Round 3, THE PLAYERS Championship

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May. 8, 2009
By PGATOUR.COM staff

The first groups are ready to tee off in today's third round of THE PLAYERS Championship. Here's how it sets up:

Groups We're Watching

Tee time	Players
9:15 am ET No. 1		Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson Johnson is leading the field in Driving Distance, while Mickelson is, well, Mickelson. They should put on a great show from tee to green. Track 'em
11:35 am ET No. 1		Steve Stricker, Geoff Ogilvy Stricker leads the field in hitting greens, but his putting has been pedestrian. If he can start making a few on Saturday, he could be in the mix on Sunday. Track 'em
2:35 pm ET No. 1		Alex Cejka, Ian Poulter Poulter always says he wants to be a big-time player. It'll be fun to see how he handles the pressure of the final group, even if it's on a Saturday. Track 'em

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

There are a lot of non-winners at the top and near the top of the leaderboard headed into the third round. They are very accomplished players with wins around the world, but the importance of this event will become evident as we progress through the third round. Not surprisingly, Friday's better rounds were shot in the morning as conditions and green speeds became more difficult in the afternoon. Look for similar numbers on Saturday.

Saturday's forecast

Mostly Sunny
Temp: 91 high/72 low
Saturday should be a gorgeous day, but very warm and humid. The winds should waft in from the southwest at 9 or 10 mph.

With a large cut (83 players made the weekend), there will be another cut Saturday evening to the low 70 and ties. Look for some players to make moves from back in the pack. As is normally the case, players don't run away with this tournament, so be prepared for a logjam atop the board as we get to the final round.

Experience will help, but patience will be the important factor as players position themselves for Sunday. You'll get some bad bounces, but you must accept them and avoid big numbers, as they lurk throughout the PLAYERS Stadium Course.

One player to keep an eye on Saturday is Robert Allenby. To me, Robert has the perfect golf game for this course. In the first round, he was 3 under through three holes and then made six consecutive bogeys. He fought back to a 1-over 73, then followed that up with a 66 in Round 2. He tied for fourth here back in 2003 and has not had a win in some time, but those at the top need to look over their shoulders as I expect him to rise up the leaderboard.

I followed Tiger on Friday, and to say the least, it was up and down for him, but he pulled it together on the back nine and finished with a 69, and a 4-under total headed into the weekend. This is Tiger's best performance through 36 holes at the PLAYERS in his 12 appearances here. He struggled with some bad breaks, but took his medicine and looms behind the leaders, poised for an opportunity to post a good round on Saturday.

Friday was a tough day, with high temperatures and lots of humidity. Similar conditions are expected for the third round, which could play an important part in determining who heads into Sunday with the lead.

If you're headed out to watch Saturday, dress sensibly, wear sunscreen and try to keep the partying to a minimum. You'll thank me later for that advice.

Stat of the day

Scott Verplank had gone 177 consecutive holes without a three-putt until he reached the 14th green on Friday and three-putted from 33 feet, 5 inches. Steve Stricker had gone 167 holes without a three-putt, but three-putted his first hole of the day (No. 10).

NOTEWORTHY NUGGETS
• The cut fell at even-par 144 and included 83 players, marking the 10th time in tournament history that the cut has been even par or lower. The total of 83 players is the third-most ever to make the cut here. A total of 85 players made the cut (even-par 144) in 1985, while 84 players (1-under 143) made the cut in 2005 and 83 players (2-under 146) made the cut in 2004.

• Halfway leader Alex Cejka has held an outright lead only once before in his career, after the first round of the 2009 Verizon Heritage. He has shared a lead four other times, after three rounds at the 2001 British Open, after two rounds at the 2004 Michelin Championship, after the first round at the 2006 FBR Open, and after the first round of the 2006 Valero Texas Open.

• Only three players have won THE PLAYERS and a major championship in the same year and only one player has won both the Masters and THE PLAYERS in the same season. Tiger Woods also won the 2001 Masters, Hal Sutton also won the 1983 PGA Championship and Jack Nicklaus also won the 1978 British Open.

• Since THE PLAYERS began in 1974, Angel Cabrera is just the fourth sitting Masters champion to be in the top five on the leaderboard after 36 holes. Cabrera joins Vijay Singh (2001, third), Seve Ballesteros (1984, third) and Raymond Floyd (1977, third). Cabrera leads the field with 14 birdies through two rounds.

Thus far at TPC Sawgrass

Round	Leader	Low round (par 72)	Key links
	Ben Crane (-7)	65: Ben Curtis	Daily Wrap-Up \| Live Report Helen Ross column \| Notebook
	Alex Cejka (-11)	65: Angel Cabrera, Daniel Chopra	Daily Wrap-Up \| Live Report Helen Ross column \| Notebook

The Film Room

	PGA TOUR Today Win McMurry updates action from the second round of the 2009 PLAYERS Championship and previews what to watch for in the third round. Watch it
	Shot of the day Daniel Chopra holes out for eagle from 100 yards away during Friday's second round of the 2009 PLAYERS Championship. Watch it
	Second-round highlights Thanks to a second-round 67, Alex Cejka leads by two strokes after Round 2 of the 2009 PLAYERS Championship. Watch it