PGA Tour : The American Express.. Leaderboard
Have you seen the TV commercial when a guy offers to pay with an American Express card and the very pleased hotel clerk says " American Express ?..that will do nicely sir !!"
Well Nick Taylor is amongst the leaders doing very nicely again this week.
Last week in Honolulu there were 15 players within 3 shots heading into Sunday and it took some shoddy play by the leaders and a 65 foot chip in eagle by the Canadian to separate him from the pack into a playoff which he won.
This week so far he is T8 65 66 -13 in the pack chasing the leaders Charlie Hoffman who won this event in 2007 and is now 48 and Rico Hoey both 65 63 -16. He played La Quinta on Friday, today he will play Nicklaus Tournament with Korean star Tom Kim.
This week the Nicklaus course is playing the easiest averaging 67.6, with La Quinta next at 68.6 then the Pete Dye Stadium hardest at 71.8
Hoey, 29, is from the Philippines in his 2nd year on Tour shot a career best 63 with 10 birdies on the Nicklaus Tournament course. His family moved to Rancho Cucamonga at an early age, two hours from La Quinta and he played a lot of desert golf growing up before getting a scholarship to USC.
Unlike most events the cut will be made today after 3 rounds so they all play the 3 courses down to the top 60 and ties but the rule of thumb is to be within 10 shots of the lead.
Other Canadians
Mac Hughes T58 70 68 -6
Adam Hadwin T78 69 70 -5
Adam Svensson T109 71 71 -2
Ben Silverman T130 72 72 E
I remember Tom Watson who won 5 Open Championships saying he hoped the wind would blow going into a Sunday when he was near the lead. When asked why he said " it will separate the men from the boys"
It is easier to play in these benign conditions, with very accessible resort courses but it is tougher to win because they let everyone in with a chance.
Bryan Angus
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