Shigeki

Maruyama

He wasn’t playing all that well this year anyway, so it’s probably time to look for a replacement golfer.

This is Maruyama’s 6th Top 10 of the year and his best finish since the US Open where he was T4. He is now slightly over $2 million for 2004.

Maruyama shot 5-under yesterday to move up 6 spots on the leaderboard. He’s currently tied for 5th.

He’s back in contention with a chance to repeat for the first time since Sam Snead did it back in 1956.

Had he played better on Thursday (70) he might be holding the trophy tonight.

Maruyama was +2 for the tournament after nine holes of the second round when he decided not to continue. PGATOUR.com reported a leg injury (with no specifics) on Saturday.

Maruyama posted a six-over-par 76 on Thursday and pulled out of the tournament prior to the start of the second round. No immediate reason was given, although the early Friday cut line looks to be -2 and could go lower.

Maruyama was two strokes off the pace of the leader Daniel Chopra at the 16th hole on Sunday, but was able to tie for the lead when he holed out a 25-yard shot from the right green side bunker for an eagle. He could only par the 17th and the 18th holes on the Monday restart, but the second place check was enough to push him up from 137th to 103rd on the Money List which means that he will retain his Tour card for the 2008 season.

Maruyama finished tied for second place on Monday in the Ginn sur Mer Classic and when informed that he had moved to 103rd on the Money List Maruyama said, “Bye, bye, Disney,”. He has been replaced in the field by Jim Rutledge, who has had a tough rookie year on the Tour with only $62,242 in prize money.

The reason given for his withdrawal was allergies. He is still scheduled to play in next week’s Buick Invitational.