In the longest playoff in a year of playoffs on the PGA TOUR, Bryce Molder outlasted Briny Baird, beating him on the sixth extra hole with a birdie on the par-4 18th hole. The victory is the first of Molder’s career. Send him your congratulations here and we’ll pass them along to Molder.

SAN MARTIN, Calif. -- With 27 feet separating Briny Baird from his first career victory, Baird left his putt on the 18th hole just short of the hole meaning that he and Bryce Molder are headed to a playoff after each finished at 17 under.

Both players are trying for their first career win, though Baird has been waiting for his a lot longer with 347 career starts already under his belt coming into this week.

The first playoff hole will be the par-4 17th, followed by the par-4 18th (if needed), then the 17th again (if needed) . Molder parred the 17th earlier today, while Baird eagled it by chipping in from just off the green. Stay tuned for the play-by-play here.

9:33 p.m. ET: Molder made his birdie putt, becoming a first-time winner on the PGA TOUR. “You practice and you work … you hope some validation’s behind it,” Molder said. “I’m excited.”

9:32 p.m. ET: Want drama? Baird lagged his first putt short of the hole and had PGA TOUR rules official Mark Russell use the flagstick to determine whether he was still away – it was that close. Baird was away, and he drained his par putt.

9:28 p.m. ET: From the rough, Baird reached the front of the green, well short of the back hole location. Molder hit his stiff to about six feet. Advantage Molder, with the sun setting rapidly.

9:23 p.m. ET: On the 18th tee for the sixth hole, Briny Baird’s shot landed in the right rough while Molder’s landed safely in the fairway. Baird has 162 yards to the hole from the rough, Molder has 136 yards.

9:18 p.m. ET: Both players hit great shots onto the green of the par-4 17th. Baird was away and his eagle putt drifted just right of the cup. Molder’s went left. They both tapped in for disappointing birdies. The sixth playoff hole (again, the 18th) is next.

9:05 p.m. ET: Molder, some 80 feet from the flag, lagged his putt just past the hole to set up par. Meanwhile, Baird missed his 12-footer for the win for a par as well. And back to the 17th they go.

9 p.m. ET: With his ball nestled in some heavy grass in the hazard, Molder managed to find the front of the green with a wedge … but Baird just hit the flag on the fly and the ball settled maybe 15 feet from the hole.

8:55 p.m. ET: Baird found the fairway off the tee, while Molder just hit into the hazard left of the fairway. The ball is playable but obviously Baird has the advantage.

8:48 p.m. ET: Baird ran his putt 6 feet past and then, as Baird kept his head down unable to watch, Molder missed his eagle putt as well. After Molder tapped in, Baird calmly rolled his in to extend the playoff. Back to the 18th they go.

8:40 p.m. ET: Baird teed off first and landed on the left side of the drivable par-4 17th, where his ball stopped 57 feet from the hole. Molder? He was a bit closer, hitting his drive over the top of the flag and watching it spin back to 13 feet, 7 inches.

8:35 p.m. ET: Molder missed his putt to the right … and so did Baird as his putt caught the left edge. Back to the 17th they go.

8:30 p.m. ET: Baird hit first and stuck his approach to 7 1/2 feet, while Molder has 15 feet, 5 inches.

8:25 p.m. ET: Both players found the fairway off the tee on the par-4 18th. Advantage, no one.

8:20 p.m. ET: Almost certainly needing to get up and down from the downslope behind the green on the 18th, Baird did exactly that, pitching to 4 1/2 feet. Molder had a chance to win but he missed his 22-footer before Baird made his par putt. They’ll head to the 18th now.

8:15 p.m. ET: Baird teed off first on the drivable par-4 17th and hit his tee shot over the green and into the rough, where he’s now on a downslope. Molder, meanwhile, found the green with his tee shot stopping just 22 feet, 6 inches from the hole.

SAN MARTIN, Calif. -- We’re down to the final few holes at the Frys.com Open, where Bryce Molder is 16 under and leading by one over Briny Baird. Another shot back from that is Bud Cauley, who drove the short par-4 17th, but missed his eagle putt.

Shane Bertsch is already in the clubhouse at 14 under, while Ernie Els is 13 under with two to play.

John Rollins and Adam Hadwin are both 12 under but each has just one hole remaining.

SAN MARTIN, Calif. -- Just like that Briny Baird’s lead has vanished.

Bryce Molder now leads by two at 16 under after playing making six birdies over his first 14 holes. That has Molder, who has five top-10s this year but no wins, two shots clear of the field with four players, including Baird, tied for second.

How good has Molder been? He has nine one-putts so far and hasn’t come close to making a bogey.

Meanwhile, Shane Bertsch, who entered the week 174th on the money list with just one top-10 this year, is another one of those players who has moved to within two of the lead. He’s 7 under on the day through 16 holes, which includes making eagle on the par-5 15th.

Playing on a major medical, he had nine events to earn just over $605,000 to equal the earnings from the No. 125 position on the 2009 money list to secure his status. Coming into this week, he’d earned just over $250,000.

Ernie Els is also at 14 under. He’s 3 under on his round and looking for his first top-10 of the year. Paul Casey, who was outside the top 125 on the money list at the start of the week, is another stroke back at 11 under.

