Villegas escaped from some third-day trouble and got into the Sunday hunt.
"I mean, it frustrated me, I can say that," Byrd said. "I'm like, 'What am I doing?' You just can't give away shots in a PGA Tour event with guys that are this good. You do that in junior golf, but you don't do that on the PGA Tour."
The frustration only got worse Saturday when, in the Chris-Berman-polar-exploration-pairing of Byrd and Perry, Byrd got behind the course early and struggled to a 73. Perry, meanwhile, went out in three under par through his first four holes, eventually posting another 69 to put himself in Sunday's final pairing for the second straight week, a shot ahead of playing partner David Toms and one behind Howell, who led at 13 under par.
Until Perry, Imada and Villegas took the back-nine stage, much of the final round belonged to McLachlin who was the first player on the course to reach 15 under par. McLachlin went out in 32, then played the first four holes on the back in four under. Twice he hit it five inches from the cup. On the short 13th he holed a 75-foot explosion from the cavernous front bunker for an eagle. He stumbled with bogeys on the 14th and 16th holes, but the true disappointment came on the 18th. After driving it perfectly, McLachlin was 226 yards out, staring down at the green below. He was 13 under par, with a chance to post at least 14, maybe 15. The wind, however, had kicked up hard into his face. After lengthy deliberation, he decided to lay up, then wedged it poorly and three-putted, eventually finishing T-5. Dude, you're from Hawaii. You grew up in the wind.
As Ryuji would say, live and learn. Maybe he'll get a chance to come back.
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