Thornberry finishes T4 at the FedEx St. Jude Classic
11 Jun 2017
by Sam Dostaler of AmateurGolf.com
see also: Braden Thornberry Rankings
SHARE:
Braden Thornberry continues to impress
(Golfweek Photo)
MEMPHIS, TN (June 11, 2017) - NCAA Individual champion Braden Thronberry still plans on heading back to Ole Miss in the fall for his junior year but as evidence by his performance this week at the FedEx St. Jude Classic he has the game to compete on the PGA Tour.
Teeing off well before the leaders on the final day at TPC Southwind, Thornberry charged up the leaderboard with a bogey-free 5-under 65 to post 8-under and when he finished as the co-leader in the clubhouse alongside Billy Horschel. Thornberry would end up finished tied for fourth and recording the highest finish by an amateur in a PGA Tour event this season.
"Its pretty cool being in home town and knowing this golf course," Thornberry told CBS Sports' Amanda Balionis following his round. "I'm happy where I'm at right now."
Thornberry began his move with a birdie on the 2nd hole before kicking his round into high gear with an eagle on the par-5 3rd. A string of pars followed before Thornberry birdied the 14th and 16th holes.
Up next for Thornberry is the second stop on AGC's Epic Summer Tour the Sunnehanna Amateur. The following week he will follow AGC to the Northeast Amateur.
ROUND THREE RECAP
Braden Thornberry has played three career rounds on the PGA Tour and each time his score has been a career best. On Thursday at the FedEx St. Jude Classic he shot a 1-over 71, then in the second round it was a 1-under 69 and now on Saturday it was a 3-under 67 that moved the Ole Miss junior to 3-under for the tournament.
Playing at TPC Southwind, Thornberry has moved from outside the cutline with nine holes to play in his second round to tied for 32nd and just six shots off the lead.
Thornberry, who won the Haskins Award at the beginning of the week, started his round quickly with consecutive birdies on Nos. 2-4 to reach 3-under before giving a shot back on the 6th. After turning in 2-under 34 the five-time winner this past year for the Rebels dropped another stroke with a bogey on the 13th hole before bouncing back with 15th and 16th hole birdies.
With the 3-under third round Thornberry moved 26 spots up the leaderboard and he will play his final round alongside John Huh begging at 10:03 am.