Round 3, Bridgestone Invitational
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By PGATOUR.COM Staff
CLARK PENALIZED (7 p.m.): Tim Clark was assessed a two-stroke penalty Saturday evening after violating Rule 20-7. Clark was penalized because he did not replace his ball in its original position after he moved it to get out of Padraig Harrington's line on the 16th hole. Clark couldn't remember if he moved it back, so he told the rules official in the scoring trailer and went over to watch the tape. So instead of a bogey-6 on the par 5, Clark had an 8. He is now 3 under and tied 14th after the 73. Clark was 5 under and tied for third when he finished before the penalty was assessed.
"It is an unfortunate situation," Clark said. "The good thing about it is that I called it on myself. That sort of saved soime integrity for me. That is about the only good thing I can take out of the situation." -- Helen Ross
THIRD ROUND COMPLETE (6 p.m.): The third round is in the books, setting up what should be a fantastic final pairing of Padraig Harrington and Tiger Woods.
Much like Woods, Harrington turned it on late, making four birdies over his final seven holes. The only hiccup was a bogey-6 on the 16th hole after Harrington found a greenside bunker on his approach shot. Harrington bounced back with a birdie, though, and owns a three-shot lead going into the final round.
It is only the second time in Harrington's career that he has had a share of the lead in the first three rounds -- at the 2003 PLAYERS Championship, Harrington had a share of the lead in the first three rounds and went on to finish tied for second.
For Woods, it's the 25th time that he has shot a 65 or lower in the third round of a PGA TOUR event; he has won 17 of those 25 times. If he's going to make it 18 he'll need to catch Harrington, winner of last year's final two majors and a player who doesn't have a reputation of wilting in such circumstances. We'll find out tomorrow, anyway. -- Brian Wacker
HARRINGTON LEADING (5:15 p.m.): Some might have wilted by the sight of Tiger Woods' name climbing the leaderboard, but Padraig Harrington has done the opposite, making three birdies over his last four holes to get to 10 under for the week and extend his lead to three shots.
There's still a par-5 left for Harrington, who is on the 16th now, so the lead could grow, but even if it doesn't he should have a cushion heading into tomorrow's final round, in which he'll possibly be paired with Woods. Either way, Harrington isn't backing down as he finishes up his third round. -- Brian Wacker
TIGER IN WITH A 65 (4:50 p.m.): Tiger Woods kept plodding along, playing his first 12 holes today in 1 under with two birdies and one bogey. Then, seemingly in an instant, the Bridgestone Invitational took on that Tiger feeling once again with the world's No. 1 player and six-time winner her closed out his round with four birdies over his final six holes.
As a result, Woods is the clubhouse leader and may be tied or in the lead by the end of play today.
"Even though I didn't hit a lot of greens, I hit the ball well," Woods told CBS. "All day the putts I had for birdie I made and that's what allowed me to get back in this tournament."
A day after burning one edge after another and taking 31 putts, Woods took 23 putts Saturday. And though he wasn't entirely accurate off the tee, Woods still hit nine fairways and didn't put himself in trouble when he did miss.
"You have to miss them on the correct side," Woods said. "That's what I have done over the years."
He's also won a lot here over the years and after Saturday is in position to do so again. -- Brian Wacker
Below is a look at Tiger Woods' scorecard from today:
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ROUTE 66 FOR PERRY (4:20 p.m.): Kenny Perry has only shot lower than the 66 he posted Saturday at Firestone Country Club once in 30 previous rounds at the Bridgestone Invitational.
"It was a great day," Perry said. "Any time you can shoot under par on this golf course is an awesome round. I had a goal of 5 under I needed to shoot today to give me a shot. ... So now I've got into a position where if I can somehow go low again tomorrow, I've got a shot at winning.
"It's just a golf course that requires perfect shots on every hole. There's just no letup holes."
Perry, whose career-low at Firestone is a 64, made five birdies and one bogey on Saturday. He closed the front nine with three birdies in a four-hole stretch that began at No. 6 and capped his round with a 15-footer for another at the 18th hole.
Perry, a two-time winner already this year, hasn't played since tying for 52nd at the British Open. He's been home in Kentucky spending time with his mother, who is battling cancer, but with the PGA on the horizon he decided to return to competition.
