JT Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, Round 3
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By PGATOUR.COM Staff
THIRD ROUND COMPLETE (7 p.m.): Chad Campbell's day ended as it began -- in a tie for the lead. Only this time it's with Scott Piercy, who shot a 65 to get to 17 under before Campbell closed with a birdie to pull even. They're hardly alone, though, with 13 players within three shots of the lead and given the number of birdies that are possible at TPC Summerlin, all of those 13 are certainly in contention on what should be a total shootout on Sunday. -- Brian Wacker
FROM THE INTERVIEW ROOM (6 p.m.): Charley Hoffman had his best round of the week today, shooting a 7-under 64 that got him into contention as the third round starts to wind down. There are still plenty of names ahead of Hoffman on the leaderboard, but given the number of birdies that can be made out here, he knows he's not out of it with one round to play. Now on to some snippets from Hoffman's interview with the media today ...
Q. How comfortable are you to being if you are three or four shots back and somebody makes a run? Do you still feel you can close the gap tomorrow?
CHARLEY HOFFMAN: There is no question. It's hard for anybody to play for the lead with the lead, so it's hard to make birdies when you are in the lead. So when you are behind, and get off to a good start, you also have holes in the middle, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, you can play those 6-under par if you play them halfway decent. I don't think this tournament is over until it's over. 17 and 18 you can make bogeys. A few years back I was in contention. I bogeyed 16 in the water. I fell out of contention. You can make bogeys, but also you can make eagles and birdies. I think it's a great golf course and a great finish. Someone can go out and shoot 61 early and no one might ever catch them.
Q. We don't see that too often. Is it hard to run away from the field?
HOFFMAN: That's because everybody is making birdies.
Q. You have had an up-and-down year. You have had some good moments and you struggled a bit July and August, and you came on again a little bit. Can you just talk about the year in general for you?
HOFFMAN: I started off the year real consistent. I don't know what the cut streak came up to, it was a number probably high 20s. I didn't miss a cut for over a full year. I missed the British Open cut by a shot. And then I went to the PGA and struggled. Missed that by two shots. I felt short. The Majors, I wasn't hitting as many fairways, as I had in the beginning of the year. The Majors you start missing fairways, you get penalized. The last few weeks the putter hadn't been working as well as I liked. It was nice to be back home with Coach Knight helping me out with my putting, and another buddy of mine John Mallinger, he played well yesterday. He has been helping me out with a few things that I was doing that I wasn't aware I was doing. I ironed it out and the putts started going in the hole.
Q. You are getting that rhythm back?
HOFFMAN: Yes, I consider myself a fairly good putter. It doesn't matter where you are on the PGA TOUR, if you don't putt good, you will not play good especially on a week like this week where close to 20-under par will win the golf tournament.
MCNEILL MATCHES CAREER LOW (5:15 p.m.): Let's reiterate how much George McNeill likes TPC Summerlin. His best career round prior to today? A 63 ... at TPC Summerlin in the second round of last year's Frys.com Open. His score today? Another 63 that's also good for the low score of the day, for now anyway, and enough to make him the clubhouse leader. -- Brian Wacker
Below is a look at McNeill's scorecard from today (click here to replay his round with Shot Tracker):
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MORE MCNEILL MAGIC (4:42 p.m.): The last (and only) time George McNeill won on the PGA TOUR? Easy, here at TPC Summerlin, where, in 2007, he won the then Frys.com Open. Given how McNeill is playing today -- he's atop the leaderboard as he finishes up his round -- he obviously likes this place, especially considering he missed the cut in his last four events. On the day, McNeill has hit 76 percent of his greens in regulation, and he's taken just 22 putts, on his way to eight birdies and no bogeys. There's still a lot of golf to be played, obviously, but a strong performance here by the 2006 q-school graduate would save McNeill a trip back there this year since he's 115th on the money list entering this week. -- Brian Wacker
BUBBLE WATCH (3:55 p.m.): With only three more events after this week's tournament at TPC Summerlin, time is running short for those trying to play their way into the top 125 on the money list.
