Monday, December 07, 2009

Troy Merritt leads US Tour School by three

FROM THE PGATOUR.COM WEBSITE
WEST PALM BEACH , Fla. -- Troy Merritt had a three-stroke lead over former Boise State teammate Graham Delaet on Sunday when fifth-round play in the rain-delayed PGA Tour qualifying tournament was suspended for the day because of darkness.
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PGATOUR.COM:
Complete coverage of PGA Tour Q-School
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Merritt, the Mexico Open winner this year on the Nationwide Tour, was 1 over through 12 holes on the Links Course at Bear Lakes Country Club and 18 under overall.
Delaet also had six holes left on the Links Course. Brenden Pappas and Jeff Maggert were 14 under. Pappas had four holes left in the round, and Maggert has six left.
The top 25 finishers and ties after the six-round tournament will earn PGA Tour cards for 2010, with roughly 50 more earning fully exempt status for the Nationwide Tour.
Darkness suspended fifth-round play at 5:11 p.m. A total of 52 players in the field completed play, and the fifth round will resume at 7:45 a.m. on Monday.
Sixth-round starting times will take place from approximately 8:20 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. After the fifth round, players will switch courses, stay in the same groups, start on the same tee and the groups will be in the same order as in the fifth round. The leaders are finishing up play on the Links Course and will play the Lakes Course for the final round.
Boise State's football program has been in the national spotlight for several years, but perhaps it's time to give credit to the men's golf team as Merritt and DeLaet both played for the Broncos. Merritt won nine times during his final two years at BSU, including seven during his senior season, and was named the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 2007 and 2008. DeLaet finished up his college career in 2006. He won 10 times and was WAC Player of the Year in 2006.
Merritt is trying to become only the third player since 1992 to hold/share the lead after each of the six rounds at Q-School. Merritt held the lead after the first, second and fourth rounds and shared the lead after three rounds with J.P Hayes.
The only others to go through six days at the top were Frank Lickliter (2007) and Scott Verplank (1997). Verplank has the distinction of being the only player to hold the outright lead after each round (ie. wire-to-wire).
Maggert, making his first appearance at Q-School, is in good position to regain his Tour card after finishing No. 128 on the money list last year. The Texan is currently 14 under par and tied for third, four strokes back of leader Troy Merritt.
Pappas looks to be a good bet to return to the PGA Tour. The South African-born Texas resident is tied for third, four back of Merritt. Pappas played on the Nationwide Tour in 2009, with 14 cuts in 27 starts. He had three top-25 finishes and wound up No. 95 on the money list.
If Merritt holds on to the lead heading into the sixth and final round, he will try to become the sixth consecutive player to maintain his place at the top. In the past eight years, only one player who held the lead after five rounds failed to take medalist honors.
David Duval (72) stands at 4-over 364 after 90 holes. He is making his first Final Stage appearance since 1993, and is tied for 105th.

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