PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Faber Jamerson of Amherst, Va., fought through the treacherous rain storms and wind gusts up to 35 mph on Saturday and fired an impressive 4-under-par 68 for a three-day total of 12-under-par 204 to extend his lead in the 30th TaylorMade-adidas Golf PGA Assistant Professional Championship.
The third-round scores were considerably higher due to the weather conditions, resulting in only 15 players out of the 79 who made the 36-hole cut shooting under-par scores on the PGA Golf Club's Ryder Course.
Jamerson, 29, was hot again with his putter and started his round out strong distancing himself from the field with birdies on holes Nos. 3, 4, and 5. All together, he entered the clubhouse with six birdies and two bogeys.
"My only two bogeys today were on Nos. 7 and 15, where I missed 5-foot par putts, causing the three-putt bogeys," said Jamerson, who has had a successful year with victories in the Virginia State Open and Middle Atlantic PGA Assistants Championship. "Throughout this round, I kept reminding myself of a comment my friend once told me that bogeys do not hurt because you can make enough birdies to get back into the game."
Jamerson did in fact bounce back from his bogeys as he went on to birdie the next consecutive holes, Nos. 8 and 16.
Brad Lardon of Austin, Texas, carded a second consecutive 67 to move from a tie for seventh place to sole second position, two strokes back, going into the final 18 holes on Sunday. Lardon opened with a birdie on the par-4 440-yard No. 1 and followed his round with five additional birdies. His only bogey occurred on No. 15, but battled through the conditions to make 11 pars.
"This round was very encouraging because I have figured out a way to get through my nightmare first round where I started at 6-over-par through my first four holes and finished with an even-par," said Lardon, a PGA Assistant Golf Professional at Escondido in Texas. "On No. 9, it was raining so hard that I could barely see in front to where the green was. I hit a drive into the right rough and did my best to get the ball towards the green and it landed on the front edge. I then two-putted from 80 feet for par and am very pleased to have been able to hang on for dear life during the three difficult holes during the intense rain."
The rain did not appear to bother leader Jamerson one bit, though. Rather, he enjoyed the difficult playing conditions.
"I like it when the weather is bad typically because the majority of people do not enjoy playing in it," said Jamerson. "I have had plenty of experience in these conditions and feel comfortable with playing well, despite the rain and wind."
Ryan Helminen of Appleton, Wis., and Grant Masson of Little Rock, Ark., are in a tie for third place with 54-hole totals of 7-over 209. Helminen moved from a tie for seventh place with his 2-under 70, while Masson dropped from a tie for second place with his even-par 72 on Saturday.
Greg Lee of Athens, Ga., fired the low round of the day, a 7-under 65, and currently sits in a tie for 10th place with four other players.
The Ryder Course played to an average of 73.93.
The 30th TaylorMade-adidas Golf PGA Assistant Professional Championship is comprised of 41 PGA Section assistant champions, section qualifiers, the defending Champion and assistant/apprentice champions from Australia, Canada and Great Britain. TaylorMade-adidas Golf returns as the title sponsor for the seventh consecutive year and is joined by Bank of America, Buick and MasterCard who serve as the supporting sponsors.
The winner of the TaylorMade-adidas PGA Assistant Professional Championship will collect $9,000 of the $100,000 purse and if eligible, will earn a berth in the 2007 PGA Professional National Championship at Sunriver (Ore.) Resort, June 21-24. Furthermore, the low apprentice will be invited to participate in the 2007 Australian PGA National Futures Championship.
Celebrating its 90th anniversary, The PGA of America was founded in 1916, and is a not-for-profit organization that promotes the game of golf while continuing to enhance the standards of the profession. The Association is comprised of more than 28,000 men and women PGA Professionals who are dedicated to growing participation in the game of golf.
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