"Dad told me to come out and play for right now," said Perry, who added that his mom is never far from his thoughts.
Firestone is not unlike Hazeltine National, which will host the season's final major next week. Both are long, tree-lined and have tight fairways, but that's not what prompted Perry to tee it up.
"I just need the rounds, the reps, the rounds, just to get me ready physically and mentally to get me to what I actually need to work on when I get there on Monday," Perry said. -- Helen Ross
TIGER ON TARGET (4 p.m.): What started as an indifferent round of golf for Tiger Woods has turned into something much better on the back nine here at Firestone.
Woods, a six-time winner of this event, has birdied 3 of his last 4 holes and now has six birdies and just one bogey on his round. He's also just one shot back at 6 under with two holes left in his round.
The difference today? Tiger is making more putts -- easier to do when his irons are dialed in, leaving him short putts -- and was able to pull out of an early-day funk. -- Brian Wacker
MECHANIC MAKES A MOVE (3:50 p.m.): Miguel Angel Jimenez tied for 10th at last year's Bridgestone Invitational -- which was his best finish in seven starts in the World Golf Championships event by 17 strokes. He's playing well again this week and Saturday's 66 moved him well up the leaderboard.
"I played very solid, all day close on the back nine," Jimenez said. "I putted very well and very good, also, from tee to greens, very solid. I think I missed only a couple of fairways. ... And then my shots today into the pins very good, too. That's what you need."
Jimenez made three birdies on the front and added another at the 13th hole. He admittedly was frustrated not to add to that total at the par-5 16th and to drop at shot at the 17th but a 3-footer for birdie at the last sent the veteran home happy.
Particularly after he made double-bogey on the finishing hole Friday.
"Birdied the last, yes, to recover for yesterday," Jimenez said. "Yeah, always a nice way to finish. Hit a very good driver and a solid sand wedge, the 52 degrees, like one meter to the hole, and I put it in."
The Spaniard, who pulls his red hair back into a ponytail, was headed for lunch and one of his trademark cigars. He smokes during practice rounds but not in competition. His humidor is stocked with enough for this week and next week's PGA Championship.
"The only thing, you cannot sell Cuban cigars here, and I bring my own personal cigars from home," Jimenez said. -- Helen Ross
POULTER PLEASED (3:35 p.m.): Ian Poulter was pleased but somewhat surprised by the round of 67 he shot Saturday at the Bridgestone Invitational.
"If you had asked me ten minutes before I teed off what I thought I would have probably told you I was heading for an 87," Poulter explained. "It was horrible on the range and I think I'd have to say it was one of the worst 45 minute practice sessions I have ever had. Everything was wrong, balls going right and left, everywhere.
"I am working on a few things at the moment but it just got ridiculous. So I was standing on the first tee fearing the worst and then I go and play lovely. It has happened in the past when you've had a poor practice session and then go out and shoot the lights out, don't know why it happens, it just does."
Poulter said the turnaround was so "bizarre" he was actually laughing when he birdied the first two holes. He bogeyed the fourth hole, but added birdie putts of 23 feet at No. 10 and 12 feet at the par-5 16th to post his second round of 67 this week.
An afternoon that could include a band of heavier showers made Poulter glad to be dry and in the clubhouse. The colorful Englishman knows it would probably take a career-low at Firestone to win on Sunday but he's not counting himself out -- particularly with the iffy weather conditions in the third round.
"Some greens are firm, some greens seem to be soft, some are taking a good pitch mark and some are taking a tiny one," Poulter said. "Because at the moment it hasn't softened the whole course up, because there is a light dew dusting on the greens the balls are skidding so I think you are going to see a few people skipping through the back of some greens." -- Helen Ross
MAKING A MOVE (3:20 p.m.): J.B. Holmes is one of the few players making much of a move on Saturday at Firestone Country Club. He shot 65 to move to 3 under for the tournament and approaching the top 10 after starting the day in a tie for 46th.
"I hit the ball fantastic today," Holmes said. "Actually I felt like I couldn't shoot anything higher than what I did. Every iron shot I hit was right at the flag, and a couple of them I thought I hit really good and they hit real close to the hole and bounced over the green.
"... That's the best I've hit the ball in a long time with my irons."
