Notebook: Round 3, Shell Houston Open

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Weather: Mostly sunny with light, variable winds and temperatures reaching the mid 80s.

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Leaderboard: Round 3
Live Report: Round 3

• Because more than 78 players made the 36-hole cut, a secondary cut came at 6-over 222 after 54 holes with 72 players, including Fred Couples (71-73-78) set to tee it up in the final round.

• Anthony Kim recovered from a poor start in round three -- bogey, par, bogey -- to shoot 3-under 69 to share the lead with Bryce Molder after 54-holes of the Shell Houston Open. Kim and Molder are 10-under, two strokes ahead of Taylor and Ogilvie.

• This is the fourth time Kim has held the lead/co-lead after 54 holes of a PGA TOUR event, including the 2008 Wachovia Championship which he went on to win. Kim also held the lead/co-lead at the AT&T National (finished 3rd) and the RBC Canadian Open (T3).

• This is the first time Molder has held a share of the 54-hole lead/co-lead on the PGA TOUR.

• This is the fourth consecutive start at the Shell Houston Open for Kim (2007/T5, 2008/MC, 2009/T26, 2010/TBD).

• Kim (68-69-69) is the only player with each of his first three rounds in the 60s. In the last three years, no player has managed to record all four rounds in the 60s at the Shell Houston Open. Throughout the last 16 years of the tournament (dating to 1994), just four players have achieved the feat, each winning the tournament that year -- Mike Heinen/1994, Vijay Singh/2002, Fred Couples/2003 and Stuart Appelby/2006.

• Kim finished 2ndbehind winner Camilo Villegas at The Honda Classic last month.

• The week started poorly for Molder's caddie, Shaun McBride, when his wife Maria Hjorth was withdrawn from the LPGA's first major of the year after missing her pro-am tee time. McBride, who caddied for Molder at two events down-under last year (T3/Australian Open, T15/Australian PGA), was also on the bag for the Arkansas native at last month's Transitions Championship and Arnold Palmer Invitational.

• Molder had a stellar amateur career. He was a four-time, first-team All America at Georgia Tech, joining former Yellow Jacket David Duval, Phil Mickelson and Gary Hallberg as the only four to be so honored.

• Molder, who was previously a member of the PGA TOUR in 2002, 2007 and 2009, finished 63rdon last year's money list to earn his exempt status in 2010. He has played in eight events this year leading up to this week, highlighted by three consecutive top-10 finishes. First, he finished T10 at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, T8 in his next start at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and then T7 at the Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular.

• Molder's only other start at the Shell Houston Open was a missed cut in 2007.

• The third-round leader/co-leader on the PGA TOUR has held on for victory seven times in 13 stroke-play events this year.

• Third-round leaders/co-leaders have enjoyed pretty good success in the Shell Houston Open. In the previous 62 tournaments, the third-round leader/co-leader has won the event 32 times, including seven of the last eight years. The lone exception came in 2007 when Adam Scott came from three strokes back on Sunday to win the event by three strokes over Stuart Appleby and 54-hole leader Bubba Watson.

• A bid to the 2010 Masters Tournament awaits the winner of this tournament should that player not be previously eligible. Eight players among the top-14 have yet to secure their spot in the Augusta field. The last player to win the week before the Masters to earn a trip to Augusta National was Johnson Wagner, when he won the 2008 Shell Houston Open.

• Vaughn Taylor has missed just six of 54 greens in regulation and ranks No. 1 in that category.

• Taylor, a two-time PGA TOUR winner and Augusta, GA resident, needs a victory this week if he wants to contest the Masters Tournament at Augusta National in his hometown next week. Taylor has played in the Masters Tournament three times (2006/MC, 2007/T10, 2008/MC).

• Taylor is not the only player with Georgia ties near the top of the leaderboard. Others with Augusta on their minds include Molder (T1) and Matt Kuchar (T8) -- all Georgia Tech grads.

• Kevin Stadler, Taylor and James Driscoll were paired together for the third consecutive round. Driscoll and Stadler will again play in the same group in Sunday's final round. Here's a look at their performances this week.

• Joe Ogilvie has one top-10 (6th/2005) in nine previous starts at the Shell Houston Open. Ogilvie was one stroke off the lead after 36 holes in 2005, eventually finishing 6th.

• Ogilvie is making his 11thstart of 2010, with a best finish of T8 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.

• Jeff Maggert is T2 in the Greens In Regulation category through three rounds, hitting 46 of 54.

• Houston resident Maggert has been a great supporter of the Shell Houston Open. Maggert missed the cut in his first start here in 1987. Since 1990, Maggert has made 21 consecutive appearances, joining John Mahaffey and Jack Burke Jr. with the most consecutive starts in tournament history.

• Maggert has five top-10 finishes at the Shell Houston Open, including three runner-up finishes (T2/1994, 2nd/1996, 2nd/1998, 6th/2003, T7/2005).

• Graham DeLaet, one of 20 rookies on TOUR this year, posted the only bogey-free round of the day. DeLaet made 17 pars and a lone birdie at the par-5 4th hole.

• Lee Westwood (72) improved 10 strokes from the front nine (41) to the back nine (31).

• Texas native Justin Leonard played his 52nd round at the Shell Houston Open. His 5-under 67 equals his lowest 18-hole score at this event. It is the fourth time he has shot 67 at the Shell Houston Open.

• Leonard was 7-under after eight holes before 3-putting the 9th green from just under 50 feet to shoot 6-under 30 on the front nine. It was his first 3-putt of the week. Just three players have recorded 7-under 29 in tournament history (Gary Koch/1978, Curtis Strange/1980, Mike Sullivan/1986).

• Leonard is the 14thplayer this year to record two eagles in the same round. Leonard holed a 162-yard 6-iron at the par-4 6th hole before pitching-in from 51-yards at the par-5 8th hole.

• Leonard is making his 15thappearance at the Shell Houston Open. His best results here are back-to-back top-10s on 2001 (T4) and 2002 (T6).

• Leonard came to the Shell Houston Open following consecutive top-20 finishes (T17/The Honda Classic, T20/Transitions Championship) and 114th in the FedExCup standings.

• Kevin Sutherland is making his 15th appearance at the Shell Houston Open with four top-10s and two missed cuts in his previous 14 starts. His best finish in this event is 2nd in 1997.

• Charl Schwartzel, who finished 2nd to Ernie Els at last month's WGC-CA Championship, birdied the last three holes to shoot 67 and advance from T31 to T8.

• Padraig Harrington (72) had an eventful third round. Harrington recorded four birdies and an eagle along with four bogeys and a double bogey.

• FedExCup leader, Ernie Els suffered two double bogeys in his round of 3-over 75 and lies T62.

• Five players in the top 14 are international players. Eight of the last 11 Shell Houston Open winners were born out side the United States.

• There were 12 birdies at the Kodak Challenge hole (No. 18) in round three, including 2008 Shell Houston Open winner Johnson Wagner and Matt Kuchar who moves into the Kodak Challenge lead with Rickie Fowler and Kevin Na at 6-under.

• Since 2006, 212 balls had found the lake on the left side of the 18th hole (not including J.B Holmes in 2009 playoff). Add 46 more to that total through 54 holes this week (24/Round 1, 18/Round 2, 4/Round 3) for a total of 258 balls in the water.