Third round: Palmer falters late to let Letzig take lead
PALM COAST, Fla. (AP) -- Even after two bogeys wiped out his cushion Saturday in the Ginn sur Mer Classic, Ryan Palmer continued to play aggressively until he no longer had any lead at all.
Palmer hit driver off the deck and into the water on the par-5 18th, turning the lead over to rookie Michael Letzig at the Ginn Ocean Hammock Resort.
Palmer bogeyed three of the last four holes to open the door for Letzig, who had a much stronger finish. Letzig birdied three of his last six holes for a 2-under 70, giving him a one-shot lead going into the final round.
"I've been playing so well the first couple of days, and today I lost that feeling a little bit," Letzig said. "But you've got to hang in there and when you do get those chances for birdie, make a few."
He made enough to finish at 7-under 209 and take his first 54-hole lead on the PGA TOUR.
Letzig was one shot ahead of Kenneth Ferrie (67), John Huston (70) and Palmer, who was 9 under through 14 holes but had to settle for a 72 that still left him in good shape.
David Duval, who was within two shots of the lead going into the third round, took a double bogey on his third hole and never got anything going on his way to a 74, leaving him in a tie for 14th.
Ferrie, Huston and Palmer all are outside the top 125 on the money list, with the season ending next week at the Children's Miracle Network Classic presented by Wal-Mart.
Palmer, who won that tournament at Disney World four years ago but faces a return to Q-school if he doesn't finish his season strong, still likes his chances despite a sloppy finish. He is at No. 143 on the money list.
"I got a little aggressive and tried to force it on No. 18," Palmer said. "I have hit that shot a bunch. I can hit that driver off the ground from anywhere. I hit it solid, just kind of pulled it a little. It was a roller-coaster day."
A dozen players were within four shots of the lead, including Mark Wilson and Ken Duke at 5-under 211, and Robert Allenby, J.J. Henry and Vaughn Taylor at 4 under.
"Everybody is going to be fighting tomorrow, and I am pretty positive about my chances," Palmer said.
Letzig's job is safe for next year. A true rookie -- he had never played a PGA TOUR event until this year -- he has three top 10s already this year and is at No. 109 on the money list.
Ferrie hasn't made much noise since playing in the final group with Phil Mickelson in the 2006 U.S. Open at Winged Foot. He has made the cut in only 11 of his 23 events this season, but his six birdies Saturday put him on the cusp of winning.
"I feel like I've played really well," Ferrie said. "I've worked hard on my game. I've got it in the place I want it to be."
Huston could be the mystery in the final round. He has not won in five years, has played a limited schedule over the past couple of years but is right at home in Florida. Five of his seven victories have come in Florida, where Huston thrives on the Bermuda grass.
The final round Sunday will start early because of bad weather expected in the afternoon.
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| Saturday's Best |
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The par-5, 613-yard 13th was easiest with a Saturday scoring average of 4.534.
The par-4, 457-yard fourth was toughest with a Saturday scoring average of 4.342.
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For the second day in a row, David Duval provides our shot of the day. Duval chipped in for birdie on the 8th hole during the third round and is currently tied for 14th.VIDEO: 
Mark Wilson and Kenneth Ferrie both shot 5-under 67s on Saturday. Ferrie's moved him into a tie for second, while Wilson sits in a tie for fifth with one round to go.| QUOTE OF THE DAY | ||
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A CHANGE OF PLANS
With bad weather expected to hit the Palm Coast area on Sunday afternoon, the tournament pushed tee times up. Players will tee off between 7:00 - 9:00 a.m., and the round will conclude in the mid-afternoon.
XM will begin live coverage at 9 a.m. ET and stay until the conclusion of play. PGA TOUR Replay will follow the live coverage and air until 8 p.m. ET.
GINN SUR MER CLASSIC: THIRD-ROUND NOTEBOOK
By John Bush, PGA TOUR Staff
PALM COAST, Fla. -- PGA TOUR rookie Michael Letzig posted a 2-under 70 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead over Kenneth Ferrie, John Huston and Ryan Palmer with 18 holes remaining at the Ginn sur Mer Classic. Letzig shared the lead after Thursday's round with fellow University of New Mexico graduate Kent Jones, but fell out of the lead after a 2-over 74 on Friday.
• This represents the first 54-hole lead of Letzig's PGA TOUR career. The TOUR rookie is making the 29th start of the season, with four top-10 finishes and season-best T7 showings at the Honda Classic and the Verizon Heritage. He earned his ticket to the PGA TOUR with a 12th place finish on the 2007 Nationwide Tour money list.
• At No. 109 on the money list in 2008, Letzig would be just the second player inside the top 125 to win a PGA TOUR Fall Series event. The complete list of winners in the Fall Series includes:
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To read the remainder of these notes, click here.
INSIDE THE ROPES WITH THE PGA TOUR NETWORK
XM Satellite Radio announcer Mark Carnevale offers these observations from Saturday's action. Listen to PGA TOUR Live coverage on XM 146 or right here at PGATOUR.COM.
| 22 | Out of 44 events, how many times the third-round leader has gone on to win. |
| 29 | How many tournaments Michael Letzig has played on TOUR this year. |
| 102 | Number of starts David Duval has made on TOUR without a top-10 finish. |
Who says it is not dangerous out here on the PGA TOUR? In the first round of the Ginn Sur Mer Classic, James Driscoll went to repair a ball mark on the green using a golf tee. The firm greens caused the tee to break and it got stuck in his thumb. He borrowed a Band-Aid from Nick Thompson and tape from Jeff Gove. Immediately after doing this, Driscoll made a 20-foot putt and went on to shoot 68 in round one. Unfortunately, the good -- or should I say bad -- feeling didn't carry over to Round 2. Driscoll shot a disappointing 79 on Friday and missed the cut.
How about a little home cooking? Well, sort of. Ken Duke, who is tied for fifth going into the final round of the Ginn Sur Mer Classic, plays out of the Tesoro Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla., site of last year's Ginn sur Mer Classic and also a property of the Ginn Company. Duke tied for fifth last year. He loves the greens at The Conservatory this week since they are similar to the ones at Tesoro. Maybe he is just close enough to home.
The 54-hole leader Michael Letzig has accomplished a number of firsts so far this week. It is his first 54-hole lead on the PGA TOUR. So far this week, he is first in scoring (69.7), first in birdies (16), first in birdie average (5.33/round) and tied for first in front-nine scoring (34.33). If he keeps this up, he will have another first. His first PGA TOUR victory.
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THINGS TO WATCH ON SUNDAY
1. Vaughn Taylor. This former Ryder Cup player hasn't won on the PGA TOUR since 2005. In fact, the only tournament he's ever won is the Reno-Tahoe Open, which he did in 2004 and 2005. We're three rounds into the Ginn sur Mer Classic and he's tied for seventh. Can he snag a trophy at a different tournament?
2. J.J. Henry. Like Taylor, Henry also has Ryder Cup experience and is tied for seventh after three rounds. Henry's only PGA TOUR title came at the 2006 Buick Championship. Watch out for Henry.
3. John Huston. Though his last name sounds like a city in Texas, it's Florida where Huston excels. Five of his seven PGA TOUR victories have come in the Sunshine State. He's tied for second in Palm Coast, Fla., this week and hoping to add No. 6 to the Florida wins list.
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