 Stricker sets 54-hole mark on PGA Tour
2010-07-10 20:01:00
Silvis, IL (Sports Network) - No one on the PGA Tour has ever played three rounds better than Steve Stricker this week at the John Deere Classic. He has the record to prove it.
Stricker broke the tour's 54-hole scoring record Saturday when he completed his third round at the TPC Deere Run at 25-under 188.
He bested the old mark of 189 held by three players, collecting nine birdies during another day of perfect day scoring conditions for a 62 that gave him a six-stroke lead.
Stricker's 188th shot was a seven-inch par putt at the last hole, set up by a 94-yard approach that stopped just short of going in.
"I've been doing a lot of good things," said Stricker, who is the defending champion.
And Paul Goydos? He is trying to avoid becoming the second player to shoot a 59 on the PGA Tour and lose.
Goydos, who carded just the fourth 59 in tour history on Thursday, kept pace with Stricker for two holes Saturday, then was left in the dust. His hard-luck 67 was swallowed up by Stricker's 62 and Goydos fell six shots back at 19- under 194, where he shared second place with Jeff Maggert (63).
Chip Beck was the only PGA Tour player to shoot a 59 and lose, tying for third place at the 1991 Las Vegas Invitational.
Goydos said Stricker will dictate what happens in the final round.
"He shoots something in the mid-60s tomorrow, I gotta shoot something in the 50s," he said.
Stricker managed to set the 54-hole record without making an eagle. He has 27 birdies through three rounds, just five birdies shy of the 72-hole tour record.
How is he doing it?
"If I knew, I would bottle this," Stricker said. "I don't know what's going on, but I'm trying to stay in the present and not really look too far ahead and trying to take each shot as it comes."
Stricker opened with a 60 in the first round on Thursday, his best-ever score on the PGA Tour, but it was only good for second place behind Goydos' 59. It was the first time in tour history that two players scored that low in a single round.
The tables turned on Friday when Stricker had a 66 to take a one-shot lead over Goydos. Stricker made his only two bogeys of the tournament during the second round.
Both players birdied the first two holes on Saturday, Goydos on putts that totaled just eight feet and Stricker with a pair of 10-footers.
Stricker made five straight pars after that, matching his longest stretch without a birdie this week (he also parred holes 3-7 on Friday). The streak ended with a 135-yard approach to a foot at No. 8 for birdie.
He birdied the first three holes on the back nine, including a 31-foot putt at the 12th. A 303-yard drive set up a three-foot birdie at the 14th, and Stricker made it two in a row with a 23-footer for birdie at the 15th.
On the rare occasions that he found himself in trouble, Stricker managed just fine. He drove into the rough at the 17th, then hit into a greenside bunker, but still managed to give himself a four-foot birdie putt.
Stricker was in danger of making bogey at the 18th after hitting his drive into the rough. But he knocked his second shot back into the fairway, then punctuated his record-setting performance with one final virtuoso approach.
Now, Stricker will need a 66 in the final round to tie the tour's 72-hole scoring record.
"There's been some other records broken here this week, obviously," he said. "But any time you can add your name in the record book is a good thing, and it's cool [to have] something you can reflect on later in life."
Goydos finished with four birdies and 14 pars and suddenly found himself six strokes back. He missed a nine-footer for birdie at the 18th that could have trimmed the deficit to a more manageable five.
"I'm just going to go out and try to keep playing good," Goydos said. "Gotta make more putts."
Matt Jones had a 66 and was alone in fourth place at 16-under 197, while Shaun Micheel tied a career-best with a 63 that moved him into fifth at 15-under 198.
NOTES: Tommy Armour III was the last player to shoot a 189 at the 2003 Texas Open. Armour also set the 72-hole mark that week at 254...John Cook (1996 St. Jude Classic) and Mark Calcavecchia (2001 Phoenix Open) were the other players to shoot 189...Stricker also matched the record for most strokes under par through 54 holes at 25-under. He shares the record with Ernie Els (2003 SBS Championship), Pat Perez (2009 Bob Hope Classic) and Gay Brewer (1967 Pensacola Open)...The record for most birdies in a 72-hole tournament is 32 by Calcavecchia ('01 Phoenix Open) and Paul Gow (2001 B.C. Open)...Stricker's six-shot lead is the largest after 54 holes this season...Due to the threat of thunderstorms, tee times for the final round were moved up to 7:50-9:50 a.m. local time. Players will go off in threesomes from the first and 10th tees.
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