Fowler won't stray from game plan

After yesterday's marathon third round of the Memorial finally ended a little past 8:30 p.m., Jack Nicklaus said his tournament will be Rickie Fowler's to win or lose when final-round play begins today.

It's not hard to understand Nicklaus' thinking. While Ricky Barnes made the biggest move on moving day with a stellar 10-under 62, it was Fowler who dealt with the pressure of being in the lead and who refused to wilt when he got off to a slow start. The 21-year-old PGA Tour rookie shot a bogey-free 69, punctuated by birdies on Nos. 9, 12 and 17, to build a three-shot lead over Barnes and veteran Tim Petrovic, who shot a 68. Fowler did so while dealing with six hours of rain delays. Justin Rose shot a 70 and is four shots off the pace, followed by Brendon de Jonge (65) at 11 under.

At 16-under 200, Fowler enjoys the largest 54-hole lead at the Memorial since Tiger Woods led by six shots in 2000. Not bad for a former Oklahoma State standout who turned pro just late last summer. Nicklaus, sharing the Golf Channel broadcasting booth with Nick Faldo and Jim Nantz, was impressed by Fowler's play and wished him well in his bid to become the third PGA Tour winner in the last six weeks at age 22 or under, joining Rory McIlroy, who won Quail Hollow two days before his 21st birthday, and Jason Day, who was 22 when he won the Byron Nelson Championship.

Fowler managed to keep his cool despite mounting challenges from Barnes, Petrovic and Rose throughout the day. Fowler's three-shot lead at the start of the day was whittled to one shot by Petrovic as the final threesome reached the 17th hole. But Petrovic missed the 17th green short left on his way to a bogey and Fowler drained a 20-foot birdie putt to rebuild a three-shot cushion.

"I'm hitting the ball well," Fowler said. "I kept it out of trouble, and I knew opportunities were coming around. It was just a matter of waiting for them."

Fowler showed the savvy of a veteran with his approach shot on the ninth hole, hitting a knocked-down 9 iron instead of a pitching wedge to avoid having his ball backspin into the water guarding the front of the green. It led to a 6-foot birdie that seemed to steady his play for the rest of day.

Of the top five players on the leader board, only Petrovic, who is 43, has a tour victory to his credit. It came five years ago in New Orleans. With nine tour events this season having already been won by players in their 20s, the odds are favorable that another 20-something will make that an even 10 today. With Barnes, Rose and de Jonge all being 29, it seems as though Petrovic will be playing against a stacked deck.

"It will play on everyone's minds tomorrow for sure," Rose said. "That's why being four back isn't such a bad thing. Go out there and play aggressive. I've got nothing to lose. That will be my mindset tomorrow."

Meanwhile, you can expect Fowler, who had never seen Muirfield Village until Tuesday, to stick with his current game plan come hell or high water. As he said yesterday after his round, "It's been working." That's an understatement for someone on the verge of earning a wire-to-wire victory. His only big mistake this week came on the second hole in the first round when he bogeyed. Since then he has played 52 consecutive bogey-free holes, the third-longest stretch in tournament history.

Fowler also had a game plan earlier this year at the Phoenix Open. He was in contention down the stretch and played bogey-free during those last 18 holes. But he took some heat for laying up at the par-5 15th, a decision that might have cost him the title.

"I got a lot of criticism for my layup," Fowler said, "but that was the game plan early on that week. If I didn't have an iron in my hand, I wasn't going for it. So I was happy with my finish there. If I stick to my game plan here this week and it doesn't work out, so be it. We'll get another one later on."

Spoken like a 21-year-old who is mature beyond his years.

Information from PGATOUR.com and Golf.com contributed to this post.