Photo by Getty Images J.J. Henry J.J. Henry finds himself tied for second, one stroke off Jason Dufners lead, after three rounds of the HP Byron Nelson Championship. His good performance so far could be attributed to at least two factors: He was a player consultant for the D.A. Weibring redesign of the TPC Four Seasons Resort course a few years ago. In other words, he knows the course like the back of his logoed glove, or as he says, the humps and bumps and idiosyncrasies. Perhaps more important, he got some up-close and frank wisdom when 1996 PGA champion Mark Brooks caddied for him last week at The Players. He was a hard ass, Henry said of his fellow Fort Worth resident. It was fun to have him challenge me, and he told me how close I am to playing well. I learned a lot from somebody Ive looked up to for his demeanor and intensity for the game. Henry said Brooks helped him with little shots around the green and clearly the advice has paid off. Brooks over the years has been known as a tough player, a fighter, someone who got a lot out of his game. This week that kind of mindset has been good for Henry, who has now made six consecutive Tour cuts after missing in seven of his first 10 starts this year. Sometimes I take the game for granted, said Henry, the TCU graduate whose lone PGA Tour victory came at the 2006 Buick Championship in his home state of Connecticut. He helped me raise the bar higher. He thinks Ive underachieved out here. He didnt sugar-coat anything. If I hit a bad shot, hed say, We can find a way to make four. Hed tell me to relax and enjoy the battle and the fight. Embracing the challenge, thats what I learned most. He has a knack for fighting it out, and that has been lacking in my game.

Photo by Getty Images Jason Dufner HP Byron Nelson Championship Irving, TX - TPC Four Seasons Resort 8:06:51 PM ET. 05/19/2012 IRVING, Texas Nine players had or shared the lead during the third round of the Byron Nelson Championship. Yet when play ended Saturday, Jason Dufner was the one alone at the top of the leaderboard for the second day in a row. Unfazed by more breezy conditions, Dufner shot a 1-under 69 for an 8-under 202 total. He had a one-stroke lead over Jason Day, J.J. Henry and Dicky Pride. "Similar conditions as (Friday), so probably helped me a little bit, just being comfortable with the wind and how hard it was blowing," Dufner said. "Good ball striking, hit a lot of greens. ... Didn't feel like I was scrambling too much, trying to save pars or out of position, anything like that." Three weeks after getting his first PGA Tour victory at New Orleans, and two weeks after getting married, Dufner is already trying to win again. Dufner is comfortable in his position with the experience of having won recently, and the forecast for more wind Sunday, though it is not expected to be as stiff as the 20 mph with gusts the last two days. Matt Kuchar, who won The Players Championship last weekend, was in a group of eight players four shots back after a 72 with an up-and-down back nine. Kuchar, the fifth-ranked player in the world, still has a chance to become the first PGA Tour player since Tiger Woods in 2009 to win in consecutive weeks. Dufner's only bogey came at the 528-yard par-4 third hole, when he knew right away that his drive wasn't a good one. He immediately dropped his club to watch as the ball flew into a bunker on the left side of the fairway, opposite the water on the right where he hit his tee shot the previous day. "A little bit of carryover from (Friday), not trying to let those things happen, but occasionally they creep in your mind," he said. "That bunker is almost as bad as being in the water, so (Sunday) maybe I'll think of that and play more aggressive and try to hit the shot a little better." Dufner, who birdied four of his last five holes Friday, got the lost stroke back Saturday with a 10-foot birdie putt at No. 6. He had pars the rest of the way except for the 14-foot birdie at the par-4 14th. Day's only bogey came when he missed a putt of less than 2 feet at No. 18. The ball rimmed around the cup and rolled back toward him, costing him a share of the lead with a round of 67. "I just hit it too hard through the break," said Day, the 2010 Nelson champ who finished fifth last year in his only other appearance on the TPC at Four Seasons courses. "One day that hole will pay me back, and hopefully it's (Sunday)." There were 20 players within five strokes of the lead. And 10th-ranked Phil Mickelson was among of group of seven more players only one more back. Henry had three birdies on the back nine after two bogeys on the easier front nine in a round of 67. Pride, who has been playing professionally for 20 years, got his only PGA Tour victory in 1994. "I threw my caddie in the air trying to figure out the wind," Pride said jokingly after his round of 69. "Grass, I couldn't see." Vijay Singh, a 34-time PGA Tour winner whose last victory was in 2008, had a 66 Saturday. He was two strokes back after an eagle-birdie-bogey finish. After his 38-foot eagle putt at the par-5 16th, he made a 5-foot birdie at No. 17 but missed a par putt of the same distance on the last hole. "I've been looking forward to this position," he said. "My game has been coming around, but there wasn't any signs of scoring and this s the first day where I kind of went out there and scored well." PGA rookie Jonas Blixt from Sweden (67) and Marc Leishman (71) were tied for sixth at 205. Ryan Palmer, the 2011 Nelson runner-up after losing in a playoff, shot a 72 in the final group. He was with Kuchar and defending Nelson champion Keegan Bradley (71) in that group of eight at 2006. Kuchar was 8 under and leading after consecutive birdies to start his back nine, with a 32-foot putt at No. 10 and hitting his approach at No. 11 inside 3 feet. After hitting his tee shot at No. 12 into a fairway bunker, he had a chance to save par but missed a 6-foot putt. His tee shot at the 180-yard 13th stopped 4 inches from the pin for a tap-in birdie that got him back to 8 under and the lead, but that didn't last long. An errant drive on No. 14 led to a drop, then he had to punch back into the fairway before his approach to the back fringe of the green and a double bogey. His approach out of the rough at the next hole found a greenside bunker and he missed a 7-footer for par. Bradley was only one stroke off the lead when his drive at No. 11 was way right. His shot from there went over the green and trickled into the water, leading to a triple bogey that took him to 4 under, where he finished. Mickelson had five birdies and four bogeys for a round of 69. He failed to make up any ground even after holing a 42-foot chip shot at No. 18, where he finished with double bogey Friday. "It was a fun way to end the day," he said. "I had a lot of opportunities to get right back in the mix and made four or five mistakes there, sloppy bogeys."

