The Live Report, Round 3: The Honda Classic

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Y.E. Yang shot an even-par 70 Saturday to grab a one-stroke lead with one round to play at The Honda Classic.

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YANG OWNS LEAD (6:05 p.m.): Y.E. Yang will take a one-stroke lead to the final round after tapping in for par on the final hole a few minutes ago. Yang had a 12-footer for birdie from just off the green but just missed it.

On a day in which few low numbers were being shot, Yang made almost no mistakes with just one bogey and one birdie. He'll play in the final group with Jeff Klauk, while Jeff Overton, also just one shot back, will play with Charlie Wi, who is two back. -- Brian Wacker

MORE ON YANG (5:35 p.m.): The third round is winding down and for the moment Y.E. Yang is holding a slim one-stroke lead over Jeff Klauk.

Both players are seeking their first career wins on the PGA TOUR, but both have taken far different paths to get here.

Yang

Yang, who is best known for winning the 2006 HSBC Champions Tournament by two strokes over Tiger Woods, does have other successes he can draw upon. Outside the U.S., he had three top 25s on the European Tour in 2007 and four career wins on the Japan Golf Tour.

Here in the U.S., Yang posted a T9 at the 2008 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am for his best career finish on TOUR. He also grinded out five rounds in the 60s at La Quinta to finish T18 at q-school last year.

Klauk, on the other hand, is the son of former TPC Sawgrass superintendent Fred Klauk and is golf's version of Crash Davis, the fictional charcter from Bull Durham who spent most of his career in baseball's minor leagues.

Klauk

Klauk was a member of the Nationwide Tour from 2002-2008 and became that tour's first player to top the $1 million mark in career earnings -- a somewhat dubious honor. But like Yang, he's played some good golf under pressure, winning the 2008 Melwood Prince George's County Open with a 12-foot birdie on the final hole.

Sunday, both players will have a chance to win again, albeit for the first time on TOUR. -- Brian Wacker

ALLENBY'S WOES (5:20 p.m.): No one has been able to break away from the pack today, but Robert Allenby has certainly had his chances. After starting the day just one stroke off the lead, Allenby, who has the most top 10s on TOUR since 2002 without a win, has left several shots on the course thanks to a balky putter.

The Aussie missed putts from inside 15 feet on Nos. 3, 6, 8 and 10 and just posted back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 13 and 14 after missing short putts on each of those holes as well. Allenby is now 3 over through 15 holes today and four off the lead.

The fact that Allenby is struggling so mightily with the putter is a bit surprising considering he was 24th in putting average on TOUR last year -- not to mention ninth in scoring average. One very telling statistic from this year, however, points to perhaps a good reason why Allenby is still looking for his first win on TOUR since 2001: He ranks 178th on TOUR on putts from inside 5 feet. -- Brian Wacker

TIGHT LEADERBOARD (4:40 p.m.): A few low numbers have been posted today, but for the most part few players seem to be able to crack 2 or 3 under. Only two players in the top 10 have so far with Charlie Wi and Mark Calcavecchia each shooting 5-under 65s. As a result, 15 players are within four strokes of the lead, currently held by Jeff Klauk, Y.E. Yang and Will MacKenzie. -- Brian Wacker

QUIGLEY QUIETLY MOVING UP (4:15 p.m.): Brett Quigley could be looking at his best finish in more than a year. He's 3 under on the day -- though is currently in the middle of the Bear Trap -- and has moved from T13 to T3.

Quigley's best finish of 2008 was a T6 at THE PLAYERS Championship, where he was one of only six players to break par in the final round with a 1-under 71. He had just one other top 10 last year -- a T10 at the Memorial Tournament presented by Morgan Stanley.

Whatever happens, Quigley is in a much better position than he was coming into last year. After a career year in 2006, Quigley was limited to just 26 starts in '07 after undergoing right knee surgery the previous September. Because of that, Quigley played last season on a Major Medical Extension and earned the money he needed with a T12 at ... The Honda Classic. -- Brian Wacker

TOUGH DAY FOR COMPTON (3:55 p.m.): After opening with a pair of 69s, things haven't gone nearly as well for Erik Compton today. He's bogeyed 5 of his 13 holes today, including three in a row at one point, with just one birdie on the afternoon.

The two-time heart transplant recipient has hit a lot of fairways and greens today, but he hasn't been able to get any putts to fall -- he's already taken 23 putts through 13 holes after averaging 28.5 the first two days. -- Brian Wacker

LEAD SHORT-LIVED (3:35 p.m.): So much for Ben Crane's lead. His hole-in-one for eagle and his birdie on the next hole were just erased by a double bogey on the par-4 ninth hole.

After reaching the green in 3, Crane three-putted from 47 feet to drop two strokes and fall two back of new leader Will MacKenzie, who is at 7 under.

Should MacKenzie go on to win, this would be his second straight year in a row with a victory. MacKenzie won last season's Viking Classic. -- Brian Wacker

CRANE CRANKING IT UP (3:25 p.m.): Since opening with a bogey on the first hole, Ben Crane has turned his day around and surged to the top of the leaderboard, thanks to a hole-in-one on the par-3 fifth and a birdie on No. 6.

