Shell Houston Open: Third-round notebook

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HUMBLE, Texas -- The third-round began at 3:10 p.m. Saturday off the first and 10th tees. Play was suspended due to darkness at 7:34 p.m. Saturday with 73 players still on the course. The third round resumed at 7:34 a.m. Sunday and was completed at 10:30 a.m. Pairings remained the same and tee times for the final round are 9:30-11:40 a.m. Sunday.

• The six-way tie for the 54-hole lead is the most since the TOUR started keeping this statistic dating back to 1970.

• Seventy-nine players made the 36-hole cut this week. Normally, with more than 78 players making the 36-hole cut, a 54-hole cut would be utilized to reduce the field to 70 players (plus ties). With pairings remaining the same for the third and fourth rounds, a 54-hole cut will not occur.

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J.B. Holmes is 5-for-5 in sand saves this week.

• Bo Van Pelt has held the 54-hole lead/co-lead twice in his career, most recently at the 2009 Mayakoba Golf Classic, where he eventually finished tied for 28th.

• Colt Knost is a rookie on the PGA TOUR after placing sixth on the 2008 Nationwide Tour money list with $329,509. He won twice last year -- the Fort Smith Classic and the Price Cutter Charity Championship.

• The last rookie to win the Shell Houston Open was Mike Heinen (1994), who won in his 11th start on the PGA TOUR.

• The Shell Houston Open is the 17th PGA TOUR start for Knost. Andres Romero won the 2008 Zurich Classic of New Orleans in his 12th PGA TOUR start.

• Knost was part of a five-way tie for the lead after Round 2 of the Shell Houston Open was completed earlier in the day. The nearest Knost had been to the lead prior to the Shell Houston Open was tie for 12th after Round 2 of the 2009 Puerto Rico Open.

• The Presidents Cup captains are in fine form this week before heading to Augusta National for the Masters Tournament. Fred Couples, who won the Masters in 1992, is tied for the lead at 11 under, while Greg Norman is 6 under and tied for 26th. The 54-year-old Australian will play in the Masters next week for the first time since 2002 after qualifying with his tie for third at the 2008 British Open.

• Tommy Armour III (72) played 52 holes before recording his first bogey at the 17th hole of the third round. A quadruple-bogey at the par-4, 18th hole dropped him out of the lead and into a tie for 15th at 8-under par.

• Jason Bohn won $1 million in a 1992 Hole-in-One Shootout while attending the University of Alabama and chose to give up his amateur status. Bohn will continue to receive a $50,000 payment each October 1 until 2012.

• Augusta, Ga. native, Charles Howell III (71) has played seven consecutive Masters Tournaments (2002-08) and needs a win at the Shell Houston Open to make it back to Augusta National. Howell got to 9-under par, just two off the lead at the time, before finishing double-bogey, bogey to fall back to 6 under.

• John Senden (71) leads the TOUR in 2009 in holes without a three-putt. He has yet to record a three-putt this week and has now gone 277 holes without a three-putt. His last three-putt was on the 11th green of the final round at the 2009 Buick Invitational. Senden shot 67 during the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard to finish tied for fourth last week.

• J.B. Holmes' (68) bunker play has been outstanding through 54-holes this week and is 5-for-5 in sand saves. Holmes' sand play has been crucial to his success. During the 2006 FBR Open, which he won, Holmes was 6-for-6 with up and downs from the sand.

• Holmes was one of the TOUR leaders in driving distance last year, ranking third with a 310.9-yard average. So far this season Holmes ranks 32nd with 292.2 yards. At the Shell Houston Open, Holmes leads the driving average with 323.3 yards.

• A total of 49 birdies have been recorded at the 18th hole through three rounds.

• The scoring average for Round 3 was 70.595. The 17th hole ranked the most difficult and the 18th was the second most difficult.