The big-hitter from Kentucky has been struggling with his driver, so he only hit two all day, both on the par 5s. Besides, Holmes' 3-wood -- which he can pound about 300 yards on average -- is more than adequate. His 3-wood at the 18th traveled an astounding 345 yards.
The decision to shelve the driver paid dividends. Holmes hit 9 of 14 fairways after hitting just five on Friday and seven on Thursday. He started with three straight birdies and added another at the seventh to turn in 31. He made three more birdies and two bogeys over his last five holes.
"I've been hitting my driver terrible all week, the last two days," Holmes said. "... I kept it in play a little bit more today hitting the 3-wood. I hit several fairways today and it's a little bit easier to score from there than the trees."
Holmes, who ranks 11th on TOUR in driving distance, said it wasn't hard to leave the driver in the bag.
"You're on the PGA TOUR, you're past that," he said. "If you're worried about who's hitting it further next to you or anything like that, you're not going to be out here a long time." -- Helen Ross
TIGER CONTINUES TO STRUGGLE (3 p.m.): Conditions continue to be soft at Firestone and so do the scores -- Firestone is playing the easiest it has all week so far -- for some in the field. One of those not taking advantage, though, is Tiger Woods who is just 1 under on his round through 11 holes.
Today, Woods has hit just 5 of 9 fairways and 5 of 11 greens in regulation while taking 15 putts. Perhaps more troubling is the fact that Woods hasn't been able to gain any ground on some of the easier holes on the course -- he parred each of the first two holes and did the same on Nos. 7 and 10. Woods did birdie the par-3 fifth, but gave it right back with a bogey on No. 8 before bouncing back with a birdie on No. 9 to make the turn in 34. -- Brian Wacker
HOW ABOUT IT HOLMES (2:30 p.m.): With conditions continuing to be soft and score-able, Firestone can be had today. In fact, it has been, by J.B. Holmes, who just finished off a 65 -- and that included a pair of bogeys on his card.
Holmes hit 12 of 18 greens in regulation today -- the most he has all week -- and took 26 putts -- the fewest he has taken all week -- on his way to a seven-birdie day that included birdies on his first three holes.
Things were up-and-down down the stretch for Holmes -- he made three birdies and two bogeys over his last five holes -- but the low round of the day so far has him in a tie for 11th at the moment. It's also a good sign for Holmes, who after missing five straight cuts in May and June, is coming off a tie for 16th in Canada and is in good position again this week. Below is a look at Holmes' scorecard from today. -- Brian Wacker
HARRINGTON OFF TO HOT START (2:13 p.m.): Padraig Harrington teed off a little more than 10 minutes ago and didn't waste any time adding to his lead by doing what Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson couldn't do -- make birdie at the first hole.
Harrington made the birdie by sinking a putt from just inside 10 feet and as a result he's now in the lead by two over playing partner Tim Clark. To follow their group live with Shot Tracker, click here. -- Brian Wacker
EAGLE LANDS (1:50 p.m.): As easy as the par-5 second hole at Firestone plays year after year -- and this year is no exception as the easiest hole on the golf course -- the first eagle of the day was just made there by Zach Johnson, who stuck his approach shot from 226 yards to inside 2 feet before rolling it in.
More importantly, that moved Johnson to 2 under on his round and within two shots of the lead.
For the week, four eagles and 112 birdies have been made at No. 2 -- compared to 103 pars and just 11 bogeys. -- Brian Wacker
| Sip of Maginnes | |
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O'HERN ON A ROLL (1:30 p.m.): Add Nick O'Hern's name to the list of contenders thanks to birdies on each of his first three holes. O'Hern has since cooled with back-to-back pars, but he's just three back from leader Padraig Harrington, who tees off at the top of the hour.
