The Daily Wrap-up: Round 3, Travelers Championship
CROMWELL, Conn. (AP) -- Paul Goydos birdied five holes on the back nine and held a one-stroke lead over Kenny Perry after the third round of the Travelers Championship on Saturday.
Goydos' 28-foot putt from off the green on the 16th highlighted a third-round 63, tying Hunter Mahan for the best round of the day.
"I had a circus putt on 16," Goydos said. "Again, it was turning lemons into lemonade. Those are the things that are the difference between maybe shooting 68 today and 63."
Perry, who led after each of the first two rounds, had a seemingly comfortable three-stroke lead after birdies on 11 and 12. But he dropped a stroke on the 14th, and Goydos took advantage, making four consecutive birdies starting on the par-5 13th.
After a rain delay of just over an hour, both golfers parred in. Perry missed a 5-foot birdie try on No. 18 that would have given him a share of the lead minutes after Goydos misread the break on a 10-footer.
"When it gets dark, I don't see very good, I never have, and I complain every time," Perry said. "I can't see the lines when it gets dark, and that's just the way it was."
David Toms shot a 66 and was in third place at 14 under. Toms didn't make his first bogey of the tournament until Saturday on the par-4 10th, when he missed a 5-foot par putt. It was his only bogey of the round and broke a streak of 45 straight holes at par or better.
John Merrick held the lead several times during the round after making birdie on five of his first seven holes. But a double-bogey on No. 12 led to a three-stroke swing and put Perry back on top. Merrick finished with a 65 and was tied with Casey Wittenberg, three strokes behind the leaders at 13 under.
Wittenberg chipped in from 51 feet on the 16th hole and made five birdies on the back nine.
"I got in a groove there," he said.
Bo Van Pelt's 23-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th capped a round of 64 that left him at 12 under for the tournament and in a three-way tie for sixth with Tag Ridings and Ben Curtis.
"I've got to hit some fairways Sunday to go low enough to scare anybody," Van Pelt said. "There are going to be some low scores Sunday. You better have your ears pinned back and go get some birdies."
Mahan, who always seems to play well in Cromwell, shot a 63 to move into contention. Mahan got his only TOUR win here in 2007 and tied for second in 2006 and 2008. On Saturday, he birdied five consecutive holes to get to 11 under.
"I wish I could find more courses that suit me like this one," Mahan said. "I just like it. It suits my eye. It's a fun course. You can make a lot of birdies, and I just have a lot of confidence when I play here."
U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover was seven strokes behind after his second 65 in three days.
The golfers had to finish the second round early Saturday, before starting Round 3.
Jason Bohn made the most of it, knocking in a 127-yard approach on his final hole of the round for an eagle that moved him to 3 under and allowed him to make the cut. He shot 67 in the third round and was 6 under going into Sunday.
| Saturday's Best |
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The par-4 15th hole was the easiest with a Saturday scoring average of 3.600.
The par-4 fourth hole was the toughest with a Saturday scoring average of 4.325.
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Jarrod Lyle chipped in from 44 feet away for eagle on the par-4 15th hole during Round 3 of the 2009 Travelers Championship. 
Paul Goydos had just one bogey in a solid day of 7-under 63 -- a round that earned him a one-shot lead. INSIDE THE ROPES WITH THE PGA TOUR NETWORK
PGA TOUR Network correspondent Fred Albers offers these observations from Saturday's action. Listen to PGA TOUR Live coverage on XM 146/SIRIUS 209 or right here at PGATOUR.COM.
When the horn blew suspending play in the third round of the Travelers Championship, Kenny Perry was looking at a birdie putt on the 16th green to tie for the lead. He did not mind the siren but wanted to replace his mark. Perry uses a sentimental coin to mark his ball and did not want to leave it on the green. A rules official said it was perfectly fine to change marks, and Perry left the green with the lucky coin in his pocket.
Ryan Moore continues to set the style on the PGA TOUR. For Saturday's third round, Moore wore a golf shirt and sweater vest but then loosely wore a silver tie around his neck. He first broke out the necktie on the West Coast and has revived the look this weekend.
TPC Highlands has a long history that includes a gravel quarry. The grounds originally contained the quarry, and that's one reason why the course drains so well, which is good news this week when there have been two delays in the first three rounds.
The course drains well, but the heavily wooded grounds attract lightning. PGA TOUR officials have done a wonderful job getting players and spectators off the course, but nothing could save a tree on the ninth fairway. A lightning strike split the trunk on Friday afternoon taking the life of a squirrel as well.
| This week's Kodak Challenge hole | |
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| This week at the Kodak Challenge hole | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Round-by-round statistics on the par-5 15th at TPC River Highlands | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Live Essentials | ||||
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