Round 4, Valero Texas Open
By PGATOUR.COM staff
The first groups are ready to tee off in today's final round of the Valero Texas Open. Here's how it sets up:
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EXPERT PREVIEW: PGA TOUR Network on-site correspondent Bob Stevens previews Sunday's final round:
So who got the best weather Saturday: the guys who finished before the storms, the guys who never even came to the course until the storms were over, or the guys who got some golf with the course dry and wet? You could make arguments for all three groups. The best score, Zach Johnson's 60, came entirely after the storms had passed, though he'd gone through a near-complete warmup before the horn blew 15 minutes prior to his original tee time. He got the course at its softest.
The second best round of the day, Dustin Johnson's 62, came with a 7-under through 14 holes of dry weather and a 1-under on 4 holes after the storms. Jonathan Kaye's 63 came with just half a hole after the delay. Charley Hoffman's 63 was also a split story. Shaun Micheel got LaCantera at its hardest. Among the first starters, the former PGA Championship winner shot 63 to vault from the cut line to a tie for 14th. If there's an adjustment to be made today, it might have to come from the guys like Micheel, who played a dry course Saturday and never got a read on how much softer the afternoon (and overnight) rains have made the LaCantera layout.
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With 24 holes to go, veterans Paul Goydos and Justin Leonard have the most holes to play on Sunday. But it's just an occupational hazard, and many of the pros told me on the range Saturday that they're all used to dealing with delays. The introspective Goydos always talks about how he learns something every day on the golf course. What he'd learned this week was patience, saying you can "never be too patient." He's had the lead all week, but realizes that getting ahead of himself can mean nothing but trouble. Goydos and three-time Valero Texas Open champ Justin Leonard know that Sunday will be a very long day, but they also know that they have plenty of holes to catch Zach Johnson. They'll just have to start their day more than four hours ahead of the defending champ.
Interestingly, most of the players were very talkative on the range Saturday, knowing it would be "one of those days." With storms in the forecast from beginning to end, they were pretty much out of control of their "moving day" schedule. Sunday, the guys who have to finish in the early morning will likely not be very talkative at all, trying to hang on to their third-round mindset through the wait to finally tee off on their "second" round of the day. That leads us back to the opening question -- who was hurt most by the Saturday rains? Probably the guys who'll hit their first Sunday shots at 7:30 a.m., and their last after 5 p.m. That's a long day, even for guys who love to play.
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NOTEWORTHY NUGGETS
• Zach Johnson, who won here only seven months ago when the event was part of the Fall Series, used a 62 in the third round last year to move into second place entering the final round.
• Dustin Johnson turned in an 8-under 62, which is his career-best round in his amateur and professional career. His previous best on TOUR was a 63 at the 2008 Bob Hope Classic (T12). Johnson is making his third appearance in the Valero Texas Open (T15-2008 and MC-2007).
• History is not on Dustin Johnson's side, as the last time a player won the Valero Texas Open with a single round over 74 was Arnold Palmer in 1960 (final-round 75). Johnson opened with a 74-65 before his 62 in the third-round.
• Shaun Micheel, going off in the third group of the day, fired a 7-under 63 to match his career-best round. His previous 63 was at the 2000 Invensys Classic in Las Vegas (T5). Micheel's last top-10 finish was at the 2007 Viking Classic (T5).
• So far this season, the third-round leader/co-leader has won 14 of 19 (74%) times on TOUR. Last year the third-round leader/co-leader only won 22 of 46 events (48%).
• If a player wants to win the Valero Texas Open, they better shoot at least one round at 65 or better. Over the last 50 years of the Valero Texas Open, 41 of the 48 champions have turned in at least one round at 65 or lower, including the last 10 consecutive years. Hal Sutton in 1998 was the last Valero Texas Open winner to not post a 65 or better. Prior to Sutton, it was Calvin Peete in 1984 that won without posting a 65 or better.
• Out of the last 30 winners of the Valero Texas Open, only seven players shot one of their rounds in the 70s. Eric Axley in 2006 was the only champion in the last 10 years to post a round in the 70s when he shot a final-round 71.
• Brian Davis currently has the longest par-or-better scoring streak on TOUR (14 - his third-round is not complete).
• Geoff Ogilvy's win at the Mercedes-Benz Championship represents the only wire-to-wire winner on TOUR this season. Last season, only K.J. Choi at the Sony Open in Hawaii and Camilo Villegas at the BMW Championship were able to go wire-to-wire. Goydos led the first two rounds and is through 12 holes in the third round.
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