The Players has provided an interesting contrast the past three days. We’ve seen guys struggle from the beginning, witness Tiger Woods and his no birdie Thursday; guys start fast and chase that with a large number, Rory Sabbatini with his 67-79 and Rod Pampling starting 70-71 then tacking on an 80; and guys getting better every round, as the current leader Sean O’Hair has done with his 72-69-66 to this point. With 11 players within 5 shots of the lead opportunities abound for a performer to step and grab the trophy. All he has to do is hit the shots required by the moment.
A look at the leaderboard shows names we are familiar with such as Mickelson, Olgivy, Donald, Baddeley, DiMarco, Pettersson, and a couple not so familiar in J.P. Hayes and Peter Lonard. Jeff Quinney is one of those in the hunt after a stellar 64 yesterday. Not bad for a guy who didn’t break 80 twice last week. Said Quinney about that turnaround " Yeah, it’s a funny thing because I didn’t feel much better on Monday or Tuesday out here. I’ve been really struggling with my timing and swing and talking with my coach and sending the videos back home and just kind of said, the heck with it, just really go out there and just work on tempo and just things that have got me here, rather than trying to get something technical where I’ve got the perfect swing. Just get back to rhythm and positive thinking, and amazing how it just turned around real quick." Quinney, a rookie who got his card by virtue of his stellar 2006 season on the Nationwide Tour, has melted down once when in the hunt for a title so it will be interesting to see how he handles today. When asked how comfortable he is with the golf course he replied " Yeah, it’s my first time here. I got here on Sunday because I missed the cut at Wachovia and was able to get plenty of practice rounds. I was able to do more detail than I did before. Every time I go, I know which way the wind is going, which clubs to hit off the tee and where not to hit it." It’s obvious he’s got something figured out.
When asked what he thought he’d need to do to win the tournament Phil Mickelson responded " Well, guys are going to make some birdies and come after us, as is the case. I’m going to be patient, take advantage of the holes that allow birdies, even though guys will catch us before we have a chance to play those holes.
And so depending on how receptive the greens are, if they’re like they were today, we’re going to have to shoot something in the high to mid-60s." So look for a lot of birdies from a lot guys today, unless of course they wind up with a thickening of the throat and a little too tight a grip on the putter, in which case you’ll hear a lot of groans and moans instead of cheers from the galleries. Enjoy.