Round 4: Buick Open

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Aug. 2, 2009
By PGATOUR.COM staff

The first groups are ready to tee off in the final round of the Buick Open. Here's how it sets up:

Groups We're Watching

Tee time	Players
1:41 p.m. ET		John Senden, Matt Bettencourt Bettencourt has competed in 24 events, but has just two top-10 finishes so far. Senden could use his top-ranked Greens in Regulation percentage to vault up the leaderboard today.
1:32 p.m. ET		Vaughn Taylor, Charles Warren Taylor has missed three straight cuts entering this week, but it appears that he has righted the ship in Michigan.
1:50 p.m. ET		Tiger Woods, Michael Letzig These two were paired together in the final round once before this year, and the expected happened -- Woods won, and Letzig faltered. Will the same pattern happen again?

EXPERT PREVIEW: PGA TOUR on-site correspondent Brett Wright previews Sundays round:

Sunday's forecast

Sunny
Temp: 78 high/60 low
Mainly sunny skies. Winds from the west at 10 to 15 mph.

The third round of the Buick open was an exciting exchange of birdies from the first group all the way through the constant back and forth of Tiger Woods and Michael Letzig. Both Letzig and 36-hole leader John Senden seemed very loose and relaxed on the first tee.

Senden came out and eagled the first hole to take a four-stroke lead over Letzig and the field. Senden looked so solid for the first seven holes until missing a 2-foot par putt at the par-3 eighth. Senden has won on the PGA TOUR, Letzig has not yet. Letzig played in the last group at The Memorial this year with Tiger Woods and Tiger beat him by 10 shots with a 65.

I felt like today was a gut check for the big guy in his sophomore season on TOUR. He passed the gut check for 17 holes and finally his erratic play caught up with him. He told me he did not hit the ball well all day, and his putter saved him. I noticed on holes 4, 15, and 18 that Letzig was reluctant to use the wedge from inside 20 yards.

You know, the little flip shot, "the power flop", "the hop and stop" you see all day long when watching professionals. He was much more comfortable using his putter out of the rough and I have to think this is a lack of confidence with the wedge. I look Letzig to be deflated at the beginning of the final round. He knows he has the ability to take on Tiger Woods, but does he have the confidence? Can he find that confidence in the next few hours? We will have to wait and see.

Tiger is not hitting the ball where he wants to either, he only hit five fairways in the third round. However, you can count on the fact that Woods will find a way to score. As for anyone else making a move, I will watching Matt Bettencourt. He has played some really good golf in his last seven events he has two top-10s.

The greens are getting faster and the fairways are firm and fast as well. If the wind blows, there are three Australians within five strokes of Woods -- Senden, Chalmers, and Leishman. As I stated after Round 2, someone is going to have to earn this Buick Open by going through Tiger Woods.

The one stat you need to know

Jim Furyk posted his third-consecutive 69 on Saturday, continuing his amazing track record at Warwick Hills, with par-or-better scores in 58 of 59 rounds (98.31 percent) at the Buick Open, including a current streak of 44 straight. His only over-par effort was 3-over 75 in third round in 1997. Furyk, who enters the final round T29, finished T36 in 2008 to see his streak of seven consecutive top-10 finishes at the Buick Open snapped, dating to T2 finish in 2001.

The Film Room

	Round 3 Highlights: 2009 Buick Open Michael Letzig and Tiger Woods both shoot lights-out rounds and will be paired in the final round of the 2009 Buick Open. Watch it
	Shot of the Day: August 1, 2009 Tiger Woods drains a 33 foot birdie putt on the 17th hole to keep pace with Michael Letzig during the third round of the 2009 Buick Open. Watch it
	Tiger roars to the top at the 2009 Buick Open Tiger Woods talks to Fred Albers of the PGA TOUR Network on SIRIUS XM Radio about scoring well on a day where he only found 5 fairways but shot a 7 under par 65 to take the lead going into the final round of the Buick Open. Watch it