The Live Report, Round 4: Transitions Championship
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By PGATOUR.COM Staff
A LONG TIME COMING (6:18 p.m.): Retief Goosen finally notched another PGA TOUR win when he beat Brett Quigley and Charles Howell III by a stroke. This was Goosen's second career win at the Transitions Championship and first victory since the 2005 INTERNATIONAL.
THESE GUYS ARE STILL GOOD (5:55 p.m.) -- While most of the talk this year has centered on the TOUR's youngest new stars, two veterans just proved that they've still got game on No. 17. Leader Retief Goosen made a tough up-and-down par from the left rough, while Tom Lehman finally had something go his way on Sunday.
Lehman, who can join the Champions Tour this year, sank a 39-foot putt at the 17th hole for his first birdie of the round. He needs to birdie the final hole, however, to earn enough money this week to upgrade his status from Minor Medical Exemption to Major Medical Exemption for the rest of the 2009 season.
SAFELY IN THE CLUBHOUSE (5:35 p.m.) -- There's a new leader in the clubhouse, as Brett Quigley fired a 68 in the final round. His four-birdie, one-bogey performance on Sunday leaves him two shots behind current leader Retief Goosen. Quigley is one of several players near the top of the leaderboard who've never won on the PGA TOUR.
The final round hasn't gone nearly as well for Tom Lehman, who held the lead at the start of the day. He made three bogeys on the front nine and just knocked his tee shot into the water on the 16th hole.
ALL ALONE AGAIN (5:09 p.m.): Charles Howell dropped a shot at the par-3 15th hole to give Retief Goosen the outright lead.
Another former co-leader, Steve Stricker, had another disappointing finish this week when he went bogey-bogey on the last two holes. His final-round 69 will still likely give him a top-10 finish, but it's another tough closing round for the player who nearly won the 50th Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer and the Northern Trust Open this season.
COMPANY FOR GOOSEN (4:50 p.m.) -- Thanks to five consecutive one-putts and three birdies over four holes, Charles Howell III has joined Retief Goosen at 9 under.
The pair is two shots clear of the field now. Steve Stricker, Brett Quigley and Charlie Wi are tied for third at 7 under.
GOOSEN TAKES CONTROL (4:43 p.m.) -- South Africa's Retief Goosen hasn't won on the PGA TOUR since 2005. That could all change over the next hour, but it isn't going to be easy.
Goosen made an eagle 3 on the par-5 11th hole to grab a one-shot advantage at 9 under.
However, several players are hot on Goosen's heels. Steve Stricker, Charlie Wi and Charles Howell III are all at 8 under, while Brett Quigley has just made back to back birdies to pull within two shots.
LEADERBOARD UPDATE (4:25 p.m.) -- After a bogey on the par-3 13th hole, Charlie Wi has dropped a shot and is now 8 under.
Wi's tee shot came up short and right of the green, leaving him a difficult pitch shot that he sent through the green. Using a utility club for his par effort, Wi just missed the hole on the right edge to set up a short bogey putt.
The bogey was Wi's first of the day and now has him tied for the lead with Steve Stricker and Charles Howell III.
Retief Goosen is just one shot back at 7 under.
MAKING IT LOOK EASY (4 p.m.) -- With a birdie at the par-5 11th hole, Charlie Wi has just taken a one-shot lead at 8 under. Wi has played his first 11 holes with five birdies and no bogeys.
Here's a look at his scorecard:
STRICKER MAKES IT TWO AT THE TOP (3:50 p.m.) -- After holing a long putt, Steve Stricker has just made the first birdie of the day on the par-3 13th hole. With the birdie, Stricker vaulted into a tie for the lead with Charlie Wi at 8 under.
Stricker and Wi are now two shots clear of the closest competitors --- Tom Lehman (bogey on No. 8), Mathew Goggin, Rich Beem, Charles Howell III, Retief Goosen and Stuart Appleby -- who are all at 6 under.
The greens are firming up at Copperhead and that's been evident as they've been rolling faster than they have all week. Very reminiscent of a major.
WI TAKES COMMAND (3:25 p.m.) -- WIth a 4-under 32 on the front nine, punctuated by a birdie on No. 9, Charlie Wi has taken a one-shot lead at 7 under.
Steve Stricker and Tom Lehman are one behind.
IN THE MIX (3 p.m.) -- Australia's Mathew Goggin is another player soaring up the leaderboard today, adding to the intrigue of players in the mix with a chance to grab their first TOUR win.
Goggin, who started the day six shots off the the pace, has narrowed that deficit to a single shot with two birdies and an eagle, which came at No. 11, a par 5. He also got a little help from Tom Lehman after an early bogey.
LEADERBOARD UPDATE (2:40 p.m.) -- Tom Lehman made a bogey on the second hole to drop back to 7 under. While he was doing that, Charlie Wi was busy making his third birdie in five holes to grab a share of the lead.
