THE TOUR Championship, Round 3
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By PGATOUR.COM Staff
TIGER SHOOTS 69 (2:10 p.m.): Tiger Woods began the day with a one-shot lead and ends it trailing by two after shooting a 69 that included 30 putts.
The player Woods trails? Kenny Perry, who shot the lowest round of the week so far with a 64 that brought him to 8 under for the week.
Perry wasn't the only player to make a big move, though. Phil Mickelson shot a 66 and now finds himself tied for third with Sean O'Hair, both players four back of Perry's lead.
What does all this mean? Well, unless something strange happens, Woods could be well on his way to winning the FedExCup.
If Perry goes on to win the tournament, Woods would have to finish fourth or worse for Perry to win the FedExCup. And of the other players in immediate contention, only Steve Stricker came into the week in the top 5 in FedExCup points -- meaning if he wins the tournament, he wins the FedExCup. Stricker, though, is four back of Woods and six back of the lead. Those are long odds (click here for all the scenarios).
Now, Woods certainly could finish fourth or worse -- Phil Mickelson and Sean O'Hair are only two back of him going into the final round. But it's hard not to like the chances of a guy who leads the PGA TOUR in final-round scoring average, by more than a stroke at 68.29 no less.
As for Stricker, he still has an outside shot at winning the FedExcCup, even if he doesn't win the tournament. For example, if Perry wins the tournament and Stricker finishes second and Woods fourth, then Stricker would win the FedExCup with Perry coming in second and Woods third.
Stay tuned, though. With all the scenarios, Sunday could shape up to be a shootout if Woods falters. -- Brian Wacker
PERRY IN WITH 64 (2 p.m.): Kenny Perry's 64 is the lowest score he has ever shot in THE TOUR Championship. In 38 previous rounds in this tournament, Perry's low was a 65 in 2005 here at East Lake.
The 64 also ties for Perry's second-lowest score in a third round in his career.
Perry shot 61 in the third round at Colonial in 2003 on his way to victory. Saturday's 64 is the 10th time he has shot 64 in the third round in his career. -- Mike McAllister
Below is a look at Perry's scorecard.
PADDY'S PAR-5 STRUGGLES (1:50 p.m.): If Padraig Harrington doesn't win THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola, he'll likely regret his inability to score on East Lake's two par-5 holes. Through three rounds, Harrington has the lowest scoring average in the 30-man field on the par 5s at 1 over. Harrington and Hunter Mahan are the only two players who have yet to birdie either the 600-yard ninth or the 525-yard 15th this week. Mahan is even on the par-5s this week. -- Mike McAllister
STRICKER STILL HAS A SHOT (1:29 p.m.): No. 2 seed Steve Stricker, one of the Big 5 who controls his own destiny, has at least given himself a fighting chance in the final round after climbing back into the tournament with a 4-under 66 Saturday.
Stricker is at 2 under for the tournament, still well off the pace being set by Kenny Perry. But another 66 from Stricker, who is guaranteed the FedExCup if he wins THE TOUR Championship, might at least give him a shot.
"I'm going to need a low one tomorrow, another 4 or 5 under tomorrow, to have even a sniff of a chance," Stricker said after his round.
Stricker wasn't happy after shooting a second-round 72, but he finally started hitting some greens -- 13 on Saturday after hitting just seven greens in regulation on Friday.
"Yesterday I just didn't do very many good things and kind of just plodded myself along," said Stricker, winner of the Deutsche Bank Championship earlier this month. "Today, I played like I had been."
Stricker's 66 is the lowest round he has ever shot at East Lake. Until Saturday, he had not broken par in his previous six rounds at the course.
"Maybe I'm figuring this course out a little bit," Stricker said. "It's a course where I typically don't put up a low number, so this 66 feels pretty good." -- Mike McAllister
PERFECT PAIRING (12:59 p.m.): Judging by the way they played on Saturday at East Lake, Geoff Ogilvy and Y.E. Yang might make a good Four-ball pairing for International Captain Greg Norman at The Presidents Cup.
The two went off in the first group of the day and took advantage of soft conditions at East Lake for a best-ball score of 8 under. Individually, Ogilvy shot a bogey-free 64, the best of the tournament to date, while Yang had a 66 that included birdies on his last four holes.
For Ogilvy, who has been relatively quiet since winning two of his first five starts, the turnaround was a welcome one. He hasn't made a bogey in his last 28 holes after playing his first 26 in 9 over.
