Brian Gay At the FBR Open
 

Brian just opened with a birdie 3 on the 10th at TPC Scottsdale. Nice start!

Follow the action at http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboards/...003/index.html.

and another at 13...looking pretty good so far.

Bird Man of Scottsdale
 

BG just just drained a 3-footer on 17 (his 8th) and is now 5-under -- that would be FIVE-under -- for the day. That kind of golf deserves attention, and The Golf Channel is giving it to him. :salut:

The back side is the easier of the two nines, and Brian is goin' low! :notworthy

Bouncin' Back
 

BG boged the 18th (his 9th) from the fairway bunker right and turned in -4.
But he's bouncing right back: He's just hit it 3' 9" on #1.

Never A Doubt
 

Draino! :dance:

Back to 5-under and T-5.

Dialing In
 

Brian just drove it 281 yards on #2 and is 122 yards from the hole...

Bird Country
 

He's wedged to 4' 5". :sleepy:

Any Questions?
 

Mr. 27-in-a-row has done his thing and is now 6-under and T-2. Too bad TGC didn't show his back-to-back birdies on #1 and #2.

Out Of Range On #3
 

Brian's hit it 270 to the right center of the fairway on the Par 5 3rd. He's 266 yards from the hole. With creek trouble front, only the longest hitters attempt to reach the green in two. Brian will lay up.

In Position...
 

Brian hit his second 192 yards up the left fairway and is 84 yards from the flag.

Opportunity Missed
 

BG bunkered his third. Blasted to 11 inches. Par. Good recovery!

Greenie
 

On the par 3 4th, he's hit it 174 yards and is 15' 10" from the hole. Not a gimme, but remember, the man can putt! :eusa pray:

Like I Said...
 

...the man can putt. :salut:

The birdie 2 moves him to -7 and T-1st. :happy3:

Sweet justification.

Tough Test
 

The 5th hole (Brian's 14th) is a long par-4 (453 yards) and is ranked the 8th-hardest on the course. It is playing over-par (4.04) for the field. Brian's driven it 266 yards and is 193 yards from the flag.

On the Green
 

...and putting from 22' 3". :pray:

Groan...
 

Just missed. Holed the 11-inch come-backer for par. But an easy par on a tough hole is a good thing. Par beats the field here.

Get ready!
 

Brian drove it 276 down the middle and then hit it 162 yards to 8' 8". :thumleft:

Rats!
 

Just slid by. Another ho-hum par. :sleepy: But it would have been a great birdie on the third-hardest hole on the course.

Still tied for the lead at -7. :salut:

Another Toughie
 

Tough par 3 coming up...215 yards and the 2nd hardest hole on the course. Bunkers left and right with a steep upslope protecting the opening to the green.

No Problemo
 

Brian's hit a frozen rope to 13' 5". He's making this tough front side look easy! :)

Another Hole, Another Par
 

Two putts for another easy par. :crybaby:

Machine Golfer
 

On the long (470 yards) par 4 8th, Brian ripped another drive down the middle. He's hit 12 of 13 fairways today, a driving accuracy of 91.6 percent, T-5 in the field. And from these preferred positions, he's hit 13 of 16 greens (81 percent and T-16).

But...

He's just missed this one to the right a bit and is 65 feet from the pin.

A Shot Lost
 

Brian pitched to 11' 11" and missed the putt. Bogey :( and back to -6 and T-2. Last hole comin' up.

Another Laser...
 

...down the left side of the fairway. He's 177 yards from the flag.

Another Makeable
 

Brian's nailed it to 10' 1". Birdie time!

Alas...
 

...t'was not to be. I guess the Golf Gods felt that eight birdies was enough! Still, it was another routine par and a wonderful opening round.

Brian's 65 puts him at 6-under for the tournament and T-2nd.

Great job, Brian Gay! :salut:

WAY TO GO!

Funny, over the last few days, it is as if I really got to know him ! :grin: :razz: :laughing1

Way to go Brian!! Some good shooting there!!
Good luck for the weekend.
Alex

Yoda:

With coverage like yours, there is no need for the PGATour.com's shotlink!

Golf Channel replay showed Brian hitting about a 60 yard shot with acquired motion. They went gaga about his short game.

The shot was cool. He hit fairly low ball with alot of bite - fun to watch great trajectory control.

Let him go on- he's a proud DAD. :)

Round 2's Rocky Road
 

It's a cruel wind that often blows for those of us who love the game -- whether we play for pleasure on our home course or for our livelihoods on the PGA TOUR. What's there today is gone tomorrow, and The Secret remains the emphemeral 'will 'o the wisp' that eludes us all.

Such it is with Brian's round today.

He began with bogies at the 1st, 5th and 6th and made the turn at +3. But, ever the battler, he has birdied the 10th and 11th. Through 12, he is +1 for the day, -5 for the tournament and tied for 17th.

One of the necessary abilities of a PGA TOUR player is to be able to play good when you're playing bad. Brian Gay has that quality...in spades. Par or better for the day wouldn't surprise me one bit. :salut:

Battling Back
 

Brian's just picked up another birdie at the par 5 15th. He's now three-under on the back and even for the day. At -6 for the tournament, he's T-13. :rambo:

Done For Today
 

Brian came back strong with three birdies on the inward nine and closed with an even-par 71. For the tournament, he is at 136 (-6) and T-13th.

In the immortal words of Scarlett O'Hara:

"Tomorrow is another day."

:salut:

Lions Den
 

Brian Gay today posted a workmanlike round of 1-under par 70...three birdies, two bogies...and is at 206 (-7). Unfortunately, the field did a bit better, and he has moved from T-18 at the start of the day to T-30. But the line is a fine one: He is only one shot out of a 10-way tie for 20th! Such is life with The Meateaters on the PGA TOUR.

He bested the field in Driving Accuracy -- 9 of 14 Fairways hit (64.29 percent) and ranked T-39. However, it was a far cry from his brilliant opening round Thursday, where he hit 13 of 14 fairways (92.86 percent) and ranked T-1st.

He also bested the field in Greens In Regulation (GIR). In this category, he hit 13 of 18 greens (72.22 percent) and ranked T-13.

The real tale is in Putts per GIR. Today, he took 30 putts and averaged 1.729 per GIR (T-46). In Thursday's great round of 65, he took only 26 putts and averaged 1.429 per GIR (T-3).

Brian's 2006 statistics reveal that he is a strong closer. Here's to another fine Sunday, Brian. Go get'em!

To paraphrase Tiger Woods, I think Brian's game is close and it will be only a matter of the when Brian makes it to the top spot.
Go Brian!
Alex

Flying start in the final round, amazing with three birdies on the first four holes. Gotta have steam for the other 14....

He's currently on the PGATOUR.com front page!

Solid Super Sunday Start

Brian Gay is off to a striking start in the final round of the FBR Open at TPC Scottsdale. The leaders will hit the course at about 1:15 p.m.ET. Who'll hold the winner's trophy at day's end? Follow all the action with PGA TOUR.com.

That was pretty kewl to see Brian on the front page of PGATour.com.
Finished with a final round of 69 in the end. Another solid tournament.
Alex