Notebook, Round 3: Bridgestone Invitational

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Weather: Partly cloudy in the morning with clearing skies most of the day. Temperatures reached into the low 80s with light winds throughout the day.

Sean O'Hair (67-70-64 = 201, -9) T1
• Playing in the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational for the fourth time in his career, Sean O'Hair shot a 6-under-par 64 and shares the 54-hole lead with Ryan Palmer. O'Hair's round of 64 included one eagle, four birdies and no bogeys. O'Hair and co-leader Ryan Palmer were the only two players to record bogey-free rounds on Saturday.

• If O'Hair were to go on to win at the age of 28 years and 28 days, he would be just the third player to win a World Golf Championships event in his 20s. Tiger Woods is the only player to win the Bridgestone Invitational while in his 20s. Woods and Geoff Ogilvy (2006 Accenture Match Play Championship) are the only players to win a World Golf Championships event in their 20s.

• A victory would make O'Hair the only player currently in his 20s with four or more PGA TOUR victories:
O'Hair victories:
2005 John Deere Classic
2008 PODS Championship
2009 Quail Hollow Championship
2010 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational

• O'Hair's best finish in a World Golf Championships event is a T5 at the 2009 Accenture Match Play Championship. It is his only top-10 finish in 12 previous World Golf Championships starts. His best finish at the Bridgestone Invitational is a T12 in 2008.

Ryan Palmer (70-68-63 = 201, -9) T1
• This is Ryan Palmer's second start at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational; he last played the event in 2005, when he qualified via his win at the FUNAI Classic at Walt Disney World Resort (2004). Palmer shot 72-68-67-69 and finished T3. He was T7 heading into the final round, four shots behind the 54-hole leader.

• His only other World Golf Championships start came earlier this year at the CA Championship, where he finished T45.

• Palmer has only held one 54-hole lead in his PGA TOUR career - earlier this year at the Sony Open in Hawaii, where he was tied for the lead with Robert Allenby. Palmer shot 66 on Sunday and won by one.

• Palmer has struggled coming into this week, missing the cut in 10 out of the last 12 events he's played. He missed five cuts, finished T9 at the Valero Texas Open, then missed five additional cuts before finishing T24 at the RBC Canadian Open, his most recent PGA TOUR start.

• At No. 149 in the Official World Golf Ranking, Ryan Palmer would be the lowest ranked player to win a World Golf Championships event should he take the title home on Sunday. Craig Parry currently holds this distinction for his victory at this event in 2002 when he was ranked No. 118.

• Today's 63 is one shot higher than Palmer's lowest career round on the PGA TOUR:

Ernie Els (69-70-64 = 205, -7) T4
• Ernie Els shot a third-round 64, his best career-score at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational and is two shots behind the leaders. Els round included four birdies on the back nine, which is three more on the back nine than he had in the first two rounds combined.

• Of Els' 18 PGA TOUR victories, five have come when he trailed entering the final round. His last comeback victory came at the 2008 Honda Classic, when he started the final round three shots back. That win also marks the largest comeback win of his PGA TOUR career.

• Els remains a fixture on top of the current FedExCup standings on the strength of victories at the World

• Golf Championships-CA Championship and Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard. Els, who is tied for third on the PGA TOUR with six top-10s on the year (one back of Matt Kuchar and Retief Goosen), has led the FedExCup standings for 19- consecutive weeks, the longest stretch any one player has held the top spot in the three-plus year history of the FedExCup. Tiger Woods previously held that distinction, leading the FedExCup for 16-consecutive weeks in 2007.

• A victory this week would give Els 19 PGA TOUR wins, moving him to T39 on the all-time victory list, tied with Ben Crenshaw, Doug Ford, Hubert Green and Tom Kite. With a win, Els' three wins in 2010 would match his best season as he also won thre times in 2004; Sony Open in Hawaii, the Memorial Tournament and the World Golf Championships-American Express Championship.

• With his victory earlier this year at the CA Championship, Els became one of just five players who have captured more than one individual World Golf Championships title. With a win this week, he would join Geoff Ogilvy and Tiger Woods as the only players to win three or more World Golf Championships events.

Phil Mickelson (66-68-71=205, -5) T10
• Phil Mickelson, who needs to finish inside the top 4 to have a chance at taking over the No. 1 position in the Official World Golf Ranking went the wrong way on the leaderboard on Saturday but is still in striking distance with one round to play. Mickeslon, who started the day at 6-under-par, shot a 71 and sits at T10, four off the lead through 54 holes.

• Sixteen of Mickelson's 38 PGA TOUR victories have come after trailing heading into the final round. Four of those came when he trailed by four strokes or more.

• Mickelson can overtake the No. 1 spot in the Official World Golf Ranking with a victory this week or a top-four finish. If he finished T4, Tiger Woods would need to finish outside of the top 37 for Mickelson to move to No. 1.

• No one has held the No. 2 spot in the World Ranking for more weeks than Mickelson. In his career, Mickelson has held the No. 2 position for a total of 257 weeks, nearly twice as many as Nick Faldo who is next on the list with 130.

• Mickelson's lowest position in the OWGR while Woods has been No. 1 was sixth in February in 2007 for one week.

• Although he has never won the tournament since it became a World Golf Championships event, this is the sixth time (in 11 starts) that Mickelson has been in the top 10 after 54 holes at the Bridgestone Invitational:

• Mickelson is one of four players to win multiple World Golf Championships events (non-team). A win this week would tie him for second with Geoff Ogilvy with three WGC wins, although Mickelson would be only the second player to own at least three of the four different WGC titles (joining Tiger Woods).