"Golf's weird," Ogilvy said. "I haven't really played very well the last three months, except for Boston. It was pretty horrible the first two days but I woke up today and it was better for some reason."
The Aussie was at a loss to explain the difference. Ogilvy says he didn't have an "epiphany" on Friday night that uncovered a mechanical flaw or anything. It was basically a just a different feeling with his swing.
"It wasn't that horrible the first two days. but you just miss a few putts, you don't get up and down and then you get a bit grumpy and it's the end of the year and you want to go home," Ogilvy said with a wry smile.
Ogilvy set the tone for the day early, though, when he hit is approach at the first hole to 5 feet. He made four birdies in a row starting at No. 9 -- rolling in birdie putts of 3, 16, 2 and 7 feet -- and added a final birdie at the 15th.
"You hit two good shots down the first and all of a sudden you make a birdie and feel better about it," Ogilvy said with a shrug. "And those 6-foot par putts went in today that didn't go in the first couple of days, and you make a couple of big birdie putts and before you know it you're through 10 or 11, it's not that much better but it's a lot better. It's a funny game."
Ogilvy is looking forward to playing for one of his idols at The President Cup Oct. 5-11 at Harding Park in San Francisco. THE TOUR Championship is his 20th event on the PGA TOUR, but the Aussie plans a busy offseason.
Ogilvy expects to play three events in the European Tour's Race to Dubai, as well as the Australian Masters -- with Tiger Woods in the field -- and several other events Down Under. His wife is due to deliver their third child in February of next year, too.
THE HOLE STORY (12:50 p.m.): The 391-yard 12th has been the easiest par-4 hole at East Lake this week. In fact, it's playing easier on Saturday than the par-5 ninth.
No other hole has yielded more birdies today than the 12th, which has given up 13 thus far with a few groups still to play the hole.
Kenny Perry just birdied the 12th a little while ago by rolling in a putt of 31 1/2 feet. Perry is now at 7 under and leads by two shots. -- Mike McAllister
FINISHING STRONG (12:40 p.m.): Just when it looked like an exhaustive Playoffs run might have caught up with Steve Stricker, he got the break he needed in the form of a bye week last week. After two ho-hum rounds each of the last two days, though, Stricker was back in the form that earned him the nickname "Mr. September," shooting a 4-under 66 that's moved him up to a tie for seventh at the moment.
"I've been looking forward to this finish line for the last month," Stricker said earlier this week. Well, after hitting 13 of 18 greens in regulation and taking 27 putts today, it appears Stricker is set on finishing strong.
"I won't be playing in those Fall Series events unfortunately. But it's a time I need to spend at home, so I look at this as the end," Stricker added. "I still have The Presidents Cup, so a couple of nice events to finish off the year and then get some rest." Just not yet, apparently. -- Brian Wacker
TIGER AT THE TURN (12:20 p.m.): As good as Tiger Woods was closing out the back nine yesterday with three straight birdies, he was that mediocre today, making a bogey and two pars on Nos. 7, 8 and 9. The bogey for Woods came when he couldn't reach the green from the right fairway bunker on the 443-yard hole and when he failed to get up-and-down from 55 yards.
Things didn't get much better on his first hole on the back, either, when Woods bogeyed No. 10 after finding deep rough off the tee right of the fairway. As a result, Woods is 1 over on his day and now three strokes off the lead.
Woods has only failed to close the deal seven times out of 40 when leading after 36 holes, but with the way Kenny Perry is playing, he's got some work to do. -- Brian Wacker
PERRY GOES LOW (11:53 a.m.): Kenny Perry just made the turn at 4-under 31, which ties for the lowest front-nine score of the week. He heads to the 10th tee as the solo leader at 6 under for the tournament, one shot ahead of Tiger Woods, who just bogeyed the seventh.
Perry needed just one putt on eight of the first nine holes; his lone bogey on the card came when he three-putted the par-3 sixth (click here to follow Perry live with Shot Tracker).
Perry's rise to the top of the leaderboard might ultimately be good news for Padraig Harrington and Sean O'Hair, since they need help in order to win the FedExCup.