The highest-ranked player in this week’s field (No. 3 on the money list) has emerged on the first page of the leaderboard. Nick Watney had two birdies through his first seven holes Saturday and has moved to 12 under, one shot behind current co-leaders Kris Blanks and Kevin Na. Watney, a Vegas area resident, is making his seventh start in nine weeks and is searching for his third victory of the 2011 season. Also making the most of moving day’s early stages is Bryce Molder, who joins Watney at 12 under. Molder started his round four shots back but has made up ground with four birdies on his first eight holes.

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. -- The second round is under way at Aronimink, where the scoring isn’t any easier than it was in the first round when the scoring average was 1 1/2 strokes over par.

A couple of players, specifically Charles Howell III and Bryce Molder, have been able to make some headway, though. Both are 3 under for the day -- through 14 and nine holes, respectively -- with Howell in the lead at 5 under and Molder a shot back.

Rickie Fowler had the lead at 5 under himself earlier, but back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 13 and 14 have dropped him back to 3 under with six others.

By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM

CROMWELL, Conn. -- There are 18 players within three shots of the lead about midway through the third round here at TPC River Highlands. That lead, by the way, is now held by Bryce Molder, who just made the turn in 4 under to get to 13 under for the week, and Fredrik Jacobson, who birdied No. 10. Two others, including amateur Patrick Cantlay, are a shot back.

Another stroke back from there? J.J. Henry, the Connecticut native who won this tournament in 2006, and three others.

As for Cantlay, the 19-year-old amateur just hasn’t been able to get anything going -- certainly not like he did in the second round when he carded a 60. Through eight holes, he has one bogey and seven pars.

Part of the problem for Cantlay? Putting. He’s missed three from inside 10 feet today.

The Valero Texas Open has joined in the effort to raise money for the St. Jude Children's Hospital this week.

Brendan Steele, who picked up his first PGA TOUR victory in San Antonio in April, has pledged $100 to the hospital for every birdie he makes this week at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. The Valero Texas Open will match its defending champion's donation.

This week’s birdies project was launched by  Brian Gay, who won the FedEx St. Jude Classic in 2009. Several of his fellow Gaylord Sports Management clients -- Steele, Bryce Molder and Tom Pernice Jr. -- have also pledged $100 per birdie.

In addition, Phil Mickelson isn't playing in the FedEx St, Jude Classic but he is donating $100 for each of Gay's birdies. Gaylord is matching all of its clients' donations, as well.

DUBLIN, Ohio – Bryce Molder is making the biggest move of the players on a clear, crisp Thursday afternoon at Muirfield Village.

Molder birdied five of his first seven holes before making bogey at the ninth to turn at 4 under – which is two strokes off the lead held by Chris Riley. There are also seven players currently on the course who are 3 under and that group includes some pretty interesting names.

One is Vijay Singh, who won the Memorial in 1997 and finished second two years later. Singh has played 10 holes. Meanwhile, Ernie Els and Rory McIlroy are also 3 under through 13 holes on opposite nines. Els is the 2004 Memorial champ.

MORE FEDEXCUP: Complete standings | Weekly Leaders Just six events into the PGA TOUR season and there has already been much action in the race for the FedExCup. Three players have had the season points lead and five have occupied the No. 2 position already on the young season. Look for more shuffling near the top with a strong field assembled this week. Scheduled to tee it up at Riviera Country Club are 25 of the 30 players who competed in THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola in 2010. BIG SEASON DEBUTS: Three of last year’s top 10 in the final FedExCup standings (Luke Donald, Retief Goosen and Paul Casey) will be making their 2011 PGA TOUR season debuts this week at the Northern Trust Open. That trio occupied spots 2-4 behind champion Jim Furyk at East Lake and each of them finished inside the top 10 of the 2010 FedExCup standings after starting the playoffs ranked between 22nd and 27th. Donald has the best track record of the group at Riviera Country Club, posting finishes of P2, T6 and T3 the last three years. BEST NEW ARRIVAL: James Driscoll, who finished 133rd in the FedExCup standings last year and earned his TOUR exemption through q-school, made his first move in the 2011 campaign this week. After missing the cut at Torrey Pines, Driscoll tied for 13th at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am to earn 59 FedExCup points and make his debut in the standings at No. 99. BIGGEST MOVERS: Tom Gillis was the week’s biggest mover, jumping from 93rd to 20th in the FedExCup standings on the strength of his best career finish – a solo third at Pebble Beach. Gillis had three top-10 finishes last season, including a tie for fifth at the Deutsche Bank Championship that propelled him to a 43rd-place finish in the final FedExCup standings. Bryce Molder (111th to 47th) and Steven Bowditch (122nd to 58th) each moved up 64 spots after top-10 finishes at Pebble Beach. NOTABLE DROPS: Robert Garrigus, who lost a playoff to Jonathan Byrd at the season-opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions fell out of the top 10 for the first time this season, going to 12th. Since that event, Garrigus has missed three cuts and was 7-under through three rounds at Pebble Beach before withdrawing. The biggest falls this week were Chad Campbell and Jim Furyk, who entered the week in 71st and tied for 72nd respectively before each fell 17 spots. Furyk missed the cut at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am while Campbell was inactive. Furyk, Campbell and Garrigus are all in the field this week. MORE ON LAST WEEK’S WINNER: D.A. Points jumped from No. 26 to No. 2 in the standings with his victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Points is off to one of the TOUR’s better starts this year, making the cut in all four starts and notching three top-20 finishes. He’s currently No. 3 in scoring average, totaling 55-under-par in his 17 rounds this year.