Gay's Time So Far at Hilton Head

Brian Gay kept moving in the right direction on moving day at the Verizon Heritage away from the field. His 67 was good enough to stretch a one stroke lead into a three stroke lead. Instead of eleven guys within five strokes there are now only three guys.

One more solid round and he will win his second PGA TOUR event and an automatic invitation to next year’s Masters Tournament. Though he won last year in Mexico at the Mayakoba Golf Classic it was opposite the WGC- Accenture Match Play and did not come with a Masters invitation.

After his second bogey-free round of the week Gay is optimistic about his chances of winning the Verizon Heritage. “I think if I can go out and continue to do the same things, I'll be in pretty good shape.

Anybody can go low at any time, but I feel like the way I'm swinging and playing, I can go out there and shoot another score. I think it will be validation of winning last year. I did it once and I'll do it again. I love this place and I would be really happy to win here.”

For Gay the only other time he had the outright third-round lead was at the Mayakoba Golf Classic and he hopes to win again. “I had a 5-shot lead which; believe it or not, I was pretty uncomfortable with it.

So going out Sunday there I was just really, really conservative and I found it hard to—it was tough just trying to make par, you know, because I wasn't shooting at the flags and I was like a bunch of 30-footers trying to two-putt. It's not that easy when you just try to two-putt from 30 feet all the time. It was tough.”

Joining Gay in the last group off at 1:50 pm Sunday afternoon is Tim Wilkinson who had a bogey-free round of his own on Moving Day—a 65 to move up from T7 to second place alone three strokes back. The 30-year-old New Zealander who had an outstanding rookie season last year on the PGA TOUR after making it through Q-School. Finishing 92^nd on the Money List he made over $1 million.

Wilkinson, a lefty discounts the fact that no lefty has ever won in the previous 40 renditions of the Verizon Heritage. “I think sheer numbers of right-handers versus left-handers has something to do with it. And Phil hasn't played here.” His best finish last year was a T2 at the Valero Texas Open won by 2007 Masters Champion Zach Johnson.

The only other time Wilkinson has played in a final group was the 2008 SONY Open with K.J. Choi. Choi shot 71 and went on to win the golf tournament. Wilkinson shot 78 and finished T25. He learned from that experience. “Just watching obviously one of the best players in the world win a tournament in tough conditions, and just—it looked like he was just focusing on his own game. And that's what I'm going to try to do tomorrow.”

Lee Janzen has been steady all week ranking second, T3 and third after the first three rounds. His individual score on holes though has been all over the place. He aced the par-3 17^th yesterday then bogeyed No. 18. Today he started with another bogey but followed it with an eagle on the second hole.

Along with 12 birdies and seven bogeys the ace and eagle total up to his 9-under score only four shots back of Gay. “Even if things aren't working out the way you want, the next shot could be the shot to turn things around.”

“I'm happy to be in the position I'm in after three days here. It's one of my favorite tournaments since I've been on Tour for 20 years now. It's extra exciting being in third place at the end of the third round. You never know what happens in the end.”

Todd Hamilton the 2004 British Open Champion whose five-year exemption expires at the end of this season had three bogeys and three birdies in an even-par round of 71. He dropped from second to fourth place as he basically stood still while Wilkinson and Janzen passed him by.

Though only five strokes out of the lead a 66 like he shot yesterday could bring him back into contention for the victory or a playoff on Sunday afternoon.

Briny Baird who has not won in 285 career starts on the PGA TOUR shot a bogey-free round of 65 to move from T27 to T5 with Davis Love III. He switched to a belly putter for the very first time this week and it seems to be working as he is T14 in putting with less than 27 putts per round.

“When you don't have any expectations, sometimes it's a good thing. I kind of went into this week not expecting a whole lot. So far it's working out pretty good.”

Davis Love III shot 69 to stay within striking distance six strokes from the lead with only four players in front of him. Having won a record five times at Harbour Town Golf Links he knows how to get it done come the final round on Sunday. 

“I didn't get as much out of the round as I should have. I hit the ball probably more solid today than the other day and just didn't get a lot out of it. I needed to make a few more putts. I'm playing well, and I'm shooting under par every day. I haven't had my really great day yet. Hopefully I can get out there tomorrow and get more on a roll than I did today.”

Another veteran player and the 1996 British Open Champion, Tom Lehman was inspired by old timer Kenny Perry’s performance in the Masters last week. “Bottom line is you see guys that are working hard and improving and playing well, and it makes me want to do the same thing.”

Lehman has a number in mind for the unthinkable comeback on Sunday at the Harbour Town Golf Links. “There was one year (2000) I felt like if I could go out and shoot 65 or 66 I had a chance to win and I did. And Stewart Cink birdied the last three holes and beat me by a shot or two. You can't ever tell. But I know in my situation it's got to be 64 or something like that.”

Lehman is tied for seventh place seven strokes back of Gay with Tim Petrovic a one-time winner on the PGA TOUR and Alex Cejka who led after the first round but followed with rounds of 71 and 72.

With inexperience at the top of the leader board and grizzly veterans lurking nearby tomorrow’s final round of the 2009 Verizon Heritage will likely be exciting with a dramatic finish. One thing is certain- there will be no “boo-peat” as two time defending champion Boo Weekley is at 2-under par and 11 strokes behind Brian Gay.

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer. He follows the PGA TOUR volunteering for the tournaments and working part time for NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and The Golf Channel. He resides in Jacksonville Beach, Florida near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach. He enjoys pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it. He can be reached through his website www.MrHickoryGolf.net or by e-mailing him to [e-mail]