Sean O’Hair went out early ahead of the winds and the wreckage, fired a 63, earning a date with Tiger Woods in the final pairing Sunday at Bay Hill.

Talk about good news/bad news: congratulations Sean you’re leading the tournament and you get to play in the middle of the circus with a man who has yet to lose this year.  Thanks a lot.  Nine players held the lead at some point during the day, after all was said and done five are tied atop the board.  In addition to Mr. O’Hair and Mr. Woods are Bart Byrant, Vijay Singh, and Bubba Watson all at 6 under par 204.

It is the largest log jam in the 30-year history at Bay Hill, and the largest on the PGA Tour since a five-way tie for the lead at the Deutsche Bank Championship in 2005.  Mr. O’Hair finished his round before the leaders teed off, well before the winds arrived and caused enough crashes to satisfy any NASCAR fan.

Mr.Singh had a two-shot lead and showed no signs of a struggle until dropping five shots in a four-hole stretch in his front nine of 40. He hit three balls into the water, but chipped in from 30 feet for par on the last miscue to stay in the hunt and make all this possible.  A tip of the hat for finding a way to restore the wheels to the vehicle and come in with a 33 for a logjam creating 73.

Mr. Woods got back into the mix on the 15th, where he hit a 4 iron around the trees to 2 feet for a birdie.  Then on 16 he hit a 7 iron to 3 feet for one of only 3 birdies recorded this day.  “I’ve played my way back into the tournament,” said Woods, who finished two hours before the round ended and had no idea he would be in the final pairing for the fifth straight time on the PGA Tour.

There are sixteen players within three shots of the lead, including Hunter Mahan who shot 65 despite bogeys on two of the last five holes.  Theoretically it’s anyone’s tournament, right.  Uh, sure.  If you think so, considering Mr. Woods is 42-3 when he has at least a share of the 54 hole lead.  Go ahead and bet the field.

This is how the fun unfolded:

Mr.Singh got it all started by taking double bogey on the par-5 sixth with a tee shot in the water, and another ball in the pond in front of the eighth green that led to bogey. He was the only one who truly recovered. The big Fijian birdied the next two holes, then escaped trouble on the 16th when he chipped in for par from 30 feet after hitting yet another ball in the water.

Nick Watney made two eagles, the second one at No. 12 to take a two-shot lead. He came unraveled with a tee shot out-of-bounds, another shot into the water and a putt he missed from 4 feet—all on the 16th hole, leading to a quadruple-bogey 8.  He plummeted from the lead to 12th, finishing in a five way tie for seventh a mere two shots back.  “I’m closer to the lead than when I started,” Mr. Watney said.

Mr. Bryant hit a 4-iron into the water on the 16th, but escaped with bogey when he holed a 12-foot putt. “To hit that good of a drive on that tough of a hole, and walk out of there with a double bogey, that would have been a killer,” Bryant said. “It was a huge putt for me.”

Carl Petterssen playing in the final group with Singh, opened with nine straight pars to join the leaders. Then the Swede pulled his tee shot on the 10th and went out-of-bounds, making double bogey.

Here’s what Mr. Bryant had to say:  “It’s pretty much Tiger’s game,” Bryant said. “When Tiger plays great, he’s tough to beat. The guy has won six or seven in a row or something, and he’s not playing great and he’s tied for the lead. So you figure he’s got to play good at some point. But not to say that somebody can’t go out and play a great round and beat him. And not to say he’s going to play perfect golf, either."

How’s that for a confidence building summation?  Well boys we got a chance cuz he’s sucked up to now.  Of course he’s tied with us and we’re playing pretty good so if he just doesn’t play any better than bad we can pull this off.  I know it gets repeated and repeated and repeated ad nauseum, but Mr. Woods is so far beyond good my head spins.  I’ve watched this game for 45 years and have seen nothing like the way he plays the game.  Sunday will be fun, I only hope a couple of guys, at least, play great.  It will add to the entertainment value.

On a different note,  my best to David Feherty in his recovery from the accident.  When you get your new helmet make sure it doesn’t have a large target painted on it, it makes drivers believe they get points for hitting the mark. You live in Texas where targets elicit the same response as a brand spanking new road sign;  you just gotta take a shot at it, it’s the law.