Third round: MacKenzie's mistake puts Turnesa on top

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Marc Turnesa held the lead after 36 holes and will again take an advantage into the final round.

MADISON, Miss. (AP) -- Will MacKenzie simply "spaced out" on the last hole.

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Photos: Saturday's pics
Round 3 Standings
Sunday's tee times
Inside the course
See Turnesa's card
Third-round highlights
Video: Shot of the Day

Penalized two strokes for moving impediments in a hazard, MacKenzie lost three shots on No. 18 to give the Viking Classic lead back to Mark Turnesa.

MacKenzie's 8 Saturday on the par-5 18th left him tied for second with Brian Gay, two strokes behind Turnesa on the Annandale course.

"I made a huge mistake," MacKenzie said. "A very costly mistake."

Turnesa, a PGA TOUR rookie who also topped the second-round leaderboard, shot a 6-under 66 for a 17-under 199 total. MacKenzie and Gay had 67s.

MacKenzie, who has one TOUR victory, the Reno-Tahoe Open in 2006, opened with birdies on the first two holes and made the turn at 32. His only stumble before 18 was a bogey on the fourth hole.

MacKenzie said he "spaced out" after a day of being able to lift, clean and place his ball because of wet conditions. There were a a few blades of grass near his ball, not anything that would be a problem, he said.

"There was a little clump of grass, like trimmings," MacKenzie said. "It wasn't enough to hurt my shot. I'm just anal about picking up around my ball for some reason."

MacKenzie said he brushed the grass away with his hand, then he realized what he had done and told an official, who assessed the penalty.

To read the remainder of this story, click here.

TRIVIA QUESTION

Rory Sabbatini has had a rough 2008 on TOUR, but he seems to be feeling good about his game this week at the Viking classic where he is lurking around the right end of the leaderboard and, with continued strong play, could get himself a top-10 finish. How many top-10 finishes has the South African collected so far this season? See answer at the bottom of the page

Saturday's Best

EASIEST HOLE TOUGHEST HOLE The par-5, 522-yard fifth was the easiest with a Saturday scoring average of 4.513. EAGLES: 2 BIRDIES: 41 PARS: 28 BOGEYS: 7 OTHERS: 0 The par-4, 409-yard 17th was the toughest with a Saturday scoring average of 4.167. EAGLES: 0 BIRDIES: 11 PARS: 47 BOGEYS: 16 OTHERS: 4

Round of the Day

Rich Beem's 7-under 65 moved him to 12-under par for the tournament and propelled him from a tie for 33rd into a tie for sixth. Beem's card was pretty average until the fifth hole, when he eagled No. 5 to kick off a string of one eagle, six birdies and one bogey. MORE: Check out his scorecard

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Golf is a game you've got to tell the truth or it will come back and kill you. I called the rules officials over and said, 'I think I touched inside the hazard, what's going to happen?" --Will MacKenzie, on the triple-bogey inducing mistake that cost him the 54-hole lead

HE'S BACK

Dustin Johnson probably expected to be in Marc Turnesa's shoes at this point in the year. Both Turnesa and Johnson are rookies on the PGA TOUR this season, but Johnson didn't play like it at the start of 2008.

He tied for 10th in his first event then followed that up with a tie for 12th at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic. Two events later, at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, he tied for seventh and seemed destined to become the first rookie winner of the year.

But he never quite captured that early glory over the next few months. He missed seven cuts in his next 10 events and hasn't found the top-10 since. In his past three starts, Johnson has withdrawn twice and missed a cut.

This week, however, he's off to a fresh start in the Fall Series and tied for 18th through 54 holes. Thanks to a 6-under 66 on Saturday, he advanced from a tie for 50th into the top 20.

Why else is Johnson a rookie to watch? He's currently occupying a very important spot on the PGA TOUR Money List -- No. 125. There are several guys in the field who are hoping to knock him off that coveted perch but Johnson wants to move safely inside that number to keep his PGA TOUR card.

HE'S BACK, PART II

David Duval has finally put together three straight rounds in the 60s again. For just the third time since the 2003 season, he's performed that feat and finds himself in a tie for 15th after three rounds.

Can Duval, who was once the top golfer in the world, earn a top-10 again? He hasn't done that since the 2002 Invensys Classic at Las Vegas, so we don't want to jinx him, but he's finally showing us a glimpse of the Duval of old. Duval is tied for fourth in Driving Distance this week and, at No. 230 on the 2008 PGA TOUR Money List, would like at least a fourth or better to improve his position dramatically.

SCRAMBLING IS KEY
Compiled by Elias Sports Bureau, Inc.

Will MacKenzie stands just two shots back heading into the final round of the Viking Classic on Sunday. MacKenzie has been able to stay in contention this week thanks in large part to his scrambling ability. MacKenzie has scrambled successfully on 14 of the 16 greens he's missed in-regulation.

The 87.5 percent rate is a PGA TOUR best for MacKenzie (min. 10 greens missed) after 54 holes of play. MacKenzie's previous best was an 11 for 13 effort (84.6 percent) at the 2005 U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee.

THINGS TO WATCH ON SUNDAY

1. Willy Mac. Will MacKenzie's triple bogey on the 18th hole on Saturday cost him the 54-hole lead. Will the laidback golfer be able to put that behind him and catch Marc Turnesa?

2. Turnesa's turn? The rookie will join fellow rookies Andres Romero and Chez Reavie in the winner's circle if he hangs on for the win.

3. Two-tour star. Casey Wittenberg has secured his spot on the PGA TOUR next season by way of the Nationwide Tour, but right now he's in fifth at the Viking Classic. If he wins, he might secure that card through the PGA TOUR as well.

TRIVIA ANSWER

Back in January, it looked like 2008 was going to be Sabbatini's year after starting the season in solo 17th at the Mercedes-Benz Championship, which he followed up with a solo second at the Sony Open and a tie for third at the Buick Invitational. But those two finishes were the last two top 10s Sabbatini would see for the remainder of the 2008 season.