For instance, if Harrington can win THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola, he still loses the FedExCup if Tiger Woods finishes solo second. But Harrington would win the FedExCup should Woods finish in a tie for second. O'Hair would win the FedExCup if Woods finishes in a three-way tie for second. -- Mike McAllister
HARRINGTON STUMBLES (11:35 a.m.): It wasn't a double bogey for Padraig Harrington, but back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 4 and 5 have dropped Harrington back to even par and 4 under for the week, two shots off the lead shared by Kenny Perry and Tiger Woods.
Harrington has made double bogey -- or worse -- each of the last 13 tournaments, stretching back to the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard. What's even more amazing about that is that despite a blow-up hole every week, Harrington has managed five top-10s during that period and three of those were top-5s. In other words, what could have been.
There's still plenty of golf to play for Harrington, but that's certainly a streak he hopes comes to an end this week. If it does, he just might win. -- Brian Wacker
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TIGER ON TOP (11 a.m.): Not only has the birdie streak ended for Kenny Perry at four, he just made his first bogey of the day, dropping him back to 5 under and now one shot back of leader Tiger Woods.
| Tiger Woods when leading after 36 holes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Speaking of Woods, he's 33-for-40 when leading after 36 holes (see below for more) -- and that mark only gets better after 54 holes. -- Brian Wacker
OGILVY ON THE REBOUND (10:44 a.m.): Geoff Ogilvy seems to have finally found his game at East Lake. After shooting the highest first-round score (75) and nearly duplicating that in the second round (73), Ogilvy -- playing in the first twosome out today with Y.E. Yang -- is now a bogey-free 5 under through 14 holes. Ogilvy, who won two of his first five starts this year, carded four consecutive birdies starting at the ninth hole. His best birdie streak this season is five straight in the final round of the Masters. Ogilvy is still far back in the pack at 3 over for the tournament. -- Mike McAllister
PERRY POWER (10:31 a.m.): Last year, Kenny Perry was near the bottom of the leaderboard at THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola, finishing in a tie for 24th. Two years ago, he didn't even qualify to play in the tournament.
So much for recent history. Perry has birdied his first three holes this morning to pull into a tie for the lead at 5 under with Tiger Woods and Padraig Harrington. That makes seven birdies in Perry's last 15 holes, stretching back to yesterday's round.
It's also a nice turnaround from the first round in which Perry felt sick and played like it, struggling to a 2-over 72. Perry said he had actually felt physically sick during the first round, even to the point of thinking he might throw up over the first few holes. He drank copious amounts of water and sports drinks Thursday night, though, and while the 49-year-old was drenched in sweat when he finished off a 66 on Friday, he felt much better.
On Friday, Perry had talked about being aggressive with his irons -- and he certainly has been so far in the third round. He's had birdie putts of 4, 7 and 3 feet on his first three holes.
Perry, a two-time winner in 2009, came into THE TOUR Championship seeded ninth. He needs to win at East Lake to have a chance at winning the FedExCup -- and have Woods finish fourth or worse. In addition, Steve Stricker and Jim Furyk must finish third or worse.
Click here to follow Perry's round live with Shot Tracker. -- Brian Wacker and Helen Ross
TIGER TEES OFF (10:25 a.m.): Not sure if this is an omen or not, but as Tiger Woods hit his opening tee shot at 10:20 a.m. on Saturday, the sun broke through a hole in the clouds. Keep your fingers crossed (click here to follow Woods live with Shot Tracker). -- Helen Ross
ON THE REBOUND (10:20 a.m.): Steve Stricker, who won the Deutsche Bank Championship two weeks ago, is making a nice little comeback after failing to break par in the first two rounds at East Lake. He's 2 under through seven holes today thanks to a 19-footer for birdie at the second hole and a 77-foot bomb at the par-4 fourth. Stricker, who is seeded second in the FedExCup race, is now even par for the tournament.
Stricker has played in all 12 of the events in the three years of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. If he shoots in the 60s on Saturday, it will be his 30th sub-par round in the Playoffs -- more than anyone else on TOUR. -- Helen Ross
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FAST START FOR PHIL (9:50 a.m.): Phil Mickelson has just birdied the first hole for the second straight day. The 12-footer he made on the 424-yard par 4 put the big lefthander in red numbers at 1 under -- just four shots off the lead held by Tiger Woods, who tees off an hour after Mickelson.