O'Hern has missed his last two cuts, but he's played well at times this season after thumb surgery late last year. His best finish is a tie for third at the Shell Houston Open and he's strung together other good rounds in Cancun, at Colonial, Hartford and Washington D.C. -- Brian Wacker
PROOF IS IN THE BALLSTRIKING (1:10 p.m.): Tim Clark, by a lot of accounts, is the best player never to win on the PGA TOUR. With 35 career top-10s, including seven runner-up finishes, a no worse than 26th in two full FedExCup seasons and more than $13 million in earnings, it's hard to argue otherwise. And if that weren't enough, check out the numbers on Clark below and you'll be doing what a lot of us have been and scratching your head asking, "How has this guy not won out here yet?" -- Brian Wacker
| Tim Clark - Proximity to the Hole Ranks | ||||||||||
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TIGER OFF (12:53 p.m.): We've heard it a million times this week: Tiger Woods has never finished worse than a tie for fourth here at the Bridgestone Invitational. Now we'll get to see if he continues that streak this year. Woods just teed off, finding the fairway with a fairway metal. So far, Woods has just five birdies -- and three bogeys -- this week. With conditions soft, Woods will need a few more today. Follow his round live with Shot Tracker to see if he gets them. -- Brian Wacker
CLARK CONTENDING AGAIN (12:42 p.m.): Tim Clark is a lot like Steve Stricker was earlier this year, until Stricker got over the hump and won, twice, first at Colonial, then at the John Deere Classic. Clark, meanwhile, has perpetually contends, but still hasn't gotten his first PGA TOUR win ... yet.
Is this the week? We'll know this weekend. For Clark, it's more mental than physical because if you look at how he's played this week compared to the rest of the season, you won't see a whole lot of difference (see chart below). If 50 percent of this game is 90 percent mental, as Yogi Berra once said about baseball, then it's 110 percent mental for Clark. At least he seems to have overcome playing here, a course he didn't always like, at least judging by the way he played (click here for more on that story from our Helen Ross). -- Brian Wacker
| Tim Clark - This Week vs. 2009 Season | |||||||||||||||||||||
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RAIN HAS ARRIVED (12:29 p.m.): The rain has arrived at Firestone, where the final group won't tee off for another hour-and-a-half. The radar shows a large swath of green covering the upper Midwest, but the good news is there doesn't appear to much if any (fingers crossed) electricity or severe weather part of it. If it just rains, they'll play on.
Neatest scene of the morning: Before Tiger Woods donned the rain pants, legend Charlie Sifford stopped by to watch him hit balls. -- Brian Wacker
INSIDE THE NUMBERS (12:20 p.m.): Padraig Harrington will tee off in a little more than 90 minutes from now -- by then the golf course may be pretty wet or there may be electricity in the air. In either case, you'll notice pretty significant differences in some key statistics from Harrington this week compared to the rest of his season, particularly in putting, which is of course spurred on by good iron play. See below for more. -- Brian Wacker
| Padraig Harrington - This Week vs. 2009 Season | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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EARLY MOVERS (12:02 p.m.): Unofficial PGA TOUR meteorologist Stewart Cink "tweeted" a little while ago that the weather looks shaky for the next few hours and after checking the Weather.com forecast, it looks like he may be right -- rain and scattered thunderstorms are already threatening the area.
Should it rain, that could make for an interesting moving day amid soft conditions. Some guys aren't waiting that long, though. Justin Leonard and J.B. Holmes are both 4 under on their rounds and moving up the leaderboard as a result.
Leonard, through No. 6, has four birdies over his last five holes, while Holmes started his day off with three straight birdies before adding another on No. 7. -- Brian Wacker
HARRINGTON HANGING IN (11:50 a.m.): Maybe it's just that time of year again, or maybe the swing changes that Padraig Harrington has been working on are finally starting to take hold. The truth is probably somewhere in between, but whatever the case Harrington isn't getting too high, or too low, on his results.
Those results, by the way, have Harrington on the outside looking in for the PGA TOUR playoffs for the FedExCup. That, of course, is likely to change with Harrington putting together his best two rounds of the year. His 7-under 133 total through two rounds is his lowest on the PGA TOUR since the 2007 TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola.
One of the reasons Harrington has finally put together some good scores is his ballstriking and his putting, neither have which have been at their best this year. This week, though, Harrington is tied for fourth in putts per round and fifth in average distance of putts made. He's also 27-for-27 from inside of 5 feet and even when he's missed greens, Harrington made par or better 11 of 12 times.
Now he just has to keep trusting his swing and his game. As Scott Verplank said yesterday, there's no one that knows what Harrington has to do better than Harrington. Remember, Tiger Woods has been through major swing changes twice and even he went through some so-called slumps. Right now, Harrington looks like he may be on the verge of pulling out of his. -- Brian Wacker
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