An even par round for former Ole Miss golfer Jackson Suber caused him to slip outside the top five on Saturday at the Open Championship.
The good news is Suber (-6) didn’t have a complete blow up and is still in contention though now four strokes behind leader Sam Burns (-10). On the fifth hole, Suber shared the lead after his second birdie put him to eight under for the tournament. The next 13 holes however was a rollercoaster ride featuring four bogeys and two more birdies to finish with a 70 (E).
Suber’s putter let him down on the final two holes as a makeable par putt on 17 and a great look at birdie on 18 both could not find the cup. Those two shots could loom very large tomorrow in the final round as the rest of the field chases Burns.
There’s still a lot to play for especially from a payout standpoint. Suber could rake in more than half a million if he sticks in the top six at the tournament. Even more important, the FedEx Cup points he would earn in the six spot would bump him into the top 70 for the playoffs beginning at the St. Jude Championship in Memphis in a few weeks.
Then there’s the exemption status for anyone finishing in the top 10 the golfers automatically qualify for next year’s Open Championship. This week could truly be a bit of a life changer for the 26-year-old Florida native.
There was some Ole Miss flair from the announcers on Saturday with a couple mentions of Suber’s alma mater and some Hotty Toddy references. The one gaffe was when one of the TV announcers said Suber and his friends were fond of a sports bar in Oxford called “The Liberty” clearly meaning “The Library” – no big deal, just come and visit the town, have some drinks there, and you’ll never forget it.
Coverage for the final round of the Open Championship begins at 3 a.m. CT on the USA Network and then moves to NBC at 6 a.m. CT. The final round pairings and tee times are to be determined and we’ll update here when they are announced.
