Round 4: St. Jude Classic presented by FedEx
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By PGATOUR.COM Staff
GAY GETS IT DONE (7 p.m.): In the end, there was never any doubt. The two-shot swing at the end of the third round meant nothing for Brian Gay. Even though his lead went from three shots to just one entering today's final round, he got off to another fast start and never looked back, much the way he did at the Verizon Heritage, where he won by 10. He didn't win by that much today -- just five -- but his 18-under total shattered the tournament record by six strokes.
The victory is Gay's second of the season and moves him to fourth in the FedExCup standings. He also became just the fifth wire-to-wire winner in tournament history and now will head to Bethpage Black, having earned a spot in the U.S. Open.
In the race for second, David Toms snuck into a tie for second with a late-day eagle. That's his best result since a tie for second at the Sony Open in Hawaii. Bryce Molder, the other player to tie with Toms, will have to wait for his first career victory. He could only manage a round of even par on Sunday.
The real story, though, was Gay. He was third in final-round scoring average coming into this week and validated that Sunday with a third straight 66 and another impressive victory. -- Brian Wacker
TOMS ON TRACK (6:10 p.m.): David Toms has not-so-quietly moved into second place at 13 under thanks to an eagle at the 530-yard, par-5 16th. After splitting the fairway, Toms stuck his approach shot from 233 yards to inside 11 feet before rolling in the putt. Toms is still four back of Brian Gay's lead, but it's another positive sign that Toms is back to his old self, having put injuries, among other things, behind him. Unless something drastic happens, it will be Toms' sixth top-10 of the season. -- Brian Wacker
BATTLE FOR SECOND (5:40 p.m.): With Brian Gay holding a five-shot lead as he winds his way toward a victory, there's a serious struggle going on for second place with nine players within two shots of Bryce Molder and John Senden, who are both at 12 under.
If Molder can finish in second, it'll be the best career result for the 30-year-old who was once a can't-miss kid out of Georgia Tech, besting his third-place finish at the 2001 Reno-Tahoe Open.
Senden, on the other hand, was trying to win for the second time in his career after capturing the 2006 John Deere Classic. Still, a second-place finish would be his best result since a tie for second at last year's PODS Championship. -- Brian Wacker
GAY STEPPING ON THE GAS (4:55 p.m.): Brian Gay has made two bogeys today, but he's also made five birdies and it's those five birdies that have him still well in the lead as he rolls on toward what looks like will be another win.
Gay isn't the only one playing well today, though. Graeme McDowell turned in the round of the tournament with a 7-under 63 that featured five birdies and an eagle after just 24 putts. It won't him the tournament, but it did Move McDowell from a tie for 23rd at the start of the day into a tie for third at the moment. -- Brian Wacker
Below is a look at McDowell's scorecard from today:
WHO'S IN SECOND (4:10 p.m.): With Brian Gay still holding a four-shot lead, as the final groups near the turn, the remaining holes are shaping up to be a battle for second place. Currently, there are eight players within three shots of Bryce Molder, who, despite being 1 over on the day, is still in second -- for now. Of that group, Graeme McDowell is having the biggest day at 5 under, which moved him up from a tie for 23rd at the start of the round. -- Brian Wacker
LOOKING A LOT LIKE HARBOUR TOWN (3:45 p.m.): When Brian Gay won the Verizon Heritage earlier this season at Harbour Town, he did so by building on his three-shot lead in the final round with three birdies and an eagle through his first eight holes.
Today, Gay opened with only a one-shot advantage, but he's already starting to distance himself from the field with three birdies through his first six holes after rolling in another one on No. 6.
Through his first three rounds here, Gay has taken 26, 23 and 24 putts. Today, he's on a similar pace with just eight of them. For years, Gay has shown flashes of brilliance and fellow PGA TOUR pros would talk about how much talent he had. Now we're seeing it. -- Brian Wacker
WEATHER UPDATE (3:34 p.m.): At one point this morning, it looked like severe weather would be a severe problem for the St. Jude Classic, but that might be changing. The radar shows the storm that's headed east across Tennessee won't reach the area until around 6 p.m. ET. Even then, it might move through quickly and it doesn't look like it will bring the severity of what we saw on Friday. That might be the only thing that slows down Brian Gay. Stay tuned. -- Brian Wacker
GAY OFF TO GREAT START (3:15 p.m.): Brian Gay might not win by 10 shots today, but he's well on his way to what looks like will be another victory thanks to birdies on two of his first four holes to give him a four-shot cushion for the moment. The real test will come on the back nine, which is were most of this course's difficult holes are, and Gay has played Nos. 17 and 18 in a combined 4 over this week, but at this rate it might not matter. Gay has played his last 40 holes in 10 under. -- Brian Wacker
ROUND OF THE DAY (2:50 p.m.): Chris Riley looks to be headed toward his best finish of the season and possibly the round of the day after making birdie on five of his first eight holes, including a stretch of four in a row at one point.
