Na, Sean O'Hair, Kenny Perry, Steve Stricker and Tiger Woods.

Thus far at TPC Southwind

Round	Leader	Low round (par 70)	Key links
	Brian Gay (-14)	64: Paul Goydos	Daily Wrap-Up \| Live Report Helen Ross column \| Notebook
	Brian Gay (-10)	63: Bryce Molder, Heath Slocum	Daily Wrap-Up \| Live Report Helen Ross column \| Notebook
	Brian Gay (-6)	64: Brian Gay	Daily Wrap-Up \| Live Report Helen Ross column \| Notebook

The Film Room

	PGA TOUR Today Win McMurry updates action from the third round of the 2009 St. Jude Classic presented by FedEx and previews what to watch for in the final round. Watch it
	Round 3 highlights Brian Gay holds a one-stroke lead heading into the final round in Memphis. Watch it
	Shot of the Day Jason Day chips in for birdie on the par-4 17th hole. Watch it