Zurich Classic of New Orleans / PGA TOUR / March 27-30, 2008
This week's Zurich Classic of New Orleans is being played at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, Louisiana. There's a lot at stake here: A purse of $6,200,000 with $1,116,000 to the winner (and a ticket to The Masters if he is not otherwise qualified). In the field are LBG students Brian Gay, John Riegger and Jay Williamson. Catch today's first round action on The Golf Channel at 3:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. ET.
Way to go Jay. Steve Elkington has joined Jay at the top of the leaderboard. Steve is also an A.I. of TGM. The consistent good play of these TGM'ers is going to bring The Machine to the forefront of golf intruction.
A glance at Jay's stats shows why he scoring so well:
Driving Distance 277.5
Driving Accuracy 78.57%
GIR 77.78%
Putts Per GIR 1.750
Avg. Proximity to Pin 30'05"
Scrambling 87.50%
Here's a brief mention from the PGA TOUR's website:
Williamson -- who played much of the last two seasons on the Nationwide Tour -- birdied the first hole and added birdies on No. 7, 11 and 15. A bogey on 12 prevented him from catching Baird.
"I've got to putt better," said Williamson, who iced his right shoulder after the round. "I've got to be more confident with my stroke."
Saturday is Moving Day on the PGA TOUR. Good luck, Jay!
The two other LBG competitors, John Riegger (146) and Brian Gay (147) had a tougher time of it and failed to make the Even Par cut. They've got plenty of good company: Six of the top 10 players in the FedExCup Points Standings who were in the field this week also missed.
Both are in the field (along with Jay) for next week's Shell Houston Open.
Big storms moved into area today and forced suspension of the third round. Only three players completed the full 18 holes, and the 36-hole leader, Briny Baird, has 33 holes to play tomorrow. Jay Williamson -- currently +1 through four (-6 for the tournament and two shots back) -- is in the same boat with 32 to play.
It's an odd situation, with some players beginning their 4th round tomorrow at 7:20 a.m., while the leaders are just getting underway in the 3rd round. Players will remain in their 3rd round pairings, and the scheduled 54-hole 'second' cut has been cancelled. Read about this unusual circumstance here: http://www.pgatour.com/2008/tourname...day/index.html
Jay turned age 41 on February 7th, so the advantage goes to the younger guys on what is going to be a very long day. Nevertheless, he's a terrific athlete and in great shape. He will be a formidable competitor.
The 36-hole leaders have just begun their 4th round. The current leader, Andres Romero, was well back after 36, but shot 65 in the 3rd round. As I posted yesterday would be the case, due to the rain suspension, the 3rd round pairings were maintained for the 4th. Which leads to this very odd current circumstance:
Romero is now twelve holes ahead of Briny Baird (the 36-hole leader) and six holes ahead of Woody Austin (currently in second place by a shot). He will finish more than two hours ahead of the final group, a long time to wait to see if he takes home the trophy!
Meanwhile, Jay Williamson was even for his third round and is now two holes into his 4th round. He is -7 for the tournament and T12, five shots back. Here's a video of his pitch-in from the back of the 13th green in this morning's round:
Andres Romero today won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with a score of 275 (-13). After sitting for more than two hours chatting with friends and checking his iTunes library, he's got his first PGA TOUR victory. Good for him!
Jay Williamson played 34 holes today, 11 more than the 26-year-old Romero. He shot 75 (+3) on his final 18; finished at -4 (T33) for the tournament; and won $30,724.44.
With another Zurich in the books, the PGA Road Show moves on to the Shell Houston Open.
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