Todd Hamilton waves after chipping in on the 17th hole. The back nine tends to be more stingy with birdies. JONATHAN DYER • The Island Packet
By SCOTT HAMILTON
shamilton@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5533
The Masters, as the saying goes, does not begin until the back nine on Sunday. But the 2009 Verizon Heritage could very well be won on the front.
In a more positive view, both he and Tim Wilkinson have showed signs of mastering Harbour Town's initial nine holes. Gay carded six birdies on the front side Friday -- including a string of five straight -- to post a 30 and take the 36-hole lead. He cooled off on the back, making his only bogey of the day on No. 10 before paring out.
Gay posted two birdies on the front Saturday, enough to protect his lead and give him enough momentum to play the back at 2 under as well.
"I didn't want to be too aggressive," Gay said. "I knew some guys might come from behind, but I just stuck to what I was doing the first couple of days."
Wilkinson, who needed only 23 putts Saturday, was also strong on the front during his round. He made five birdies en route to his 6-under 65, including a run of four straight to finish off his front side.
"You have a few more good birdie shots on the front nine," Wilkinson said, noting five strong holes where the conditions are positive for breaking par. "The others, if you have good shots, the greens are so small you won't have a long putt. ... There are a few opportunities out there.
"Every round is different," added Wilkinson, who has no wins and three top-10 finishes in two years on the tour. "Sometimes your rounds start off slow and you make unexpected birdies on holes that you wouldn't think that you would and you do."
There is a flip side, however.
Two-time U.S. Open winner Lee Janzen struggled on the front, playing it at 1 over, before rebounding for a 33 on the back and a 69. But the case for a vital start was illustrated again by Tom Lehman, who leveraged it into a tie for seventh. The former British Open champion and one-time Ryder Cup captain birdied two of his first three holes en route to a 3-under 68. He's currently 6 under and seven shots back.
"You can't ever tell," Lehman said. "But I know in my situation it's got to be 64 or something like that."
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