There is a hard reality to the past, present and maybe future in Zac Blair's professional career.
The 35-year-old, who stands tied for third place on a tightly packed leaderboard heading into Sunday's final round of the John Deere Classic, sports a heavy red beard now. It looks like a lumbar jack's movie makeup for those who remember him as the youngster whose cherubic face seemed to match the Utah native's affable demeanor.
In his first couple of seasons on the PGA Tour, Blair got onto the leaderboard with some regularity, and 10 years ago he opened the season with a tie for third at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
That year, Blair made bigger headlines for banging his putter against his head at the Well Fargo Championship and being disqualified for using an altered piece of equipment. It would be another seven seasons before he eclipsed his previous best finish with a T-2 in the 2023 Travelers Championship.
He won the 2019 Ellie Mae Classic on the Korn Ferry Tour, but, mostly, Blair has lived on the edge of eligibility on the PGA Tour. "Playing golf is pretty stressful," he said on Saturday after shooting four-under-par 67 at TPC Deere Run in Sylvis, Ill. That result got Blair to 15 under for the tournament, only one shot back of co-leaders Lucas Glover (69) and Lee Hodges (67).
The 35-year-old, who stands tied for third place on a tightly packed leaderboard heading into Sunday's final round of the John Deere Classic, sports a heavy red beard now. It looks like a lumbar jack's movie makeup for those who remember him as the youngster whose cherubic face seemed to match the Utah native's affable demeanor.
In his first couple of seasons on the PGA Tour, Blair got onto the leaderboard with some regularity, and 10 years ago he opened the season with a tie for third at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
That year, Blair made bigger headlines for banging his putter against his head at the Well Fargo Championship and being disqualified for using an altered piece of equipment. It would be another seven seasons before he eclipsed his previous best finish with a T-2 in the 2023 Travelers Championship.
He won the 2019 Ellie Mae Classic on the Korn Ferry Tour, but, mostly, Blair has lived on the edge of eligibility on the PGA Tour. "Playing golf is pretty stressful," he said on Saturday after shooting four-under-par 67 at TPC Deere Run in Sylvis, Ill. That result got Blair to 15 under for the tournament, only one shot back of co-leaders Lucas Glover (69) and Lee Hodges (67).
4 months ago