Photo by Associated Press Morgan Pressel GLADSTONE, N.J. (AP) The Sybase Match Play Championship has been tournament full of surprises since day one and nothing changed this year. None of the top 14 seeds are still around. The final four consists of two so-called veterans seeking their first wins since 2008 and a couple highly regarded youngsters seeking their first taste of victory on the LPGA Tour. Of the four, Morgan Pressel is the household name. She won a major at 18 in 2007 and one other time the following year. Candie Kung is a 30-year-old four-time winner, who has not held a trophy since 2008. Azahara Munoz of Spain won an NCAA title for Arizona State, while Vicky Hurst is a 21-year-old who represented the United States in the Solheim Cup last year. In the semifinals Sunday, Pressel will face Munoz, and Kung will take on Hurst. Pressel, who has struggled all season, is the most interesting story. The soon-to-be 24-year-old rallied from 2-down with three holes to play to stun No. 2 ranked Na Yeon Choi in 19 holes in the morning and rolled over Anna Nordqvist of Sweden 5 and 4 in the afternoon quarterfinal in the surprised-filled event at the Hamilton Farm Golf Club. Pressel is the highest seed left at No. 15. Munoz, who had two top-five finishes recently, is the 19th-seed. Hurst is seeded 37th and Kung, who beat No. 1 ranked Yani Tseng in the morning round of 16, is the lowest seed left at No. 49. "I think that I definitely want to win again and I'll have a chance tomorrow," Pressel said. "No matter what happens, I think that I this is the best I've played in a long time, and from Japan two weeks ago to this week, I finally feel comfortable with my game again to a point where I haven't been in a while. I'm going to give it everything that I have tomorrow." Pressel, whose best finish this year is a tie for 20th, has been steady this week. She made birdies on the 16th and 17th holes to tie Choi and won on the 19th when the South Korean missed a par-saving putt. In the afternoon, Pressel ran away from Nordqvist after the one-time U.S. Women's Open champion fell behind after a couple of bogeys. "This afternoon, I had a little bit of a break and didn't need to make quite as many birdies, but tomorrow I'm going to need to make the birdies again because I'm sure 'Atha's' going to come out and come out strong," Pressel said. Munoz routed off No. 6 seeded Stacy Lewis 5 and 4 in a match the tour's best American this year didn't play well. In the round of 16, Lewis who was the highest-seeded player remaining at that point edged 2010 Sybase champion Sun Young Yoo 1-up in the morning. "I played pretty horrible," said Lewis, who won in Mobile, Ala., two weeks ago. "It was probably one of the worst rounds I played all year. It probably didn't matter who I was playing, I wasn't going to win." Munoz and Pressel are good friends. "We both want to win bad, so I think it's going to be fun," the 24-year-old Munoz said. "I wish I wasn't playing her to be honest." Hurst and Kung both had to work harder to post their quarterfinals wins. The long-hitting Hurst, who upset No. 5 ranked Cristie Kerr over 19 holes Friday, won the 15th and 16th holes to take the lead en route to a 2-up win over U.S. Women's Open champion So Yeon Ryu of South Korea. Kung also won the 15th and 16th holes to go 2-up against Julieta Granada of Paraguay and closed out a 2-and-1 win with a par at the 17th. "We both played pretty solid the whole day," Hurst said. "She kind of let it go at the end, but it was pretty close." Kung said her putting carried her Saturday, but she had other concerns after the matches. She probably didn't expect to be here Sunday and checked out of her hotel. In the other morning matches, Ryu won seven of the first nine holes en route to a 5-and- 4 win over Katherine Hull of Australia. Nordqvist won four of the final six holes in beating No. 10 seed Amy Yang 3 and 1. Hurst was a 2-and-1 winner over Angela Stanford in an All-American match. Munoz posted a 2-and-1 win over Jodi Ewart of England, who upset defending champion Suzann Pettersen in the first round. Granada was a 1-up winner over Karine Icher of France.

