Charles Schwab Cup Championship: Third-Round Notebook  PGA TOUR staff • The race for the 2007 Charles Schwab Cup remains up in the air heading into Sunday's final round. It appears to be a three-man race with Loren Roberts, Jay Haas and Brad Bryant still having a chance to claim the top spot. World Golf Hall of Famer Tom Watson was the fourth possibility coming into the week, but he is currently tied for 25th.  Ben Crenshaw had two back-nine eagles on Saturday. (Feldman/WireImage)
• With double points available to the top-10 finishers, here is where the trio of Roberts, Haas and Bryant stand after 54 holes: Loren Roberts/T18/currently has 2,716 points; Jay Haas/T14/currently has 2,551 points; Brad Bryant/T2/currently has 2,019 points. • A victory will earn the champion 884 points and Bryant could win the title with a victory. However, Roberts would probably have to finish solo ninth or lower and Haas would have to finish solo fifth or lower. • This is the first time in his brief Champions Tour career that Denis Watson has held sole possession of the lead heading into the final round. In his two victories earlier this year, Watson came from behind. He came from two strokes behind to win the Senior PGA Championship and then from four strokes back to win the Boeing Classic. In his victory at the Boeing Classic, Watson prevailed in the record seven-man playoff. • Speaking of comebacks, Brad Bryant, who is currently tied for second one stroke behind Denis Watson, owns the two biggest come-from-behind wins this year on the Champions Tour. Bryant came from five strokes behind to win both the Regions Charity Classic and the U.S. Senior Open. • World Golf Hall of Famer Tom Kite posted his 19th consecutive round of par or better following a 1-under-par 71 on Saturday. • In the 17 previous Charles Schwab Cup Championships, a player leading or tied for the lead heading into the final round has won nine times. Since going to 72 holes in 1994, six of 13 players who led or shared the lead after 54 holes have won, including three of the last five winners -- Tom Watson (2002), Jim Thorpe (2003 and 2006). Eleven times in the history of the tournament a player has been in sole possession of the lead going into the final round and has won six times. • Should Jim Thorpe prevail on Sunday, he would extend his Champions Tour streak of at least one victory a year to eight, the best current streak on Tour. • Denis Watson could become the eighth player to win this tournament in his first appearance, joining Mark McNulty (2004), Mike Hill (1990), Raymond Floyd (1992), Gil Morgan (1997), Gary McCord (1999), Tom Watson (2000) and Bob Gilder (2001). • World Golf Hall of Famer Ben Crenshaw had two eagles in his round on Saturday and both came on the back nine. Crenshaw is currently tied for 10th. • Mark McNulty continues to rebound after an opening-round 74. He posted the day's best round on Saturday, a 7-under-par 65 to go with his 6-under-par 66 on Friday and is now tied for fifth. He trails by just four strokes. McNulty's turnaround has been due to his putter. After needing 33 putts in the first round, McNulty has needed just 24 and 23 putts the last two days. • Loren Roberts owns the par-5 holes this week at the Sonoma Golf Club. Roberts is 10-under par on the holes and has made birdies on 10 of the 12 par-5s. He remains 2-over par on both par-3s and par-4s. • The field averaged 69.586 on Saturday compared to 69.034 on Friday. After 54 holes, No. 4 remains the most difficult hole with an average score of 3.207 (+.207). No. 16 is the easiest at 4.356 (-.644). • The trio of 60-year-olds in the field is led by 62-year-old World Golf Hall of Famer Hale Irwin, who is tied for 14th at the moment. Irwin is playing in a record 13th Charles Schwab Cup Championship and has qualified each year since joining the Champions Tour in 1995. Gil Morgan and Dana Quigley, both 60 years old are tied for 20th and tied for 25th, respectively. • Hale Irwin leads all players in Driving Accuracy at 80.95 (34/42), while Jim Thorpe and Bobby Wadkins lead in Greens in Regulation at 83.33 (45/54). • Jay Haas and Loren Roberts will decide 2007 Byron Nelson Award for the Champions Tour's lowest scoring average on Sunday. Roberts, who was last year's winner, trails Haas 69.30 to 69.31. |