Three of those players, however, are faring well this week and making a push this afternoon. Kirk Triplett, who is playing on a Major Medical Extension this year and ranked 200th on the money list, is 4 under through 14 holes today and is only two shots back. Tom Pernice Jr., who led after an opening-round 62 and came in 161st on the money list, is hanging in as well, playing his first nine holes today in 1 under to stay within two. Meanwhile, Martin Laird, 134th on the money list coming in, is even through his first eight holes and also two back. -- Brian Wacker
CHANGE AT THE TOP (3:30 p.m.): There are three players tied atop the leaderboard at TPC Summerlin, but of Chad Campbell, Ryan Moore and Jeff Klauk, the latter has to be the biggest surprise. Klauk has just two top-10s on the PGA TOUR this season and isn't exactly known as a guy who pours in one birdie after another.
The story of Klauk is well-documented: He's the son of Fred Klauk, the former superintendent of TPC Sawgrass, where young Jeff grew up playing. Here's why seeing his name tied at the top isn't a surprise, however: Klauk has just one bogey all week. Not even Campbell or Moore can boast that -- though Campbell just added another birdie to get to 14 under and a one-shot lead. Stay tuned, there's going to be a lot of movement on the leaderboard today. -- Brian Wacker
LEAD SLIPS AWAY (3 p.m.): Troy Matteson, who began the day in a tie for the lead with Chad Campbell, has since dropped two shots off the lead thanks to an early bogey and a Campbell birdie. Still, you have to like Matteson's chances of finishing strong on the weekend in Las Vegas. In addition to his history of playing well late in the year as mentioned earlier, he also doesn't disappear when holding at least a share of the 36-hole lead. In fact, Matteson won here in 2006 when he held the lead at the halfway mark. See below for more. -- Brian Wacker
| Troy Matteson - Career Low 36 Hole Total on TOUR | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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D.J. DIALED IN (2 p.m.): It seems every day at TPC Summerlin that someone gets hot early. Today that someone is D.J. Trahan, who is 5 under through his first eight holes.
Starting on the back nine, Trahan birdied Nos. 13 and 14 before driving the par-4 15th, where he rolled in a 21-foot putt for eagle. One hole and one birdie later and Trahan is within two shots of the lead. That eagle, by the way, is the third of the week for Trahan, though the other two came on par-5s.
This is also the best performance Trahan, who won the Bob Hope Classic in 2008, has had in a while -- at one point this season he missed nine of 11 cuts. Click here to follow his round live with Shot Tracker. -- Brian Wacker
MATTESON'S MAGIC (1:40 p.m.): Fact: Eight of Troy Matteson's 13 career top-10s since 2007 have come during his last five starts of the year. Better late than never, but that's an amazing statistic, though maybe we also shouldn't be surprised that Matteson is tied for the lead as he gets set to tee of in Las Vegas shortly.
One of the reasons Matteson, whose 13-under 129 total is a career-low for 36 holes, is in this position is because, like co-leader Chad Campbell, he's putted extremely well, converting a field-best nine putts from outside 10 feet. He's also made an average of just over 128 feet in total putts per round, which ranks third in the field. Oh yeah, and Matteson leads the field in total driving, ball-striking and total putting, too. -- Brian Wacker
ANOTHER LEFTY MAKING MOST OF OPPORTUNITY (1:20 p.m.): Before Phil Mickelson, left-handers who won on the PGA TOUR were rare birds. In 1986, a little-known pro named Ernie Gonzalez broke through, though, with a victory in the Pensacola Open.
The victory didn't lead to stardom -- Gonzalez bounced around the PGA TOUR the next few years -- but the win gave him past champion's status and he's able to crack a field every few years. Fast forward to this week and he was able to snag a spot in the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open for his first start in three years. And he definitely has made the most of it.
Gonzalez, who lives in Las Vegas, opened with a 75 that included no birdies on the wide-open course at TPC Summerlin, but he caught fire late in Round 2, playing the last four holes in 6 under for a 63 to make the cut by a stroke. Gonzalez now will have a chance to pursue a paycheck when he tees off shortly. -- Ryan Smithson
CAMPBELL'S BEEN GOOD ON THE GREENS (1 p.m.): Each of the last two years, Chad Campbell has ranked in the top 15 on the PGA TOUR in greens in regulation and this week is no different with Campbell having hit 86 percent of his greens on his way to a share of the halfway lead.
While Campbell won't tee off until the day's final group in just under an hour from now, it should be noted that he's also putted extremely well this week, ranking eighth in the field in putts per round and fifth on putts from inside 10 feet -- both stats he ranks 115th or worse in on TOUR this year.
Campbell has also made five putts outside of 20 feet this week, which is just another reason why he was able to shoot rounds of 67 and 62. Now let's see what he does this afternoon. -- Brian Wacker
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