Riley, who has yet to finish in the top 20 in nine events this season, has moved up 31 spots on the leaderboard and though he's very unlikely to win, he's hitting it extremely well off the tee and into the greens, where he's needed just 10 putts.
Phil Mickelson, meanwhile, hasn't had nearly the same success. He talked yesterday about wanting to get off to a hot start, but it's been more of an up-and-down day with two birdies, two bogeys and one triple bogey through 11 holes today. -- Brian Wacker
LEADERBOARD UPDATE (2:30 p.m.): It didn't take long for Brian Gay to extend his lead -- he birdied the second hole by rolling in a 7-footer. That gives Gay a two-shot advantage as he goes for his second win of the season.
The closest player to him, Bryce Molder, opened with a couple of pars, saying one from a greenside bunker on the first hole, while missing a birdie opportunity from 17 feet on No. 2. -- Brian Wacker
FINAL GROUPS ON THE COURSE (2:15 p.m.): The final tee time(s) of the day are off with Brian Gay trying to protect or add to a one-shot lead as he tries to win for the second time in his last five starts. Whatever happens, one thing that's certain is that TPC Southwind is playing nowhere near as difficult as it usually does. A lot of that has to do with the weather softening up the greens -- and some of it has to do with them playing lift, clean and place today. That means we should see another day of fairly low numbers -- only three players among the top 30-plus players on the leaderboard are over par as of right now. See the chart below for a closer look. -- Brian Wacker
| TPC Southwind course comparison (thru three rounds): | ||||||||||||||||||
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TWEET OF THE DAY (1:55 p.m.): Ever wonder what players do while waiting out a 4-hour weather delay? Well, if they haven't teed off, which was the case today, they usually stick around the house or hotel they're staying in as long as possible. That's what John Daly did, as you'll see in this picture of him and Rick Smith making breakfast earlier this morning. You can follow Daly on Twitter at Twitter.com/PGA_JohnDaly. -- Brian Wacker
MICKELSON OFF TO A SLOW START (1:35 p.m.): It goes without saying that Phil Mickelson has a lot on his mind this week, and you can add putting to that list.
"It's the weakest point," Mickelson said yesterday. "I haven't putted well the first three days. I feel like I've struck the ball well, but have not been able to get it in the hole and shoot a number."
The same could be said of his round today with two bogeys in his first three holes, including a two-putt from just over 10 feet on No. 2. Mickelson has steadied himself with pars on his last two holes, but at just 2 under for the week he's not in contention, not that he didn't think he would be.
"I thought I would be in a little better shape," Mickelson said. "I thought I would gives myself a chance for Sunday's round, maybe within three, four, five shots but I just haven't quite gotten it in the hole yet, haven't made enough putts." -- Brian Wacker
HOW LOW CAN GAY GO? (1:15 p.m.): Two years ago, Woody Austin shot a final-round 62 to win by four. It might take a similar number for him or someone else to win this year, but the point is it's certainly possible. Gay already has a 64 on his card this week (in the opening round), and the players who are on the golf course are already starting to make plenty of birdies with the conditions soft and score-able.
As for Gay, there's a reason he's third on the PGA TOUR in final-round scoring average -- twice he's shot 64 in the final round, at Colonial and Harbour Town, to go with a final-round 66 at the Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer and two 68s at the Sony Open in Hawaii and the Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun. -- Brian Wacker
RIDERS ON THE STORM (1 p.m.): After a 4-hour weather delay this morning, the final round began right around the same time as it normally would have, at least for the last groups of the day, which will tee off in about an hour today. Although, the groups did go off in threesomes and off both sets of tees. It still may not matter, however, as the forecast is calling for more severe weather in the 4 p.m. ET hour. If it's as bad as it was on Friday, we could be headed for a Monday finish.
The good news for Brian Gay, despite all the waiting around after things failed to get off the ground earlier, despite officials moving the tee times up a few hours to try to beat the weather, is that third-round leaders/co-leaders have won the St. Jude Classic eight times in the last 15 years.
The bad news for Gay is that his three-shot lead cut to one in one hole yesterday when he bogeyed the 18th hole and Bryce Molder birdied it. Still, two of the three times Gay has led after 54 holes, he's gone on to win, including earlier this year at the Verizon Heritage, where he lapped the field by turning a three-shot lead into a 10-shot romp.
Here's perhaps the best way to sum up Gay's chances, though. His final-round scoring average is 69. That's the third-lowest on the PGA TOUR. His two closest competitors -- Molder and Robert Allenby -- have final-round averages of 71.41 and 71.56, respectively. -- Brian Wacker
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