The 20-somethings have a good shot entering Sunday's fourth and final round at the Memorial Tournament.
There weren't a lot of dry places to wait out Saturday's rain at Muirfield Village, but this fortunate fan found shelter inside the course's pro shop.DUBLIN, Ohio -- Muirfield Village typically belongs to the veterans, with only two players in their 20s, Carl Pettersson in 2006 and Tiger Woods on three occasions, winning the Memorial Tournament in the last 23 years.
The 20-somethings have a good shot entering Sunday's fourth and final round. Led by 21-year-old leader Rickie Fowler, seven of the top 11 players are in their 20s. Of those top 11, only two -- 49-year-old Kenny Perry and 40-year-old Jim Furyk -- have won more than once on the PGA Tour. And those veterans are in the six-way tie for sixth, seven shots off the lead.
Chances are the final round will come down to which young, inexperienced golfer can hold himself together.
"It will play on everyone's minds for sure," said 29-year-old Justin Rose, who has five international wins but no PGA Tour victories and is four shots back in fourth. "That's why being four back isn't such a bad thing. Go out there and play aggressive. I've got nothing to lose. ... I think the more you can treat it as another day, the better you are. That comes with experience. It's hard to do. Sounds easy, but it's hard to do."
Fowler, in his first full year on tour, is holding a lead entering the final round for the first time. But he showed his composure Saturday while shooting a bogey-free 69 without his best game. His last time in contention, he entered the final round of the Phoenix Open one shot out of the lead and shot a 68 to finish in second.
"I guess I was a little bit shaky that last round, even though I played bogey-free and played well," Fowler said. "I feel a lot more comfortable this week, and I think that just goes to show being in contention prior definitely helps."
Ricky Barnes, 29, is tied for second with Tim Petrovic and has had less Sunday success near the top of the leaderboard. He had the 54-hole lead at last year's U.S. Open before a 76 left him tied for second. He said he's come a long way in the last year, particularly when it comes to controlling his emotions.
"[It's] withholding a little bit of them, walking slower, talking slower, and being patient," Barnes said. "Obviously, having a few good rounds breeds a little bit of confidence. ... I definitely knew I needed to change my attitude. I get hot under the collar pretty easily, and I've been doing that pretty well here the last, I would say, one full year."
Tap-ins: Phil Mickelson, who had a chance to take over the No. 1 ranking in the world with a win, shot a 2-under 70 and is 8-under, in a five-way tie for 12th, eight shots back. ... Because of potential bad weather, groups of three will be used again today, with the players going off a little ahead of schedule on both tees. The first groups will start at 10:50 a.m., while the last group will tee off at 12:45 p.m. ... Brendan de Jonge, in his third year on the PGA Tour, is playing in his first Memorial, and his 65 was the second-best round on Saturday. He's fifth, five shots back. Eight years ago, he attended the Memorial as a spectator while his Virginia Tech team was playing in the NCAA championship at Ohio State. ... Vijay Singh shot a 66, his second-best round in 18 Memorial starts, to move into a tie for 16th.