Mercedes-Benz Championship: Third-Round Notebook

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Mike Weir leads by one after just missing three back-nine birdie chances. (Ferrey/WireImage)

Inside the Numbers

Weir's 54-hole leads

Event Finish 2006 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am T3 2004 Bell Canadian Open 2nd 2004 Nissan Open Won 2002 Honda Classic T11 2001 Genuity Championship 2nd 1999 Michelob Championship 3rd 1999 PGA Championship T10 1999 BellSouth Classic T5

KAPALUA, Hawaii -- Second-round leader Mike Weir fired a round of 68 on Saturday in the PGA TOUR's Mercedes-Benz Championship and now takes a one-shot lead over Nick Watney into Sunday's final round

The good news for Weir is that four of the last five 54-hole leaders at the Mercedes-Benz Championship have gone on to win the next day. The bad news for Weir: Phil Mickelson is the only left-handed player in the tournament's illustrious history to have claimed the title.

Since Weir's impressive singles win over Tiger Woods at last year's Presidents Cup, he has carded 11 consecutive rounds under par in a stretch that included a tie for 10th at the Frys.com Open and a win at the Fry's Electronics Open.

If Nick Watney's putter heats up on Sunday, he could be tough to beat. The 2007 Zurich Classic of New Orleans champion is leading the field in Greens in Regulation (92.6 percent) and is tied for fifth in Driving Accuracy (86.7 percent).

2001 Mercedes-Benz Championship winner Jim Furyk carded the round of the day with a 66. Furyk, who owns a house at Kapalua, has seven top-10 finishes in 10 appearances in the Mercedes-Benz Championship.

Through 31 holes this week, 2007 Comeback Player of the Year Steve Stricker found himself at even par for the tournament before going on a 23-hole tear in which he carded 10 birdies against a lone bogey to vault up the leaderboard.

For the third day in a row, a par 3 played as the most difficult hole at Kapalua's Plantation Course. The par-3 eighth claimed its second honor of the week with a third-round average of 3.065.

Boo Weekley, K.J. Choi, and Paul Goydos each entered the third round tied for 29th position. The threesome carded rounds of 68, 69, and 67, respectively, but were only able to improve their position by a few spots. In fact, Choi actually lost ground with his round of 69 by falling back into 30th.

Thirty of the 31 players in the field managed to card rounds of par or better in perfect conditions on Saturday at Kapalua. Joe Ogilvie (74) was the only player in the field to post a round over par.

Rory Sabbatini and Vijay Singh were the only players in the field to hit 18 of 18 Greens in Regulation on Saturday.

The Plantation Course at Kapalua has always seemed to favor the longer hitters and this week is no different. Through three rounds, four players in the top five in Driving Distance are also in the top 10 on the leaderboard: Nick Watney, Daniel Chopra, Vijay Singh, and Angel Cabrera.