FedEx St. Jude Classic, Three Tied at the Top, Rory slips back.

Rory McIlroy Lyons/Getty Images

There are three players tied at the top of the leaderboard in the FedEx, St Jude Classic at TPC Southwind. The leaders are at -6 under par for 54 holes with Nick O’Hern completing his round at -3 under par for a total of -6 under par for the tournament. That tournament total was matched by Davis Love 111 and John Merrick who was one of the first round leaders.

There are six players just one shot off the lead, including Rory McIlroy, who somehow managed to rack up six bogeys during his third round, against four birdies. This left him with a total of -5 under par, and still in contention for the trophy on Sunday. The other players tied in second place at -5 under par are, Dustin Johnson, Robert Allenby, Kevin Kisner, Chad Campbell and Kevin Stadler.

In all there are sixteen players within three shots of the leaders, and it will be an exciting final round to watch as all these professional players vie to be on top of the leaderboard at the end of the round on Sunday afternoon. I personally think that Rory will regroup and come out firing on all cylinders on Sunday, especially as he now knows that Lee Westwood has won over on the European Tour in Sweden. Lee  is hot on his heels in the race for the number one ranking, both of them trying to catch Luke Donald.

Team Lake Nona Wins Tavistock Cup

Team Lake Nona won the Tavistock Cup after the singles stoke play on the second day. The Payne Stewart Salver Award was shared by five players, all finishing with a total -5 under par. They were Ernie Els, Team Albany; Robert Allenby, Team Isleworth; Retief Goosen and Ross Fisher,Team Lake Nona and Thomas Bjorn from Team Queenwood. Lake Nona’s total team score was -41 under par, Team Isleworth chased them hard but finished two shots adrift on -39. Team Queenwood improved to third place at -31, leaving Team Albany to pick up the wooden spoon. Team Albany were unfortunately hampered by an unwell Ian Poulter who struggled through the day, finishing at +4 over par for the singles. Tiger Woods was also unable to assist the team Albany effort with a final round of even. Tiger Woods is swinging well but the final product is still not quite there, yet.

Closest to the pin competitions were won by; Sean O’Hair on hole 4 with 9 feet 9 inches; Ernie Els on hole 6 at 7 feet 7 inches; Thomas Bjorn on hole 13 with 2 feet 3 inches and on hole 17 Soren Kjeldsen with 4 feet 6 inches.

Ernie Els is playing very well in his quest to make The Masters, if he does not qualify Iwould suggest that he would be a great pick for an invitation to the tournament.

 David Cannon/Getty Image

Jarrod Lyle, Leukemia Returns

 CHRISTIAN PETERSEN/GETTY IMAGE

Professional golfer Jarrod Lyle suffered a recurrence of leukemia upon returning home to Australia to prepare for the birth of his first child. Jarrod was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia at age 17. He recovered, and went on to earn his PGA Tour card. He thought the chemotherapy from his teen years would make him infertile, so  was absolutely thrilled to learn his wife, Briony, was pregnant.

Robert Allenby, who supports a cancer program that once had Lyle as a patient, said he received word Thursday morning that Lyle was going to start chemotherapy as soon as his wife gave birth, saying that;

“If he starts chemo now, he won’t be able to touch the baby or watch the birth. They’re inducing her today, and she has the baby, he goes straight into treatments. It’s just devastating. He just got his whole life where he wants. He’s married, he has a new baby coming, he’s playing great golf. And now this. It’s the same cancer that’s come back, the same leukemia.”

A saddened Robert Allenby, has been exchanging text messages with Jarrod throughout the day. Jarrod’s manager, Tony Bouffler said on Friday that Jarrod was in good spirits and elated about the birth of his child, which was expected by Saturday, adding that Lyle would begin chemotherapy treatments on Monday in Melbourne.

“He’s of good country stock and he’s pretty resilient,” Bouffler said,

I wish Jarrod all the best for the future, may God Bless you and keep you.

Meanwhile, down in Mexico @ Mayakoba Classic

John Huh parred the eighth hole of a playoff to beat Australia’s Robert Allenby and win the 2012 Mayakoba Golf Classic. The 21-year-old Huh parred all eight holes in the playoff that matched the second-longest in PGA TOUR history. Huh and Allenby were tied at the top at -13 under par for the tournament, forcing the long playoff.

Tied in third place was Matt Every and Colt Knost just two shots back at -11 under par.