Third-round notebook – Verizon Heritage
* Briny Baird turned in a six-under 65 Saturday to move to seven-under for the Tournament. Baird is looking for his first Tour victory (286th event) and his first top-5 finish since finishing 4th at THE PLAYERS Championship last year.* Brian Gay shot a four-under 67 to increase his one-stroke second-round lead to three strokes entering the final round. Tim Wilkinson’s six-under 65 moved him from T7 into second and the final pairing.
* Gay turned his only previous outright third-round lead into a victory at the 2008 Mayakoba Golf Classic. He was tied for the lead at the 2004 Crown Plaza Invitational at Colonial before a final-round 75 dropped him to T14.
* Gay has made the cut in nine of the 10 events he has played this season and could move as high as fifth in the FedExCup standings with a victory this week.
* With a win, Tim Wilkinson would become the first lefty to win the Verizon Heritage. Since 1990 only five different lefthanders have won a PGA Tour event, including Phil Mickelson, Mike Weir, Steve Flesch, Eric Axley and Russ Cochran. Below are the top finishes by a lefthander at the Verizon Heritage:
Player Finish Year
Phil Mickelson 3 2002
Phil Mickelson T3 1998
Russ Cochran T4 1992
Russ Cochran T7 1994
Steve Flesch T7 2001
Steve Flesch T7 2003
Nick O'Hern 9 2005
Mike Weir T10 1999
Russ Cochran T10 1988
* Tim Wilkinson has used only 70 putts through the first three rounds to move into sole possession of second. Wilkinson is on pace to tie or break the PGA Tour record for fewest putts for four rounds, which is 92 by David Frost at the 2005 Verizon Heritage.
* Tim Wilkinson leads the field this week in driving accuracy (39 of 42 – 92.9%), total putts (70) and sand saves (9 of 9).
* The only other time Wilkinson was in a final pairing on Tour was at the 2008 Sony Open in Hawaii when he played with K.J. Choi. Wilkinson shot a final-round 78 to finish T25.
* Lee Janzen is looking for his first win since, the1998 U.S. Open. Below are his stats since the 1998 U.S. Open:
Events Played: 282
Rounds Played: 885
Holes Played: 15,930
Top 10’s: 23
Cuts Made: 172
* After Saturday’s six-under 65, Luke Donald now has two rounds in the 60s in 11 career rounds at Harbour Town. Donald recorded a 68 in the second round of the 2003 Verizon Heritage.
* Eight of the last 13 outright third-round leaders have failed to win the Verizon Heritage. Over the last nine years of the Verizon Heritage the third-round leader/co-leader has gone on to win four times.
* So far this season, 12 of 15 (80%) third-round leaders/co-leaders have gone on to win. Last season, only 22 of 46 (48%) third-round leaders/co-leaders went on to victory, including Boo Weekley at the Verizon Heritage.
* The average age of the 16 winners on the Tour this season is 35 years old. There have been two winners in their 20s, 11 in their 30s and three in their 40s. Last year, 31% of the 48 winners on Tour were in their 20s. This season only 13% of the 16 winners have been in their 20s.
* Steve Lowery took the lead in the Kodak Challenge after he birdied 18 in the second round, one of the toughest holes at Harbour Town Golf Club. This puts Lowery one step closer to the $1 million payout that will be awarded in November. Lowery has played eight of the 18 holes required to qualify for the Kodak Challenge.
* There were four bogey-free rounds Saturday, including Aaron Baddeley, Briny Baird, Brian Gay, and Tim Wilkinson. There were six bogey free rounds in the second and five in the first rounds.
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