Retief Goosen, meanwhile, also bogeyed the second hole and is tied for third, one shot off the pace, with Charles Howell III, who had an early birdie to get to 6 under.
HERE WI COME (2:31 p.m.) -- Charlie Wi has two birdies over his first four holes today. With that, he's now 6 under for the tournament and just two shots off the lead.
Birdies have been hard to come by all week at Copperhead and par will likely be a good friend to have in the final round.
THE LEADERS ARE OFF (2:08 p.m.) -- The last pairing of Tom Lehman and Retief Goosen teed off moments ago for the final round of the Transitions Championship.
If either player is to break through this afternoon to end their respective victory droughts, it's going to take some solid play -- something both players have been lacking on Sundays this season.
Lehman's final-round scoring average is 73, which ranks 135th on TOUR this year, while Goosen's Sunday average is 74.50, 193rd on TOUR.
Those marks could be slightly deceiving as both player has a small body of work to go off of. Goosen has been around for the weekend on three occasions this season, while Lehman only made the cut once in five starts prior to this week. That resulted in a tie for 49th in Mexico because of his final-round 73.
QUIGLEY, TOO (1:51 p.m.) -- Brett Quigley, like Van Pelt, is right up there on the list of players you're surprised to know hasn't yet won on TOUR.
Also like Van Pelt, Quigley finds himself in the mix today as he tries to track down that maiden win. With a birdie at the first hole, Quigley is now 5 under and three shots off the lead.
Just last week in Puerto Rico, Quigley tied for second, so look out.
A SIZZLING START (1:13 p.m.) -- Bo Van Pelt is one of those players where you find it hard to believe that he's never won on TOUR. He's been close a number of times, but hasn't been able to win just yet.
Early indications suggest that could change today. Whether he wins or not, it looks as though Van Pelt is at least going to give the leaders something to think about.
Through 10 holes, Van Pelt is 5 under for his round and 4 under for the tournament. That has propelled him 36 spots on the leaderboard and he now trails Tom Lehman -- who tees off in about 40 minutes or so -- by four shots.
Van Pelt's best finish this season was a tie for fifth at the 50th Bob Hope Classic.
WORK FOR RYO (12:55 p.m.) -- Ryo Ishikawa, the 17-year-old sensation from Japan, has just finished his first complete tournament on the PGA TOUR.
Ishikawa, who missed the cut in his first TOUR start at the Northern Trust Open last month, made the cut at the Transitions Championship when he was even par after 36 holes -- he shot 2 under on Thursday and 2 over on Friday.
The weekend proved to be rough for Ishikawa. After a 4-over 75 on Saturday to fall way behind the leaders, he followed it up with a 5-over 76 this afternoon.
Ishikawa's final tally was 9-over 293.
Here's a look at Sunday's card:
LOW SCORES? REALLY? (12:25 p.m.) -- It seems like this hasn't happened all week long, but the Copperhead Course actually seems to be yielding some low scores in today's final round.
Kevin Sutherland and Rocco Mediate are well into the back nine and both players are currently 4 under for the day -- Sutherland through 12 holes, Mediate through 15.
So far, that's on pace to be one-shot better than the low round of the third round -- a 3-under 68 -- which was turned in by four players. Not surprisingly, all four of those players are inside the top 10.
| A sip of Maginnes | |
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PLENTY OF STORYLINES (12:05 p.m.) -- There are so many compelling storylines to choose from today in the final round of the Transitions Championship.
Is it possible that Tom Lehman could become an early "feel good story of the year" candidate with his first win in nine years at age 50? He's certainly got a great opportunity, as he'll start the day with a one-shot advantage at 8 under over Retief Goosen.
Speaking of Goosen, there's another guy who hasn't won in a long time. While it hasn't been nine long years for the former top 5 player, it has been four years since his last victory, which came at THE INTERNATIONAL.
Trevor Immelman, Goosen's countryman and reigning Masters champ, would be a great story as well. He starts the final round three shots out of the lead and it's nice to see Immelman finding his form with the Masters just a few weeks away.
Australia's Stuart Appleby has had a slow start to the season, but that could all change today as he starts the final round just three shots off the lead at 5 under.
There's pretty much a story for every player on the first page of the leaderboard, which is why you don't want to miss the action on Sunday.
Here's a look at what Tom Lehman has done through three rounds to own a one-shot lead:
GET CAUGHT UP (noon): Did you miss the action from the third round of the Transitions Championship? Don't worry, we'll get you caught up quickly with our highlights package, which you can see by clicking, here.
Also, 50-year-old Tom Lehman has the lead at 8 under by one shot over Retief Goosen. On Saturday, Lehman hit several wonderful shots, but click here to see the one that garnered shot-of-the-day honors, a near ace on the par-3 13th hole.
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