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Sony Open in Hawaii: Third-Round Notebook
 
Jan. 14, 2007
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By Joel Schuchmann
PGA TOUR Media Official

HONOLULU, Hawaii -- Amateur Tadd Fujikawa (16 years, four days) from Honolulu, who became the youngest player to make a cut on the PGA TOUR since amateur Bob Panasik (15 years, 8 months, 20 days) in 1957, sits T8 after a third-round 4-under-par 66 on Saturday.

Jim Furyk
Jim Furyk has been a picture of under-par consistency. (Donald Miralle/Getty Images)
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Players with 3 rounds in the 60s
Rank Player Scores
1 Charles Howell III 69-63-65--197 -13
2 Luke Donald 63-66-69--198 -12
T4 Ted Purdy 67-68-66--201 -9
T4 Steve Stricker 67-67-67--201 -9
T6 Paul Azinger 68-66-68--202 -8
T6 Jim Furyk 65-68-69--202 -8
T12 Bart Bryant 69-69-66--204 -6
T12 John Senden 69-6768--204 -6
T12 Jesper Parnevik 69-67-68--204 -6
T23 Troy Matteson 69-68-69--206 -4
• Sony Open Tournament Page

Fujikawa leads the field in Greens in Regulation at 79.63%, having hit 43 of 54 in regulation thus far.

  • The last amateur to post a top-10 on TOUR was Justin Rose, who finished T4 at the 1998 British Open. The last amateur to win was Phil Mickelson at the 1991 Tucson Open. Tadd Fujikawa would not be eligible for a top-10 exemption into the next non-invitational PGA TOUR event as the exemption is limited to professionals.

  • Two past champions are among the top-10 entering the final round, Jim Furyk (T6) who won the event in 1996 and Paul Azinger (T6) who was victorious in 2000.

  • Paul Goydos (3) currently stands two strokes behind 54-hole leader Charles Howell III. When he captured his lone PGA TOUR event at the 1996 Bay Hill Invitational, Goydos came from two strokes back of Guy Boros and Patrick Burke with a final-round 67 to defeat Jeff Maggert by one.

  • Paul Goydos is playing in his 257th PGA TOUR event since his lone victory at the 1996 Bay Hill Invitational.

  • Charles Howell III posted the low round of the day with a 5-under-par 65. Howell holds the third 54-hole lead/co-lead of his PGA TOUR career -- he led Nick Price by three entering the final round of the 2003 Nissan Open before falling to Mike Weir in a playoff after a final-round 73. He was tied for the lead with Ben Curtis entering the final round of the 2006 84 Lumber Classic, posting a 72 on Sunday to finish runner-up.

  • Howell is playing in his 124th PGA TOUR event since his lone win at the 2002 Michelob Championship at Kingsmill. In that span, Howell has logged seven runner-up finishes, including two in 2006.

  • Two players that finished among the top-10 last week at the Mercedes-Benz Championship rank among the top-10 through 54 holes. Luke Donald is seventh at the Sony Open after sitting second at the Mercedes-Benz after three rounds, while K.J. Choi was is tied for eighth through 54 holes, the same position he held at the same point last week.

  • Stephen Marino, who played with Michelle Wie the first two rounds, is the top rookie among the nine that made the cut this week. He stands T12.

  • Through 54 holes, 10 players have the opportunity to post four rounds in the 60s: Charles Howell III, Luke Donald, Ted Purdy, Steve Stricker, Paul Azinger, Jim Furyk, Bart Bryant, John Senden, Jesper Parnevik and Troy Matteson. Last year, the winner David Toms and Jerry Kelly were the only players to do so. Two years ago, the champion Vijay Singh was the only player with four rounds in the 60s. Three years ago, 14 players accomplished the feat.

  • Players who hold/share the third-round lead at the Sony Open in Hawaii have gone on to win 20 of the 40 times when the Sony Open in Hawaii has been contested as a 72-hole event. Last year, David Toms and Chad Campbell shared the lead before Toms prevailed on the final day.

  • Craig Kanada finished his third round birdie-birdie-eagle (Nos. 16-18), the longest birdie-eagle streak on TOUR in 2006. Kanada is in his third stint on the PGA TOUR, earning in 2007 card via an 11th-place finish on the 2006 Nationwide Tour money list.

  • Three players did not record a bogey on Saturday -- Gavin Coles, Ted Purdy and Bart Bryant. Bryant has not had a miscue in his last 40 holes dating back to Thursday. Copyright 2007 PGATOUR.com. All rights reserved.