84 Lumber Classic notebook
Rookie Robert Garrigus in position to challenge for top honors FARMINGTON – With as many as 20 golfers in contention to win the 84 Lumber Classic, rookie Robert Garrigus stands out because, well … because he is a rookie.
His 4-under-par 68 Saturday left him in a three-way tie for third place, one shot behind co-leaders Charles Howell III and Ben Curtis.
The leaders are at 12-under, Garrigus, Greg Owen and Hunter Mahan are at 11-under, three more are tied at 10-under and five more are at 9-under and five more are at 8-under.
That’s 18 players within four strokes of the lead and that makes it anybody’s event to win.
“It’s going to be fun,” Garrigus said. “I’ve never been in this position out here. This is a different stage, but you’ve just got to go out and do the same things.”
If the rookie has a case of the yips, he’s hiding it well.
“You go out and you play golf,” he said.
“That’s what we do. This is our job. A couple of times today I was kind of looking at the board and I got kind of pumped up on a couple of holes.
But that’s what I live for. That’s what we’re out here for is to get in position to win. You know, whether you do good or you do bad, you’re there and it’s a great experience.”
Same format
Wet ground and a great chance of morning fog led tournament officials to be proactive for a second day in a row.
As a result, today’s tee times and groupings are different than a normal final round.
Instead of twosomes all starting at No. 1, the field will play in threesomes and tee off from Nos. 1 and 10. First tee times are set at 10:38 a.m. with the last groups going at 12:35 p.m.
Past champions
Defending champ Jason Gore shot his second straight 2-under 70, but is nine strokes behind the leaders.
Vijay Singh, who won here in 2004, is among five players at 210, six strokes back of the leaders.
54-hole magic?
In the six-year history of the tournament, four players who have held or shared the lead after 54 holes went on to win, including Gore last year.
Ben Curtis held or shared the 54-hole lead twice prior on the PGA Tour.
He won the Booz Allen Classic earlier this year and finished third in the 2005 Western Open.
This is the second time Charles Howell III has held or shared a 54-hole lead.
The first was at the 2003 Nissan Open, where he finished second to Mike Weir.
Comeback player
Steve Stricker, who is making a bid for Comeback Player of the Year, is tied for ninth at 9-under. He came into the event with three consecutive top 10 finishes and already has six top 10 finishes this season.
Stricker is 36th on the money list ($1,604,668).
Ecumenical service
Msgr. J. Edward McCullough will conduct an ecumenical service at 10 a.m. today near the scoreboard by the 18th green on Mystic Rock.
Msgr. McCullough, pastor at St. Aloysius Church in Dunbar and administrator at St. Vincent DePaul Church in Leisenring, is a friend of tournament chairman Joe Hardy.
The service is not a Mass, but is open to the public.