Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun / February 21-24, 2008

Congratulations to Brian Gay on his fine, 4-under par 66 in Thursday's first round. On a breezy day in Mexico, he finished T6.

Others on the LBG leaderboard include Greg Kraft (67 / T9), Jay Williamson (69 / T30), Neal Lancaster (70 / T24) and John Riegger (72 / T78 ).

In another wind-swept round, Brian Gay today continued his brilliant play with a 3-under par 67. At 7-under par, he is one shot out of the lead and in solo 2nd place going into tomorrow's third round.

Brian's round was particularly impressive because -- in a three-club wind -- he beat the field by six strokes. He beat Hall-of-Famer and El Camaleon Golf Club architect, Greg Norman, by twelve. As The Golf Channel's Curt Byrum said on the telecast: "It was a day of survival."



From the PGA TOUR's website:

The scoring average on Friday was almost three strokes over par, the highest single-round stroke average on the PGA TOUR in relation to par thus far in 2008. The previous high was the final round at the Buick Invitational at Torrey Pines South Course, 74.788.

The cut fell at 4 over par, the highest 36-hole cut since 5 over par was the cut at the 2007 PGA Championship. In terms of non-majors, it was the highest cut since 4 over par was the cut at the 2007 AT&T National. Other recent over-par cuts came at the 2007 Buick Invitational (1 over) and the 2007 Northern Trust Open (3 over).

Brian was atop the leaderboard for the first hour or so of the telecast, yet he got zero TV time. The cameras finally caught up with him late in his back nine, so we did get to see two shots into the green, a chip and three putting strokes. As a make-up, there was a nice interview at the end of the round.

Other LBG notables:

Greg Kraft 67-72=139 / T13

Neal Lancaster 70-70=140 / T24

Jay Williamson 69-74=143 / T50

John Riegger 72-75=147 / MC

Brian Gay has birdied the first two holes and has the lead by one.

Originally Posted by hjacknicklaus
we are all following BRIAN with great anticipation.

knowing him as you do.......i believe you can bring us closer to the action

1- what was his mindset after yesterdays round??

2- do you think he got a good nights sleep??

3- besides the obvious, what is he thinking as he prepares for day 4

4- does his thinking change with a 5 shot lead??

5- what are the keys for victory in todays round?

6- and the final question......HOW DID YOU SLEEP LAST NIGHT??

GOOD LUCK BRIAN.......ITS NOT ONLY THE MAGIC OF THE RIGHT FOREARM................BUT HOPEFULLY THE MAGIC OF YOUR FIRST VICTORY.

The cell phones don't work when the guys are out of the country, so I haven't talked with Brian this week.

Regarding his mindset after the round, my guess is he was pleased with his position -- -- and maybe even somewhat surprised. I'd like to know if he and Kip were paying attention to the scoreboards coming in. I do know that Brian Gay is not afraid to 'go low', and when he gets on a roll, he can really light it up (as he proved yesterday).

Regarding his sleep last night, I think he probably did okay. He doesn't drink coffee, and I've never seen him even touch a beer during a tournament week, so he won't sabatoge his sleep that way. Still, he wouldn't be human if he weren't more keyed up than normal.

He'll do his best to treat today's round as just another Sunday, but it's obviously not. And he knows that no lead, no matter how large, is safe on the PGA TOUR. Brian will get into his process and play the kind of golf he has worked so hard to produce. He's a smart guy who knows when to be aggressive and when to back off. Again, he's comfortable making a lot of birdies, and I hope his mindset now is to win by 10.

As for me, only my granddaughter's baptism this afternoon kept me from hopping a plane to Cancun last night. Probably just as well . . . Brian's playing great and doesn't need the distraction of seeing me there.

Oh, and the sleep thing? My eyes opened at about 5 a.m. and haven't closed since.

Good luck, my friend. You've earned your spurs and waited your turn . . .

Your time is now.

. . . and his lead is still five.

So far, so good!

I'm off to Annie's baptism. You guys keep the faith and all those positive vibes going!