The par-3 17th hole continues to play as the most difficult on the golf course late in the opening round, but Greg Chalmers somehow figured it out as he made one of just eight birdies there today.

 

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Greg Chalmers has withdrawn after eight holes due to a hand injury. Chalmers had played eight holes, making one double bogey, two bogeys and five pars.

The Australian was making his third straight start of the season. He tied for 11th at the Bob Hope Classic and 71st at the Farmers Insurance Open.

Sometimes the best advice comes from unexpected places.

On the practice green Friday morning, Greg Chalmers overheard a caddie say to one of the amateurs in the field to remember to get his hands further ahead while putting.

“I thought, yeah, that’s what I’m supposed to do,” Chalmers said. “I had a long off-season and I forgot a couple things.”

The result? Chalmers shot a bogey-free 65 at La Quinta that saw him take just 22 putts -- he one-putted the first seven greens -- on his way to seven birdies.

“I rolled the ball perfectly,” Chalmers said. “And the greens are perfect.”

Next up for Chalmers, who enters the weekend in third and one shot off the lead: SilverRock, which typically plays as the toughest of the courses in the rotation.

“Look, if you play great on any of them you can shoot low scores,” Chalmers said. “There's no question that SilverRock is a lot harder than Nicklaus or even out here, but at some point you’ve got to play there and I'm playing nicely at the moment. I just got to keep doing what I'm doing and if the putts go in you shoot low scores.” -- Brian Wacker

Gary Woodland has birdied Nos. 13 and 14 at the Nicklaus Private Course to get within one shot of leader Jhonattan Vegas during the third round of the Bob Hope Classic. Woodland, who posted a 30 on the front nine, has now pushed his Friday birdie count to eight. He is currently tied for second with Greg Chalmers, who posted a 7-under 65 today at La Quinta Country Club.

Greg Chalmers has never played in the BMW Championship since the tournament became the third leg of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.

He started Saturday at 1 under but is now 4 under for the tournament after making birdies on the first three odd-numbered holes. He rolled in a 26-footer at the first hole, an 11-footer at No. 3 and 12-footer at No. 5.

Chalmers, who has played six holes, needs to continue to move up  if he’s to make his first appearance at THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola. He started the BMW Championship ranked 62nd and according to projections, he needs to finish fourth or higher to make the field at East Lake.

Chalmers is currently tied for fifth.

There’s just something about TPC Deere Run and Australians. Four years ago, John Senden won the John Deere Classic. This year, it’s Aussie Matt Jones who is high on the leaderboard at 17 under for the week and currently in fifth at 1 under through eight holes today.

Greg Chalmers is also in the top 10 at 13 under and 5 under on his final round with a few holes to play.

So why the success for Aussies in this event? Jones attributes it to the need to shape tee shots left and right, something that a lot of Australians have to do at home because of all the wind there. -- Brian Wacker