Branshaw takes steps back in Saturday pairing with Vijay

From the first tee onward, David Branshaw appeared to have an enjoyable time in his pairing with Vijay Singh on Saturday morning at TPC River Highlands. The two shared many laughs and chatted as they made their way through the fairways and greens, despite the struggles they both faced throughout the day.

Although Vijay is obviously a fan favorite with over 30 PGA Tour titles and three major victories to his credit, Branshaw enjoyed a crowd that rivaled Vijay's in size. A couple dozen friends and relatives made the trip down from Branshaw's native area of Central New York, raucously cheering whenever their favorite son saw success, notably with a hole-out from 40 feet for bogey on the 1st and a 25-footer for birdie on No. 2.

But after Branshaw rolled in a 6-footer for birdie on the 3rd, he wasn't able to give his crowd much to cheer about. Although Branshaw hit shot after shot near the flagstick, his early putting luck ran dry quickly. The now-Tampa resident left himself birdie putts inside 10 feet five times in a seven-hole stretch from hole 7 thru hole 13, but amazingly couldn't get one of them to fall.

"I wish I could putt for him," friend Ned, who made the short drive from Boston to support Branshaw, said. "I really do."

Ned said he grew up playing golf with Branshaw every day in summers, and that the two moved together to Florida after high school, a move that allowed Branshaw to work on his game year-round. Although Ned has praised Branshaw's mid-iron game throughout the week, he continued to reference the fact that his friend simply cannot putt - wishing that he would divert some of his long-game focus onto the greens.

Putting struggles aside, Branshaw moved tho the 15th tee at 1-under on his round after rolling in a 6-footer for birdie on the par-4 14th. From there, though, things started to come undone - he drove the ball well right on the short 15th and had to take an unplayable lie, leading to a double, and bogeyed the 18th after clipping a tree left of the fairway on his drive. The result was a 72 that easily could have been a 65.

"Story of his career," Ned said. "Shoots a 73, could have been a 65."

At the very least, Branshaw will make the Saturday cut - just barely - and will have a chance for some redemption on Sunday, in what could potentially be the last PGA Tour round of his career.

"Probably needed a top-20 finish to keep his confidence up," Ned said. "That's what he'd probably need to keep coming back."

After his disappointing performance on Saturday, the top-20 is currently a pipe dream. Currently, 6-under is what it would take, and Branshaw is mired in a tie for 62nd at even par.