JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Troy Merritt is one of the surprise names at the top of the leaderboard early at the Northern Trust. The 33-year-old carded a nine-under 62 to tie the course record at Liberty National on Thursday, putting him position for the biggest win of his career.
Merritt started out his Friday round hot—leading for most of the day with three birdies in his first six holes. One of those birdies, coming at the par-5 sixth hole, was aided by some good fortune for the two-time PGA Tour winner. How often do you see a gust of wind blow a golf ball into the hole? Other than the Open Championship, that’s a rarity on the PGA Tour. But that’s exactly what happened for Merritt on Friday:
Merritt has since given a couple shots back—double bogeying the par-4 15th hole after his ball found the very thick fescue left of the green. But as play was temporarily suspended due to inclement weather with him having three holes to play, Merritt was still just one back of the lead.
What’s the old adage—there’s no pictures on the scorecard? A birdie’s a birdie, and Troy Merritt can thank that smooth gust of wind off the waters of the canals of the Hudson River for at least one of those birdies. And we can thank it for this unlikely highlight.
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