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Brian Stuard watches his recovery on par 3 of the 11th hole during the third round of the PGA Tour Rocket Mortgage Classic at the Detroit Golf Club in Detroit, Saturday July 4, 2020. (Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)Mike Mulholland | MLive.com
DETROIT – The dream of potentially capturing his second career victory in the PGA Tour in his home state will have to wait another year for Brian Stuard.
Jackson’s native put together an impressive show at the Detroit Golf Club during the four-day tournament, but few missed opportunities during a bird-filled competition was all that was needed to get Stuard out of contention.
He finished Sunday’s round with a 68 sub-par 68, which took him to 26 points in the standings after an over-over 73 on Saturday which brought him back to 49th place.
“I’m pretty disappointed with how things went on Saturday, but I think it was nice to be halfway through today,” he said. “Coming this week, my game has been pretty strong. I don’t think I played really well this week and I scored OK anyway, so I think I should look at the positives in this. I hope to be able to go on and go back to playing a little more solid on the green. “
MORE: See pictures of Saturday’s third round
MORE: Rocket Mortgage Classic third round results
The exceptional Oakland University and Napoleon High School hit 11 of the 18 regulation greens during its final round. He started his round with little birds on the second and fourth holes, but a trolley on the sixth hole slowed his momentum. The Stuard quickly recovered with a bird in the seventh hole to enter the rear with a 34 sub-par.
The 2016 Zurich Classic champion used a warm putter to register the birds on the 10th, 13th and 15th holes, but a bogey on the 18th hole left a sour taste in the mouth.
“It was good to make a couple of putts on the back nine,” he said. “I wish I could have finished my round a little better in the 17 and 18 holes, but today it was nice to play better than Saturday.”
For the second consecutive year, a bad round has wasted Stuard’s title. This year, it was a difficult round on Saturday that set him back.
“I just had one of those days when things didn’t go well,” he said. “I have not driven it particularly well and it is usually a strong seed of mine. I haven’t played as well as I know I’m capable, so it was frustrating after thinking about playing golf quite well on Thursday and Friday.
“It would be nice to come back to the summit again next year. I feel it is a good golf course for me and if I play well and I should be able to make a lot of birds, so I can’t wait to come back here next year and hope to finish a little better than I have. done this time. “
Despite not having made a stronger run to the title of this weekend’s event, Stuard has proven he belongs to the world elite. He has now made the cut in all four PGA Tour events he has participated in since the organization restarted in June and ended the Top 30 in his last two events.
The next appointment for Stuard is a trip to Dublin, Ohio, for the Workday Charity Open.
“I’ve had good laps there, so I can’t wait to do it,” he said. “I think if I play well, I can fight by the end of the weekend. I seem to have played well and my game is strong. I feel like I can put it all together for four rounds, and I can play golf really well. Lately, I’ve just had a couple of holes here and there that have held me back.
“I feel that my put has improved lately, and this was something that had held me back earlier this month. I hope I can tighten things up and return to the top of the charts. “
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