Mickelson, who is enthused about a putting tip he got from Champions Tour veteran Dave Stockton last week, is coming off a 67 that included six birdies. If he can take advantage of Saturday's soft conditions at East Lake, Mickelson could be a factor in the final round. -- Helen Ross
BIRDIE, BIRDIE START FOR ZACH (9:45 a.m.): Nice start for Zach Johnson, who birdied his first two holes and is now back to even par for the tournament.
Johnson, of course, is one of the Big Five players who controls his own destiny this week. If he wins THE TOUR Championship, he's guaranteed of winning the FedExCup.
Johnson began Saturday's round by nailing an approach shot to within nine feet on the opening hole to set up his first birdie.
Then, on the par-3 second, his tee shot landed to within six feet for another birdie. That's the second closest tee shot struck at the second hole this week. Heath Slocum landed his tee shot 5 feet, 2 inches from the pin in the second round.
Johnson is making his fourth start at East Lake. He's never won here, but he does hold the course record of 10-under 60 that he shot en route to a tie for second in 2007. Three of his six career wins have come in Georgia, including his 2007 win at the Masters. -- MIke McAllister
VYING FOR 54-HOLE LEAD (9:40 a.m.): If Tiger Woods maintains his lead after Saturday's round, it would be the fifth time in his career in which he's held or shared the 54-hole lead at THE TOUR Championship.
Of those four previous times, Woods has gone on to win twice and finished second the other two times.
In the 22-year history of the event, the 54-hole leader/co-leader has gone on to win 14 times. Last year, Sergio Garcia led after 54 holes but finished second.
Surprisingly, only one other player in the 30-man field has ever held the 54-hole lead at this event. Scott Verplank was the solo third-round leader in 2001 but eventually finished tied for fifth. -- MIke McAllister
OLD, BUT STILL GOOD (9:28 a.m.): Two of the three oldest competitors in this week's field are paired together in the third round. Kenny Perry (who turned 49 last month) and Jerry Kelly (who turns 43 in November) tee off at 10 a.m. ET.
Only 45-year-old Scott Verplank is older than Kelly.
Both Perry and Kelly have been affected by the heat in the first two days, so the cooler conditions Saturday morning should be beneficial to them.
The two are in striking distance going into the third round, with each one at 2-under 138, just three strokes off the lead held by Tiger Woods. -- Mike McAllister
WEATHER UPDATE (9:18 a.m.): The skies were gray and heavy as the third round of THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola got under way about an hour ago.
Although there were several heavy downpours on Friday evening at East Lake, the worst of the precipitation will likely hold off until mid-afternoon. Saturday's final tee time is 10:20 a.m. and play is projected to end at 2:30 p.m. The pros are playing the ball down.
Possible accumulations of between 1 to 3 inches are expected in the metropolitan Atlanta area. The probability of rain is 90 percent and the showers are expected to become heavy by mid-afternoon. Temperatures have moderated, though, and are not expected to climb out of the mid-70s, which should be a welcome break from the heat and humidity of the first two days.
The front will be gone by late Saturday night. Sunday's forecast is for mostly sunny skies and temperatures in the low 80s. -- Helen Ross
INSIDE THE NUMBERS (9:10 a.m.): With Tiger Woods sitting atop the leaderboard at just 5 under and only 11 players under par through the first two rounds of THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola, it's pretty apparent there won't be any scoring records set this week. But this isn't exactly 1998, either, when the scoring average was over par for every round (see chart below).
Why has East Lake been so difficult, despite heavy rain in Atlanta recently? One, a SubAir system has kept the greens very firm. Two, the pin positions have been difficult. Let's see if that trend continues today with the early tee times. -- Brian Wacker
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EARLY START (9 a.m.): With the threat of bad weather later today, the tee times were moved up with the first group going off at 8 a.m. The hope being, of course, that they'll get everything in before things get bad on what's an already oversaturated state (although the golf course has held up surprisingly well thanks in part to a SubAir system and a tremendous grounds crew).
And with that early start, Geoff Ogilvy is finally under par on a round for the first time all week. Ogilvy, who shot 75-73 in the first two rounds, birdied the first hole and has made three pars since.
About halfway up the leaderboard from Ogilvy, meanwhile, is David Toms, who is even par for the week. Why is that relevant? Because Toms, one of the more accurate players off the tee, ranks last in the field in driving accuracy this week, having hit just 11 of 28 fairways through two rounds.
Those are two of the more surprising things to come out of this week at East Lake so far. -- Brian Wacker
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