Mike Weir sits precariously atop the leaderboard by a single shot after the third round of the Mercedes Championship in Kapalua, Hawaii.
He best not look back today as there are a dozen players chasing him within five shots of his 13 under par total. Nick Watney birdied his last two holes and will play in the final group with Mr. Weir, one shot behind. Daniel Chopra and Jonathan Byrd are another shot behind, and the rest of the chasers include Vijay Singh, Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker, and US Open champ Angel Cabrera. Not exactly a group of slouches. "There’s a lot of guys that have an opportunity tomorrow," Steve Stricker said after a 68 that left him four shots behind. "For me, it’s going to take a real low one to catch him. But it’s out there."
Out there indeed, as the Plantation Course finally started to dry out and resemble the mountainside course we’re used to seeing it’ll be interesting to see who can make a serious move during tomorrow’s closing round. With the course soaked by on again off again rain it has played significantly softer than in years past, something Mr. Weir indicated may be contributing to the bunched leaderboard.
"There a lot of guys behind me with a lot of experience," Weir said. "I’m sure I’m going to have to shoot 5, 6, 7 under tomorrow, depending on what the day gives us. But I’m sure I’m going to have to shoot somewhere in that range to pull this thing out." Given the way his short game is working such a score is eminantly doable for Mr. Weir.
Mr. Chopra thinks it might take an even lower score to catch Mr. Weir, something like the 62 K.J. Choi shot in 2003. "If it’s soft, the greens are soft and the wind doesn’t blow, somebody can do that tomorrow," Chopra said. "Anybody can still win."
Mr. Watney made up a lot of ground on his final two holes with an approach that caught the ridge and grain beautifully on the 17th hole that set up a 20-foot birdie, then nearly reached the 650-yard closing hole in two for a routine birdie to get in the final group.
"I hit the ball really well. It was a pretty stress-free day as far as that goes," Watney said. "I made some putts coming down the stretch, which is nice, and I’m excited for tomorrow."
"For whatever reason, there just isn’t much separation, which is good for me because I haven’t done anything to separate myself," said Justin Leonard, who was in the group at 9 under. "There’s a lot of guys there. It would be easier being four shots behind with only a couple of players ahead of you. I’m not going out there thinking about winning the tournament, but it is doable."
With this many players this close together, I anticipate an exciting finish to the first tournament of the year and a sense of gratitude that I’ll still be able to watch both the NFL playoffs and the final round thanks to the time difference. Some days, life indeed is good.
Aside: The commissioner, Tim Finchem is not attending the Mercedes Championship this year. Not a big deal really, as he doesn’t attend every event and has been here the last two years. What is interesting is that no senior PGA Tour staff is here at all. Nada. Zip. Seems like taking a page from LPGA commissioner Carolyn Bivens’ book. Bizarre book to copy in my opinion.
"I’m pretty disappointed there’s no senior staff from the PGA TOUR here on opening day," Ogilvie said before adding a heavy dose of sarcasm. "Of course, when you shut down your offices from the 21st of December to the second of January … I don’t know of a $1 billion company that does that. It’s puzzling."
Ogilvie said he felt it sent a bad message, especially with four of the top 10 players in the world skipping the winners-only event. Woods, who earned $10.8 million last year, said he wanted to spend time with his family. Mickelson, second on the money list in 2007 with just over $5.8 million, did not give a reason and has not played at Kapalua since 2001. Also missing are British Open champion Padraig Harrington and Shell Houston Open winner Adam Scott.
I guess Hawaii in January isn’t appealing to many these days. My suggestion, heed your behavior boys a fat dog is a lazy dog and a lazy dog don’t hunt so good. A dog that don’t hunt is a dog in need of replacement.
