Scott Verplank shot a 4-under 67 Saturday at Harbour Town.
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By Stan Awtrey, PGATOUR.COM Correspondent
HILTON HEAD, S.C. — The tape on his left wrist is a reminder that there’s something wrong, but it isn’t enough to convince Scott Verplank that he can’t still compete under the right circumstances. Consider The Heritage to fall in that category.
Verplank shot a 4-under 67 on Saturday at Harbour Town and stands at 9 under going into the final round, well within striking distance of the title. He is hopeful that his experience on the course (this is his 19th Heritage) and the increasingly speedy greens (“as fast as they’ve ever been here,” he said) can help level the playing field in his behalf.
As far as the wrist? Well, it’s there.
“I’m literally day-to-day,” Verplank said. “I’ve had good luck in the last month, six weeks of maintaining strength, doing a few different things that I wasn’t doing before and I’m pretty lucky or feel pretty pleased to be here.”
Verplank has a degenerative bone issue in his wrist. He’s tried an assortment of treatments, from cortisone injections to heat and ice, but must deal with the chronic pain. He’s trying to avoid surgery.
“I do not want to have to do anything different than what I’ve done; I do not want to have surgery,” he said. “I don’t want to get old, either.”
Verplank, 46, is looking for his first PGA TOUR victory since the 2007 Byron Nelson Championship. He was in contention at the Shell Houston Open, only to be outgunned by Phil Mickelson in the final round.
De Jonge into contention with 66
After hitting all but one fairway Saturday at Harbour Town, it was evident that Brendan de Jonge didn’t need to see his coach, who is based in nearby Charleston, S.C., after all. That’s because the two worked on straightening out his driver last week in San Antonio.
DeJonge
De Jonge was so on target Saturday that he made six birdies — including four on the back — and just one bogey for a 66 that has him near the top of the leaderboard with one round to go.
“I’ve always loved it down here. I love the whole vibe of the tournament,” de Jonge said. “I love the whole island. I feel very comfortable here.”
That showed on the difficult back nine Saturday when de Jonge birdied Nos. 10, 13, 16 and 18.
Given the increasingly windy conditions, de Jonge was certainly pleased with that.
“It makes it difficult to pick a direction,” de Jonge said. “You have to commit to what you feel.
“It is getting tougher. The greens are definitely drying out, as well. It’s getting hard to get the ball close to the hole. I thought the lead would be around 12 at the end of the day. It still might be, obviously.”
Donald, Furyk share lead
After a double bogey on the par-5 second hole, Luke Donald’s round could have spiraled out of control. Instead, he did what he’s done all week on the front nine at Harbour Town: Make birdies.
Donald, who could climb to No. 1 in the FedExCup standings and the world rankings with a win, made three birdies over his final five holes on the front nine and is now 10 under and tied for the lead.
Jim Furyk is also at 10 under and he hasn’t made a bogey since the first round — though he is just 2 under through 11 holes today.
There are plenty of players in close pursuit, however. Five players are just two back, while another six guys are three off the pace.
Watch: In-round highlights
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Jason Day is in the hunt after holing a bunker shot earlier on Saturday at Harbour Town.
One of the candidates for the shot of the day? Jason Day’s hole-out from the bunker. Click here to watch.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
Camilo Villegas drains a 16-footer for birdie: Click here to watch
Garrett Willis rolls in an 18-footer for birdie: Click here to watch
Barnes in contention going to Sunday
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Ricky Barnes is 8 under and in contention through three rounds at Harbour Town.
By Stan Awtrey, PGATOUR.COM Correspondent
HILTON HEAD, S.C., — Could Ricky Barnes be the next young gun to break through on the PGA TOUR?
The former U.S. Amateur champion put himself in position to contend for his first PGA TOUR victory by shooting a 4-under 67 on Saturday at The Heritage (click here to replay his round). Barnes walked off the course tied for fourth place, two shots behind leaders Jim Furyk and Jason Day, at 8 under.
Barnes, who turned 30 in February, has yet to post a victory on TOUR. He tied for second at the 2009 U.S. Open and was fourth earlier this spring at The Honda Classic, his only top-10 of the season. Barnes has plenty of good feelings about Harbour Town; he tied for fifth a year ago in his first appearance at The Heritage.
Barnes’ scorecard on Saturday featured five birdies and only one bogey. He missed a 10-footer for birdie at No. 17 and got up-and-down from the front of the 18th green for a par. He missed six of 18 greens in regulation, but was able to salvage par on each occasions, three times from bunkers.
Day continues hot streak
There’s still a long way to go in The Heritage, but Jason Day has put himself in contention in yet another week.
The 23-year-old Aussie, who is coming off a tie for second at the Masters, has birdied three of his last five holes and is now 10 under for the week. In Day’s last 24 holes, he’s 8 under with nine birdies and just one bogey.
He has company, of course, in defending champion Jim Furyk, who is 7 under over his last 23 holes with seven birdies and no bogeys.
Meanwhile, Ricky Barnes and Tommy Gainey have moved within two of day and Furyk with each 4 under on their rounds today.
Donald loses lead after double bogey
With a bunched leaderboard and a course that’s susceptible to birdies, one bad swing is all it can sometimes take to drop down the leaderbord. Case in point: Luke Donald.
The Englishman had been cruising along, sitting atop the leaderboard through the first two rounds at Harbour Town — until he yanked his second shot left and out of bounds on the par-5 second hole. He went on to make double bogey and as a result has fallen a shot off a lead that was his after a second-round 65.
Now there are three players tied at the top, including defending champion Jim Furyk and Camilo Villegas. Garrett Willis is also at 9 under.
In all, there are 18 players within three shots of the lead on what looks like will be a pretty big moving day.
Your open thread: The Heritage, Rd. 3
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Luke Donald has the lead heading into Saturday’s third round at Harbour Town.
It’s moving day at The Heritage, where Luke Donald leads (for now). Can he hang on the rest of the weekend and reach No. 1 in the world? Or will Jim Furyk defend his title? Discuss the round here all day.
Furyk in familiar position
Harbour Town is ball-striker’s golf course, which explains why Luke Donald has done so well there and why Jim Furyk won there a year ago. Furyk enters today’s round just two shots back of Donald, and he’s having an eerily similar week compared to a year ago (see below).