St. Jude Classic pres. by FedEx: Rd. 3 notebook

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Third-round leaders/co-leaders have won the St. Jude Classic eight times in the last 15 years, but not since 2005 when Justin Leonard went wire-to-wire for the first time as a professional.

• Brian Gay, the 54-hole leader, can become just the fourth player in tournament history to go wire-to-wire. In addition to Justin Leonard (2005), Bob Estes (2001) and Dave Hill (1967) led from start-to-finish in Memphis.

• The 54-hole lead/co-lead for Gay this week is the fourth of his career:

• Brian Gay's lowest 54-hole totals on the PGA TOUR:

• So far this year on the PGA TOUR, 16 of 23 third-round leaders/co-leaders have gone on to win with Rory Sabbatini being the last to do so at the HP Byron Nelson Championship three weeks ago in Dallas.

• A win tomorrow would not only be Gay's second in his last five starts (Verizon Heritage-4/19) but would also get him in next week's U.S. Open Championship. With a victory in Memphis, Gay would become the fifth player with a pair of victories in 2009, joining Zach Johnson, Geoff Ogilvy, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. The win would also be the third of his PGA TOUR career (2008 Mayakoba Golf Classic).

• A total of 500 FedEx Cup points will be awarded to the champion at the conclusion of the St. Jude Classic tomorrow. Gay, the current leader in the tournament, is currently in 12th place in the 2009 FedExCup race and could move as high as fourth in the standings with a victory tomorrow. A win would put Gay within 141 points of the lead. He's been consistent (12 cuts in 15 events) and in addition to his win at Hilton Head, he's had two other top-10s which are important to success in the FedExCup. Should Robert Allenby rally and win tomorrow, he could move up to 14th in the 2009 FedEx Cup standings.

• Allenby (-11) is in contention to end a significant victory drought. A runner-up in Memphis last year, Allenby is playing in his 202nd event since his last PGA TOUR win at the 2001 Marconi Pennsylvania Open. During this period, Allenby has posted four runner-ups and 46 top-10s.

• Bryce Molder, a native of nearby Conway, Ark., is playing in his 68th career event on the PGATOUR this week and, after 54 holes, finds himself just one off the lead in his bid for his first win since claiming the 2006 Miccosukee Championship on the Nationwide Tour. Molder's best career effort on the PGA TOUR is a third at the 2001 Reno-Tahoe Open.

• Final-round scoring averages for the final grouping (2009 season/tournament history):

• After opening with a 2-over-par 72 (T96), Paul Goydos has carded consecutive 64s. Goydos' rounds on Friday/Saturday equal the best back-to-back scores of his career. Last year at the Frys.com Open, Goydos shot 62-66 in Rounds 2 & 3. Last month at the Valero Texas Open, Goydos opened with 63-65. At the TPC Southwind, he's been bogey free for his last 30 holes, making 12 birdies during this stretch. Bryce Molder's back-to-back rounds of 63-65 -- 128 are also his best back-to-back rounds on the PGA TOUR. Molder has just one bogey over his last 45 holes at TPC Southwind.

• Should two-time St. Jude Classic winner David Toms finish in the top 10 this week, it would be his sixth top-10 of the year, tying him with six other players for the most on the PGA TOUR in 2009 -- Jim Furyk, Kevin Na, Sean O'Hair, Kenny Perry, Steve Stricker and Tiger Woods. A Toms top-10 finish tomorrow would also be his seventh in Memphis, tying him with Curtis Strange for the sixth most top-10s in tournament history (Gene Littler leads with 11 career top-10s).

• TPC Southwind Course Comparison (thru three rounds):

This & That: Three past champions are currently in the top-10 (Woody Austin/T5, David Toms/T8 and Bob Estes/T8)...Vaughan Taylor (-9) has made birdie-2 on the par-3 8th hole every day this week...Brian Gay has 73 total putts for 54 holes. The fewest putts on the PGA TOUR this season for a 72-hole event is 97 by Tim Wilkinson at the Verizon Heritage. Gay has also gone 152 consecutive holes without a 3-putt. ...Due to the late afternoon weather forecast on Sunday, June 14, tee times for the final round of the St. Jude Classic will begin at approximately 7:00 a.m. CT, with the leaders expected to tee off at approximately 9:00 a.m. CT. PGA TOUR officials expect a finish between 2-3 p.m. The players will be grouped in threesomes, with tee times on Nos. 1 and 10.The final round will be tapedelayed on CBS Sports, airing as scheduled from 2-5 p.m. CT. GOLF CHANNEL telecast of early round action will also be tape-delayed from noon-1:30 p.m. CT.