Round 3, The Honda Classic

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Mar. 8, 2009
By PGATOUR.COM staff

The first group will soon tee off in today's third round of The Honda Classic. Here's how it sets up:

Groups We're Watching

Tee time	Players
8:08 am ET No. 1		Ernie Els, Scott Verplank Els and Verplank squeaked into the weekend with two choppy opening rounds. They both need big moves on Moving Day. Track 'em
12:11 pm ET No. 1		Sergio Garcia, Steve Marino Garcia had one bogey Thursday, then four on Friday. He's hitting a lot of greens, and must start converting birdies. Track 'em
2:14 pm ET No. 1		Brett Quigley, Rory McIlroy Northern Ireland's McIlroy tries to build upon his impressive play in his first stroke-play event in the United States. Track 'em

EXPERT PREVIEW: PGA TOUR Network on-site correspondent Bob Stevens previews Saturday's third round:

Does success lead to serenity?: Talk about a wide-open chase for the Honda Classic title! In the final 10 pairings teeing off Saturday are the winners of a total of five "big league" tournaments in the last five years. Two of those four belong to Will MacKenzie -- the Viking Classic in the Fall Series last year and the Reno/Tahoe Open played opposite the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational.

Ben Crane's 2005 U.S. Bank Championship came opposite the British Open. The fourth belongs to John Rollins -- the 2006 Canadian Open -- leaving Rory McIlroy's recent European Tour win in Dubai as maybe the most recent/impressive victory of the final 10 groups. Rory's 19 years old. All of this could mean a fairly nervous locker room Saturday morning.

Saturday's forecast

Mostly Sunny
Temp: 79 high/61 low
It will be mostly sunny, but windy throughout the day. Winds will come out of the east at 10 to 20 mph.

Scramblin' men: Can the guys in the final two groups keep it up this weekend? If they keep scrambling like they have been, it's possible. On a golf course where the penalty for missing the fairways is not enormous, and where the greens are pretty large, the usual "accuracy" stats for Driving Accuracy and Greens in Regulation might not apply as much.

But scrambling? Leader Y.E. Yang has missed 10 greens but has saved par all 10 times. Robert Allenby is 7 for 8 in scrambling, Jeff Overton's 8 for 11 and Will MacKenzie is 8 for 12, all well over their season averages.

Beware the bear: Much is made this week of the "Bear Trap," the famed three-hole stretch (the 15th, 16th and 17th) that begins with a seven-foot carved brown bear at the tee on the 15th and a plaque quoting Jack Nicklaus (the Golden Bear, not the brown one) as saying, "it should be won or lost right here."

So far, it certainly has been a difference-maker. The Bear Trap holes are three of the four toughest so far this week, yet the leaders have played it just fine. Robert Allenby is -1 through the trap, while Yang, MacKenzie and Jeff Overton are all even par. By the way, Jeff Klauk birdied all three holes through the Bear Trap Friday. That's like sneaking a peanut butter sandwich past that bear statue!

The one stat(s) you need to know

Robert Allenby backed up his first-round 4-under 66 with a second-round 68. By doing so, he made his 30th consecutive cut, which places him in a tie for the PGA TOUR lead with Tiger Woods. Allenby is making his ninth start at The Honda Classic, with three top-5 finishes to his credit.

NOTEWORTHY NUGGETS:

• Holding the second-round lead hasn't been a good omen at The Honda Classic. Only once in the past 12 years has the 36-hole leader gone on to win: Jesper Parnevik in 2001. Over the past 21 years, only four second-round leaders have gone on to victory -- Parnevik, Tim Herron (1996), Mark O'Meara (1995) and Steve Pate (1991).

• Ben Crane posted a 5-under 65 in Round 2 on the heels of an even-par 70 Thursday. Playing in his fourth Honda Classic, his second-round 65 in 2009 is his lowest score at the event. Last year, he posted a 4-under 66 in Round 2 en route to a tie for 12th, his best finish.

• The low round of the day belonged to Greg Chalmers, who fired a 6-under 64. The 64 was one stroke shy of his career low round of 63, which came in Round 4 of the 2002 Buick Invitational. His 64 was his best round since shooting a 64 at the 2004 Michelin Championship and tied the course record, previously carded by Luke Donald in Round 1 last year.

• At 2-over 142, Davis Love III kept his perfect streak alive at The Honda Classic, making his 15th consecutive made cut here in as many attempts. Love enjoyed his best finishes at this event in back-to-back seasons, finishing runner-up in 2003 and 2004.

Thus far at PGA National

Round	Leader	Low round (par 70)	Key links
	Robert Allenby (-4)	66: Robert Allenby	Daily Wrap-Up \| Live Report Dolch column \| Notebook
Round	Leader	Low round (par 70)	Key links
	Y.E. Yang (-7)	64: Greg Chalmers	Daily Wrap-Up \| Live Report Dolch column \| Notebook

The Film Room

	PGA TOUR Today Win McMurry updates action from the second round of the 2009 Honda Classic and previews what to watch for in the third round. Watch it
	Shot of the day Sal Spallone, who was a Monday qualifier, holes out for eagle on the 8th hole during the second round of the 2009 Honda Classic. Watch it
	Round 2 highlights Y.E. Yang of South Korea fires a 67 to lead by a shot going into the weekend at the 2009 Honda Classic. Watch it