It started three days ago as a funny vibe.
Now the twinkle of chimes, the pounding of timpani drums and whatever else portends memorable, magical moments can be distinctly heard in the distance.
After 54 holes of the star-studded Tour Championship, scrappy Bart Bryant is continuing to slay giants and hit shots that seemingly are sprinkled with some sort of pixie dust.
“There have been a couple of magic moments,” he said. “That’s for sure.”
None was bigger than the bunker shot he holed from 30 feet for a spectacular birdie on the last hole Saturday, putting an exclamation point on what already had been a surreal week and handing him a three-stroke lead, at 14 under par, heading into the final round at East Lake Golf Club.
With Retief Goosen and Tiger Woods mercilessly dogging him from behind, the unassuming, self-deprecating 42-year-old Bryant shot a 4-under 66 and broke the tournament’s 54-hole scoring record by a shot. Of the 29 players in the field, Bryant ranks among the least known and is only slightly less startled than everyone else that he’s still holding the lead.
“I’m a little surprised in my mind,” said Bryant, who is seeking his third victory in 14 months after a largely anonymous career. “I’m sure I’m a surprise in a lot of people’s minds that I’m leading at this point.”
In terms of fairways and greens found in regulation, he leads the field. While Goosen and Woods have been spraying it everywhere and scrambling to survive, Bryant has been the tortoise to their hare, taking the slow-and-steady route. He has hit more fairways than Goosen and Woods combined, which is good news, because he can’t muscle the ball out of the rough like they can.
“Well, this is a perfect setup for him because the rough is high, the fairways are fast and he’s not the longest driver, but he drives it so straight,” said Woods, who has hit 14 of 42 (33.3 percent) fairways and is four shots back.
Bryant said he never has had a target on his chest for an entire week and is having some trouble handling it, admitting he has felt a little “squirrelly” at times.
“I don’t know how comfortable I’m going to feel, even though I have been there a couple of times,” said Bryant, who is 2-for-2 when holding a 54-hole lead. “I guess you’ve got the No. 1-ranked player in the world and the No. 4-ranked player in the world right on my tail.”
At least he’ll play Sunday with the equally understated Goosen. Had Goosen, the defending champion, not holed a 5-footer to save par on the 18th, Bryant would be playing with Woods, which would have added another level of stress to the day.
“I’m kind of relieved that [Goosen] made that last one, actually,” said Bryant’s agent, Mark Johnston.
After struggling for years to maintain a foothold in the big leagues, through three golf-related surgeries and more qualifying school trips than he can recall, Bryant won the Texas Open last fall and added the prestigious Memorial title this spring.
Now he has shaved four strokes off the best 54-hole mark ever posted in the five times the Tour Championship has been held at East Lake.
“I hope to do really well, but your guess is a good as mine,” Bryant said. “I’m going to try and get some good rest and stick with the same game plan–to try and get it in the fairway.”
