Will MacKenzie bogeyed his first hole in the Wyndham Classic in Greensboro, NC before going on a tear. He went on a tear that took him all the way to the lead. A tear that included a near hole-in-one consisting of nine birdies in fifteen holes to shoot an 8-under 64.
"I rolled it really nice, drove it okay and, you know, I’m just playing solid golf but I made some putts. I made my couple 25-footers and made all my short ones.
Almost made a hole in 1, hit the pin on No. 8 with 4-iron 223 or something. That was wonderful. I just stayed patient and had some fun," said Will MacKenzie
Steve Marino, Brian Davis, Lucas Glover, and Jeff Overton are all tied for second at 7-under 65. 2003 Champion Shigeki Maruyama leads a group of seven players that are tied at 6-under 66.
Maruyama was this tournament in 2003 and was runner-up in 2005 and wore his trademark goofy grin for most of the day on Thursday.
"Off the tee, it’s set up pretty good for my eyes," Said Maruyama. "I have good confidence in this course and I didn’t play that good today but, you know, like I said, I have a pretty good image of this course. It’s set out pretty right. Just about right for me."
Will Mackenzie was a promising young talent in the AJGA before giving it all up for a life outdoors. In fact, MacKenzie didn’t play a single tournament from the age of 14 to a random Sunday at the age of 25 when he decided to hit balls after watching Payne Stewart win the US Open at Pinehurst and was hooked agin.
"It just really inspired me. Home state, Pinehurst No. 2, I love it, just adore the place. Payne Stewart (was) sort of a childhood idol," said MacKenzie of watching Stewart win the Open.
MacKenzie walked away from golf at 14 and eventually moved to Montana where he fell in love with the outdoors. Hunting, fishing, surfing, kayaking, snowboarding, rock-climbing and living in an older van where all part of MacKenzie’s lifestyle.
"I lived in Montana and snowboarded. In the summer I kayaked, rock climbed and worked, among other things. I just enjoyed being in the outdoors 24/7. I lived in my van.
You know, lived just a perfect little lifestyle. You know, I was 20 to 24 — or 18 really to 24. I mean I didn’t need any money. You know, I lived in an older van and I always had money in my pocket because I was working and I just enjoyed the charge."
Some might say that the biggest draw the Wyndham Championship has is that it is the final tournment before we all see how the inaugural Fed-Ex Cup playoffs work. Currently 50 players in the Wyndham could conceivably make their way into the Top 30 and seal their way to the Masters next year with solid play. Five players: Bob Tway, Lee Janzen, Glen Day, and Marco Dawson all need to make the cut this week or their run at the playoffs will end Friday. Below is a list of players that are entered this week and their position in the standings. Each one of them is entered this week, and you can sit back and watch the drama unfold all weekend.
Rank This Week |
Rank Last
Week
|
Player
|
Events
|
Points
|
Last Week Finish |
135 |
134 |
Billy Andrade |
20 |
1,964 |
DNP |
136 |
136 |
Tripp Isenhour |
23 |
1,839 |
DNP |
137 |
137 |
Andrew Buckle |
17 |
1,771 |
DNP |
138 |
138 |
Jeff Gove |
21 |
1,763 |
DNP |
139 |
141 |
Frank Lickliter II |
21 |
1,746 |
T50 |
140 |
139 |
Michael Putnam |
20 |
1,736 |
DNP |
141 |
144 |
Bob Tway |
23 |
1,695 |
T50 |
142 |
140 |
Lee Janzen |
18 |
1,694 |
DNP |
143 |
142 |
Glen Day |
19 |
1,672 |
DNP |
144 |
143 |
Marco Dawson |
15 |
1,669 |
DNP |
145 |
145 |
Eric Axley |
28 |
1,567 |
CUT |
146 |
146 |
Steve Lowery |
14 |
1,536 |
DNP |
147 |
147 |
Cameron Beckman |
21 |
1,514 |
DNP |
148 |
148 |
Chris Couch |
23 |
1,494 |
DNP |
149 |
149 |
Mark Hensby |
19 |
1,466 |
DNP |
150 |
150 |
Mathias Gronberg |
23 |
1,463 |
DNP |
151 |
178 |
Anders Hansen |
13 |
1,389 |
T12 |
152 |
151 |
Dudley Hart |
12 |
1,388 |
DNP |
153 |
152 |
Greg Owen |
21 |
1,321 |
DNP |
154 |
153 |
Duffy Waldorf |
16 |
1,313 |
DNP |
155 |
154 |
Parker McLachlin |
20 |
1,307 |
DNP |
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