Atwal vaults ahead of Simpson in Chattanooga

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CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- The word Chattanooga means, in the Cherokee language, "to draw fish out of water." Most players at the Chattanooga Classic were like fish out of water Saturday when conditions changed and scores skyrocketed.

At 24-under 192, Arjun Atwal set a new 54-hole scoring record for this event. (Ferrey/Getty Images)

Inside the Numbers

Atwal thru 54 Holes

Category Total Rank Eagles 0 N/A Birdies 25 T1 Pars 28 T53 Bogeys 1 67 Double Bogeys 0 N/A Other 0 N/A Driving Accuracy 78.6% T26 Driving Distance 322.3 yds. T27 Greens in Regulation 96.3% 1 Putts per Round 29.0 T4 Putts per GIR 1.635 3 Sand Saves 75.0% T4

The combination of difficult hole locations, faster greens and winds gusting to 22 mph on a course that yielded 143 rounds below 70 over the first two days, turned the Black Creek Club course into a bear.

Arjun Atwal (66), from Calcutta, India, shot the low score of the day to reach 24-under 192, three strokes ahead of Wake Forest graduate Webb Simpson (70), who's at 21 under. Atwal's 54-hole total is a tournament record and the most strokes under par through three rounds on Tour this year.

Bill Lunde (68), from Las Vegas, Nev., is third at 19 under, while Dallas, Texas, native Hunter Haas (67) lies fourth at 18 under. Matt Weibring (70), whose father, D.A., won on the Champions Tour last week, and Scott Stallings (73), from Knoxville, Tenn., and playing only his second Nationwide Tour event, are tied for fifth at 17 under.

After four birdies in the first six holes, Atwal pulled two shots ahead of Simpson, who made two early bogeys at holes 2 and 3. Simpson drew even again after an eagle at the fourth and three birdies at holes 6, 8 and 10. The two stayed neck and neck until a two-shot swing at the par-3 17th hole.

"Seventeen was a tough hole today," said Atwal, who hit 17 greens in regulation. "Webb tried to hold his shot up in the wind. It caught the trap left. It's dead in there and he didn't get it up and down. I hit mine to 10 feet and made it and that was the turning point."

Atwal closed his round with a tap-in birdie after a brilliant shot from the greenside bunker while Simpson two-putted for par from 50 feet. Simpson made five bogeys on Saturday compared to one bogey in the first 36 holes.

"I made a few nice 20-footers but I missed a ton of putts inside 10 feet," said Simpson, who had 33 putts. "It was disappointing because I scored about as bad as I could for the way I was hitting it. This is one of those courses where you can go out and shoot 7, 8, or 9 under again if it's not windy. That's what I'll try to do."

Lunde's round of seven birdies and three bogeys moved him into third spot but five shots back of Atwal.

"All my bogeys were kind of dumb," said Lunde, who won the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational. "I didn't shoot myself out of it. I still have a chance heading into the final round."

Tom Gillis (71) was making good progress, getting to 19 under and only three strokes adrift through 10 holes. A double bogey at the par-5 14th and two closing bogeys left Gillis at 15 under and tied for ninth, nine strokes behind Atwal.

Current leading money winner Brendon de Jonge (67) will certainly extend his lead over No. 2 Jarrod Lyle, who missed the cut on Friday.

"I've been playing well for a while and I just want to keep playing well," said de Jonge, who birdied four of his last five holes. "With the $1 million purse, there's going to be a lot of volatility so it would be nice to be going into the Tour Championship with a bit of a lead, knowing what a big prize No. 1 is."

A good measure of the difficult conditions Saturday compared to the first two rounds -- not a single player scored a bogey-free round.

Third-Round News & Notes: Spencer Levin (69) aced the 174 yard third hole with an 8-iron, the second hole-in-one of the week. ... Scott Piercy (76), one of three multiple winners this year, began his round with a pair of double bogeys and didn't make his first par until the seventh hole. ... Matt Every (74) moved to 15 under with five birdies in the first six holes. His round also included a triple bogey and two double bogeys. ... Kris Cox (71) holed a wedge from the fairway for an eagle at the par-4 ninth, his final hole. ... Ten eagles were scored in the third round, compared to 63 in the first 36 holes. ... Blake Adams (71) shot 31 on the front nine, the best nine-hole score of the day. On Friday there were 13 scores of 31 or better. ... The second round scoring average was 71.507, almost two strokes higher than the first two rounds. ... Hole No. 12 surrendered only five birdies and was the most difficult hole of the day averaging 4.448. ... Tee times for Sunday will begin at 8:04 a.m. off the first tee in twosomes with the leaders starting at 1:10 p.m.