Round 4, Zurich Classic of New Orleans

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Apr. 26, 2009
By PGATOUR.COM staff

The first groups are ready to tee off in today's final round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Here's how it sets up:

Groups We're Watching
Kenny Perry, Y.E. Yang
Perry hasn't quite gotten in gear in his first start since his emotional Masters. A solid finale could give him a top-10, though. Tee time: 11:39 am ET, No. 1 Track 'em
Kevin Stadler, Rory Sabbatini
Stadler's trying to become the first Monday qualifier to win since 1986. Even if he doesn't, a big finish could make his year. Tee time: 1 pm ET, No. 1 Track 'em
Jerry Kelly, Steve Marino
Kelly is succeeding this week by limiting mistakes and hitting greens. A victory might hinge on his driving accuracy. Tee time: 1:45 pm ET, No. 1 Track 'em

EXPERT PREVIEW: PGA TOUR Network on-site correspondent John Maginnes previews Sunday's final round:

Sunday's forecast

Partly cloudy
Temp: 81 high/70 low
Sunshine and clouds will share the sky but the wind will be stiff, blowing out of the southeast at 15 to 25 mph.
xm_maginnes.jpg

Jerry Kelly loves food, really good food, so it's no wonder that he's so comfortable in New Orleans where food is religion and dinner is a rite. Jerry has been coming here for years, making friends and eating his way around this fabulous town.

I had dinner with Jerry on Friday night before he went out and took command of the Zurich Classic. The dinner started with lobster dumpling appetizers and concluded with bread pudding. A crisp bottle of white and lots of laughter, old stories and new lies made for a great night.

The conversational ball bounced from kids and sports to old friends. The subject of golf came by fleetingly, only to say that I don't think that I have ever seen him play better. He has certainly struck the ball better in his career and possibly putted better, too. But the total package of scoring and playing the game has never been as accessible as it seems for him now. Don't be at all surprised if he does his best Brian Gay impersonation on Sunday, although I am sure that he won't be wearing lime green pants.

Stat of the day
Todd Hamilton played the front nine in even-par Saturday despite not actually making a par until the ninth hole. The former British Open champion pieced together four birdies and four bogeys in his first eight holes before making a par at No. 9.

NOTEWORTHY NUGGETS:
• Jerry Kelly's three-stroke lead is the largest 54-hole lead in this event since Calvin Peete owned a five-shot advantage back in 1986. Peete went on to win by five strokes. In the past eight years, however, only two 54-hole leaders have gone on to win this event: Chris Couch in 2006 and Nick Watney in 2007.

• There were a total of six eagles in Thursday's opening round and nine eagles during the second Friday but only two on Saturday -- Ryan Palmer at the par-4 13th and Ian Poulter at the par-5 18th, where he holed a bunker shot from 88 feet.

• Palmer eagled the par-4 13th hole Saturday morning by taking the "shortest distance between two points" route. Palmer went for the green off the tee, and hit his drive to within 27 feet, 5 inches of the cup on the dogleg-left hole and then rolled in the putt. The hole measures 370 yards but he needed to hit his drive only 336 yards to get in position for an eagle.

George McNeill made a run at the TPC Louisiana course record of 64 Saturday but ran into trouble down the stretch. McNeill birdied four holes in a row (Nos. 2-5) and was 7 under for the day after a birdie at No. 13. His run was derailed by a tee shot into the water at the par-4 16th hole, where he made bogey. Two more penalty strokes at the closing par-5 18th resulted in a triple bogey and a final score of 69.

Thus far at TPC Louisiana
Round Leader Low round (par 72) Key links
Charlie Wi (-6) 66: Charlie Wi Daily Wrap-Up | Live Report
Food, fun and golf | Notebook
Jerry Kelly (-10) 64: Troy Matteson Daily Wrap-Up | Live Report
Food, fun and golf | Notebook
Jerry Kelly (-13) 66: Lucas Glover Daily Wrap-Up | Live Report
Food, fun and golf | Notebook
The Film Room
PGA TOUR Today
Win McMurry updates action from the third round of the 2009 Zurich Classic of New Orleans and previews what to watch for in the final round. Watch it
Shot of the day
Ian Poulter chips in for eagle from the bunker on the par-5 finishing hole at TPC Louisiana. Watch it
Third-round highlights
Jerry Kelly maintains his solo possession of the lead as he heads into the final round in New Orleans. Watch it

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