Jay

Williamson

Williamson, a non-member of PGA Tour member, was given a spot in the field as a sponsors exemption and stands at -8 with David Toms. Williamson was a member of the PGA TOUR from 1995-96 and 1999-2006. In 2006, he played under a Major Medical Extension. His best finish was T-3 at the 2003 BellSouth Classic and he has 15 top-10 finishes in 279 starts on the TOUR. The last time he finished in the top-10 was T10 at the 2005 Bell South Classic. In 2007, he has been playing the Nationwide Tour and posted a win at the Fort Smith Classic in May.

Williamson made a great come back after a birdie on the 15th hole and was in the lead on the 72nd hole. He had an 11 foot 7 inch putt to win the tournament, but the well struck putt bounced a foot from the hole to open the door for playing partner Hunter Mahan. Mahan sunk his 6-foot putt and forced sudden death. Williamson seemed to have the upper hand in overtime when he hit his approach shot six feet from the hole, but Mahan again responded by hitting his approach 18 inches from the hole. Williamson slid his putt high on the hole and Mahan tapped in his putt for the victory. Williamson lost his card on the PGA Tour for 2007 and the $648,000 second place check means that he will most likely regain his card for the 2008 season. His next tournament will be next week’s Buick Open, which he gets the automatic invitation to because of his top-10 finish at the Travelers.

Williamson, who has played the Nationwide Tour this year and got into the tournament on a sponsor’s exemption, made five birdies and two bogeys on the day. At -11, he is one stroke better than first-round leader Hunter Mahan and two shots ahead of David Toms. Fred Funk is at -8.

It was a banner year for the 40-year old journeyman. Williamson’s P2 finish at the Travelers in June was his PGA Tour-best. Seven weeks earlier, he claimed his first-ever major tour victory at the Nationwide Tour’s Fort Smith Classic. Expect 30 or more starts on the PGA Tour in 2008.

Williamson was playing on the Nationwide Tour for the first half last year, when he took a sponsor’s exemption at the Travelers Championship and lost in a playoff to Hunter Mahan. He got more sponsor’s exemptions and played well enough for the rest of the season to earn his 2008 PGA Tour card. He has continued to play well this season and missed his first cut last week at the Northern Trust Open. He should make the cut this week, and if he can get his putter going, he should move higher up the leader board from where he has been finishing lately.

Williamson played well last week in the Sony Open and we will update if a reason is given for the withdrawal. He has been replaced in the field by Tom Scherrer, who last year won the Price Cutter Charity Championship on the Nationwide Tour.

Williamson has split time this season between the Nationwide and PGA Tours. He currently is in 183rd place on the PGA Tour’s Money List.

Williamson had to change his plans this week after his second place finish at the John Deere Classic earned him an invitation to the British Open.

The good news is that he was able to complete 18 holes one week after a sore back forced him to withdraw during his first round at Glen Abbey. The bad news is that he needed 33 putts to post a score today.

Williamson started out with three birdies in a row, then bogeyed the fourth hole and finished the front nine in 2-under-par. He opened the back nine with an eagle and then he added five more birdies to finish with a round of 62, which he said after the round was the greatest he has ever played. His only Top 20 finish this year was a T-20 at the Sony Open, but on Sunday he has a chance to notch his first career championship on the PGA Tour.