Crane's hole-in-one was about as perfect as they come with the ball taking two small bounces and rolling into the cup as if it were a putt. On No. 6, he didn't need the putter either, chipping in from just off the green. -- Brian Wacker

SLOW MOVING (3:20 p.m.): Saturday is known as moving day on the PGA TOUR, but so far today there hasn't been much movement among the top 10. Of the players currently in the top 10, only one -- Brett Quigley -- began the day outside the top 10. And Quigley wasn't that far outside the top 10 at 13th.

Some other players have made big moves, however. Mark Calcavecchia and Charlie Wi moved up to T11 after beginning the day T36 and T27, respectively. -- Brian Wacker

CALC IN THE HUNT (2:49 p.m.): Mark Calcavecchia, who has won this tournament twice, is playing well again and about to put the finishing touches on his third round. He's 5 under through 17 holes today with six birdies, one bogey and just 22 putts.

That's quite a turnaround from his opening round when he bogeyed four of his final six holes en route to a 74. If he keeps it up, Calcavecchia will be looking at his third-straight top 10 after missing the cut in his first two events this season.

With the TOUR having moved east, expect Calcavecchia to continue to play well. Not only has he won this event twice, but he was also a winner at the 2007 PODS Championship. -- Brian Wacker

Here's a look at Calcavecchia's scorecard from today:

CHANGE AT THE TOP (2:35 p.m.): Y.E. Yang just bogeyed the par-5 third hole and as a result has fallen out of solo possession of the lead. There's now a logjam atop the leaderboard with four players tied at 6 under and another five players one stroke back. -- Brian Wacker

WI EN FUEGO (2:15 p.m.): Charlie Wi has the day's best round going at 5 under through his first 12 holes. As a result, Wi is just two strokes back of the lead and has moved from T27 to T5.

Wi began his day by birdieing two of the first three holes -- Nos. 1 and 3, which rank among the easiest holes on the course -- and has since added four straight birdies on Nos. 9 through 12. On the par-4 ninth, Wi rolled in a 50-footer for birdie before sinking another long putt, this time from 23 feet, on No. 11.

Follow his round live with Shot Tracker, by clicking here. -- Brian Wacker

Here's a look at Wi's scorecard so far:

MACKENZIE STAYING CLOSE (1:50 p.m.): Last year, PGA National ranked third-toughest on the PGA TOUR in lowest birdie percentage on approach shots from the fairway at 16 percent -- virtually the same percentage as this year's tournament so far.

That said, one reason Will MacKenzie finds himself just one shot off the lead as he tees off for the third round is he's made the highest percentage of birdies from the fairway this week. Through two rounds, MacKenzie converted 9 birdies in 26 attempts, or 35 percent. The field has only been able to convert for birdie 16 percent of the time. -- Brian Wacker

ALLENBY AT PGA NATIONAL (1:35 p.m.): It's hard to believe that Robert Allenby hasn't won a PGA TOUR event since 2001. He's one of the best players in the world and his name always seems to be somewhere on the leaderboard. Actually, Allenby has the most top 10s on TOUR since 2002 without a win. He's only one stroke back and will tee off about 10 minutes ahead of today's final group, so obviously he'll be worth watching. Two other important facts about Allenby: He's finished in the top 10 in two previous appearances in this event at this course and 9 of his last 10 rounds at PGA National have been under par.

By making the cut, Allenby also moved into a tie with Tiger Woods for the most consecutive cuts made on TOUR at 30. -- Brian Wacker

INSIDE THE NUMBERS (1:25 p.m.): This is the first time in Y.E. Yang's 46-event PGA TOUR career that he's led after any round, much less through 36 holes. His previous best position through two rounds was 11th at the 2005 PGA Championship, where he eventually finished T47.

Looking closely at some numbers from Yang this week, it's easy to see why he's leading. Coming into this event, Yang ranged 186th on TOUR in proximity to the hole with an average of over 42 feet from the pin. This week, his approach shots have been, on average, 14 feet closer. That's fourth-best in the field. Yang is also 10 for 10 when scrambling from around the green, leaving himself an average putt of 4 feet, 11 inches. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Yang ranked 168th on TOUR when putting from inside 10 feet. Through two rounds this week, he's missed just one putt from inside 10 feet and has converted 6 of 10 putts from 10-15 feet.

Yang will tee off in about 20 minutes with Will MacKenzie, who is one stroke back. -- Brian Wacker

SECONDARY CUT COMING (1:00 p.m.): Because more than 78 players made the cut -- 79 to be exact -- there will be a secondary cut here to get to the low 70 and ties. Among those likely headed home as a result: Steve Lowery, Gary Woodland and Johnson Wagner, all of whom are 5 over today as the third round continues.

Among those who were already sent packing yesterday: Stuart Appleby, J.B. Holmes, Camilo Villegas and Webb Simpson, who seems to have cooled quite a bit after getting his rookie season off to a fast start. -- Brian Wacker

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

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