Mike Wolfe, Golfweek Chattanooga senior Stephan Jaeger South Central Regional (Final) A breakdown of the third and final round of the NCAA South Central Regional, played at The Club at Olde Stone in Bowling Green, Ky.: Team winner: Chattanooga (5-under 859) Individual winner: Stephan Jaeger, Chattanooga (13-under 203) Also moving on: 2. Texas A&M (860), 3. UCLA (863), 4. Virginia Tech (874), 5. Memphis (874) Individual advancing: Nate McCoy, Iowa State (4-under 212) Rally cap: Chattanooga spent the first two rounds quietly stalking UCLA and Texas A&M before makings its big move Saturday. The Mocs posted a 4-under 284 in the final round, the best team score of the day, to overtake Texas A&M by one shot and UCLA by four. With the victory, Chattanooga also earned a spot in the NCAA Championship for the first time since 2009. Chattanoogas Stephan Jaeger also did well for himself. The senior closed with a 6-under 66 to finish at 13-under 203 and earn medalist honors by four shots. Just enough: Memphis national championship berth didnt come easy. When Arkansas started making a charge in the final round, it knocked Memphis out of the top 5. The Tigers rallied, however, to take the last team spot out of the South Central Regional. Im just so proud of the guys for hanging in there and showing toughness down the stretch, head coach Grant Robbins said. That was a pretty clutch performance over the last few holes. We had an idea of where we were and knew every shot counted. Memphis, ranked No. 39 by Golfweek, earned its second national championship ticket in program history, and for the first time since 1988. It called for a realignment of team goals. Well get back to work Monday, Robbins said. Our goal is now to finish in the top eight at nationals and make match play. Short shots: Arkansas charged mightily in Round 3 but was unable to make up enough ground to qualify for the national championship. The Razorbacks finished in sixth, three shots out of the top 5. . . . UCLAs Patrick Cantlay, last years Player of the Year, opened strong with a 3-under 69, but fell to T-19 with rounds of 75, 76. . . .

Photo by Tracy Wilcox Auburn's Blayne Barber during the final round of the 2011 SunTrust Gator Invitational. NCAA East Regional (Final) A breakdown of the third and final round of the East Regioal, played at at Grandover Resorts East Course in Greensboro, N.C.: Team winner: Liberty, 4-over 868 Individual winner: Vaita Guillaume, Campbell; Robert Karlsson, Liberty; Matt Schovee, Liberty (3-under 213) Also moving on: 2. Florida (871), 3. Auburn (874), 4. Lamar (877), 5. Tulsa (878) Individual: Guillame (won sudden-death playoff) Third time is a charm: Now in year No. 3 at the Auburn helm, head coach Nick Clinard will take a team to the national championship for the first time. The Tigers missed advancing each of the past two years, but with the No. 1 seed at the East Regional, safely skated through to the finals with a third-place finish. Still, it didnt look as if it would be that easy early in the day. Auburn entered the final round in fourth, dropped to seventh early in the day, then went a combined 8 under in the final four holes to jump to to third. Blayne Barbers performance was perhaps the most impressive, as the junior finished his round birdie, hole-in-one, par, birdie. It is just hard to put into words, Clinard said. The guys really hung tough and did what they had to do, and they just stuck to their game plan. Blayne Barber, you just cant say enough about what he did coming down the stretch. Mighty finish: Liberty earned a third consecutive victory Saturday, and perhaps the most important of the season. The Flames came out on top of the East Regional to earn a trip to the national championship. It becomes the first Big South mens golf team to win an NCAA Regional and the fourth to advance to the NCAA Championship. Florida rallied hard at the end of the day in an attempt to knock Liberty from the top of the leaderboard, but the Flames counted four birdies at No. 18 to finish three shots ahead of the Gators. Short shots: SMU had a dramatic fall down the leaderboard on Saturday, posting a 13-over 301 to finish five shots out of the team qualifiers. Josh Gregory, who coached Augusta State to the NCAA Championship title each of the past two years, led his Mustangs to opening rounds of 288, 294 to enter the final round in second. . . . Campbells Vaita Guillaume made a par 4 at No. 10, the first hole of sudden death, to defeat Matt Schovee and earn the a spot in the national championship as an individual. Libertys Robert Karlsson, the third player to tie for medalist honors at 3-under 213, was not included in that playoff because he had already qualified with his team. . . . Duke wont get the opportunity to display its match-play prowess at the national championship. The Blue Devils, who won the Callaway Collegiate Match Play last year and finished runner-up this year, fell three shots short of advancing through the East Regional.