The Starter, Round 3: RBC Canadian Open

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Jul. 23, 2010

The third round of the RBC Canadian Open tees off Saturday. Here's a preview:

Groups We're Watching

Tee time	Players
1:23 p.m. ET, No. 1		Brock Mackenzie, Hunter Mahan Mahan is averaging only 1.62 putts per green in regulation and could make a run at the leaders over the weekend.
1:41 p.m. ET No. 1		Brent Delahoussaye, Steve Wheatcroft Delahoussaye followed his record-breaking round with a 69 -- not bad timing, considering he hasn't finished better than T53 in 2010.
1:50 p.m. ET, No. 1		Dean Wilson, Tim Clark THE PLAYERS Champion hasn't carded a bogey at St. George's yet. Looks pretty good against his 10 birdies.

MORE ROUND 3: Tee times | Inside the field | Inside the course

EXPERT PREVIEW: PGA TOUR NETWORK on-site correspondent Bob Stevens previews Round 3:

Saturday at St. George's is going to look like Friday afternoon on the Queen Elizabeth Way getting out of Toronto -- a stampede moving very slowly. Anyone, and I mean anyone, who made the cut is still in the hunt here, including a guy playing his first PGA TOUR event, Brock Mackenzie, and another playing only his third, Rob Grube. Who are these guys? Like Louie Oosthuizen last week, Grube had to tell me how to pronounce his name (it's Groo'-be). But he's another one of the fearless young players who told me -- like fellow Pac-10 star Alex Prugh told us earlier in the year -- a 151-yard 8-iron is the same whether its in the conference championship (Grube went to Stanford University, Prugh to the University of Washington) or on the PGA TOUR. Now we'll see how those guys (and Brent Delahoussaye and Adam Hadwin) fare when the shots are the same, but the heat is turned up.

Anyone could win this thing? Paul Azinger told me he had not picked up a club in three weeks leading up to the RBC Canadian Open, and was even hesitant to until a chat with golf psychologist Dr. Bob Rotella, who told him to just go out and "free-wheel it." Zinger got a great draw with good friends Briny Baird (-6) and Joe Ogilvie (-4), and with a second-round 68 has made his first PGA TOUR cut since the Sony Open six months ago. He told me that watching and analyzing Oosthuizen last week at the British Open keyed a swing thought that he's carried with him since, though he hasn't gone so far as to draw a red dot on his glove.

So sure, a where-has-he-been could win, one of the no-names just might, or a Tim Clark or a Hunter Mahan (who have already won) might lap the field. Whatever happens today, it'll happen on a course with rough so thick from the Friday rains -- more is predicted Saturday, by the way -- that a guy like Clark might just get lost if he ventures off the fairway. Formula for the weekend? Fairways plus soft greens equal lower scores. Four-inch rough growing by the minute plus blustery winds predicted for the third round equal big numbers. Expect "moving day" to be exactly that, with some 64s and 63s, but some 75s as well from guys who'd played great the first two rounds.

INSTRUCTOR'S CORNER: Shane Gillespie, head instructor at TOUR Academy Orlando, analyzes the playing conditions this week:

A major key to the low scores at the RBC Canadian Open this week has been putting. Let's look at a few of the players who went low during the first two rounds of the tournament. On day one, Brent Delahoussaye shot 62 using only 24 total putts while averaging 1.50 putts per green in regulation. Early in Round 2, Tim Herron took advantage of the softer greens and fired a 63. He had 26 total putts and averaged 1.57 putts per green in regulation. (Interesting side note: Mr. Herron averaged 35 yards less off the tee on Friday, but increased his fairway accuracy from 38% to 62% and increased his green accuracy from 67% to 78%.)

If you're interested in making more putts, simply focus on your set-up and tempo. Make sure to grip the club in the palms of the hands, aligning them parallel to the clubface. This will place the shaft in line with the forearms. Anchor your upper arms to the side of your chest and bend from the waist to sole the putter on the ground.

Using a metronome, find a tempo that you feel matches your natural putting rhythm. This will become the tempo you'll use on all of your putts. With your tempo constant, you can control the distance of your putts by changing the length of your stroke. With only one variable in your putting stroke it is much easier to control the pace or weight of your putt. Notice how the players at the RBC Canadian open seem to always have the ball rolling at just the right speed as it nears the hole. Try it for yourself and spend less strokes on the green.

The Film Room

	Round 2 Highlights: RBC Canadian Open Brent Delahoussaye shot a second-round 69 heading toward Moving Day at the 2010 RBC Canadian Open. Watch it
	Round 2: Shot of the Day Carl Pettersson stiffs his tee ball on the par-3 6th hole during the second round of the 2010 RBC Canadian Open. Watch it
	PGA TOUR Today: July 24, 2010 There is a two-way tie for the lead heading into the weekend at the 2010 RBC Canadian Open. Casey Black takes a look at the leaders and a few players who are nipping at their heels heading into the weekend. Watch it