Tiger Woods -- 16

Geoff Ogilvy -- 3 (2006, 2009 Accenture Match Play Championship; 2008 CA Championship)

Darren Clarke -- 2 (2000 Accenture Match Play Championship; 2003 Bridgestone Invitational)

Ernie Els -- 2 (2004 & 2010 CA Championship)

Phil Mickelson -- 2 (2009 CA Championship; 2009 HSBC Champions)

Matt Kuchar (69-67-66=202, -8) 3
• Matt Kuchar qualified for the Bridgestone Invitational by winning the 2009 Turning Stone Resort Championship. That event was part of the Fall Series last year, but moved to the PGA TOUR Regular Season in 2010 and is being staged this week in Vernon, N.Y. - so Kuchar couldn't defend his title, but he has a chance to win this week anyway.

• Kuchar is tied with Retief Goosen for most top-10 finishes this season at 7. At No. 8, Kuchar is the second-highest ranked player in the FedExCup standings without a victory in 2010 (behind Jeff Overton, No. 6).

• Kuchar has never been just one shot off the lead heading into the final round of a PGA TOUR event. He was the 54-hole leader at the 2009 Turning Stone Resort Championship, which he won. Outside of that, the closest he's ever been to a 54-hole leader was two shots down, which happened twice: to Justin Leonard at the 2001 Texas Open at LaCanterra (he shot 69 and finished T2); and to Marc Turnesa at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (he shot 68 and finished 2nd).

• Kuchar, a Bridgestone player, is competing in his first Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club. He qualified for the 2002 event when it was held at Sahalee Country Club (and was called the NEC Invitational). He finished T38.

• Kuchar's best finish in a World Golf Championships event was a T3 at the CA Championship this year, his first appearance at that event.

Katsumasa Miyamoto (71-72-62 = 205, -5) T10
• Japan's Katsumasa Miyamoto fired an 8-under-par 62 in Saturday's third round, highlighted by a tournament-record 6-under-par 29 on the back nine, to jump from a T58 to a T10 at 5-under-par 205 entering the final round. Miyamoto is making his first appearance in a World Golf Championships event. His previous-low round on the PGA TOUR was a 5-under-par 65 in the first round of the John Deere Classic in 1999. His low round on the Japan Golf Tour in 2010 was a 66 in the second round of the Toshin Golf Tournament in LakeWood.

• Miyamoto qualified for the Bridgestone Invitational by winning the Japan Golf Tour Championship (designated event) in June.

• Should he finish in the top 10 he would become just the second Japanese player to finish in the top 10 at the Bridgestone Invitational, joining Shigeki Maruyama (6th) in 1999.

• Miyamoto's 29 on the back nine featured four birdies, no bogeys and an eagle on the 400-yard, par-4 17th, where he holed a pitching wedge from 116 yards out of a fairway bunker. The 29 bettered the previous back-nine record of 5-under-par 30, accomplished two times since the Bridgestone Invitational became a WGC in 1999, most recently by Peter Lonard during the fourth round in 2004. No player in any PGA TOUR event held at Firestone Country Club has shot 29 on the back nine.

• His eagle at No. 17 was the first since Jim Furyk holed his second shot from 167 yards in the second round in 2008 and just the third since 1999.

• This week marks Miyamoto's first appearance in the United States since the 2002 Buick Invitational where he missed the cut. He played the PGA TOUR full time in 1999 after finishing T23 at the 1998 PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament. Miyamoto made eight cuts in 22 starts with his best finish a T11 at the Buick Invitational. He also recorded top 15s at the B.C. Open (T12) and Air Canada Championship (T13) and finished the year No. 170 on the money list with $154,402 in earnings.

• In 12 starts on the Japan Golf Tour in 2010 Miyamoto has made seven of 12 cuts with two tops 10s, highlighted by the victory at the Japan Golf Tour Championship.

Tiger Woods (74-72-75=221, +10) 78th
• Tiger Woods shot a third-round 75 to finish at 11-over par through 54 holes. His score of 11-over-par sets a new mark for his highest 54-hole score in relation to par since turning professional. Woods had twice previously finished with a score of 10-over-par through 54 holes.

• As a professional, Woods' worst 54-hole starts in a PGA TOUR event, in relation to par.

• Tournaments in bold are the only three in his professional career in which he has failed to shoot par or better in any of the four rounds in which he has played, which he is in danger of doing this week.

• At 78th , Woods' is in his worst position through 54 holes on the PGA TOUR since turning professional.

• The previous worst position Woods has held through 54 holes at the Bridgestone Invitational was T4 in 2003 and in 2002, the year the event was held at Sahelee Country Club in Sammamish, WA.

• Tiger's third-round 75 is his highest third-round score since a 75 at the 2005 PLAYERS Championship. His score of 5-over-par on Saturday is his worst third-round score in relation to par since the 2002 British Open where he shot 81.

• Friday's over-par round is Woods' ninth in 87-career rounds in World Golf Championships (stroke play) events.

• Through three rounds, Woods has hit 25 of 54 greens in regulation (46.3%). His worst performance as a professional for a tournament for greens in regulation happened at the 2003 PGA Championship (45.83 %).

• Since turning pro, Woods' worst finish as a professional in an event in which he played four rounds was a T60 at the first event in which he played as a pro, the 1996 Greater Milwaukee Open. Below is a list of his five worst finishes in events in which me made that cut.

Justin Leonard (68-66-69=203, -7) -- T4
• Leonard's best finish at a World Golf Championships came here at the Bridgestone Invitational when he finished T2 in 2000; he was 7 th after 54 holes. His most recent top 10 at Firestone Country Club was a T9 in 2007.

• Leonard's standing of T4 through 54 holes is his best since he was T1 after three rounds at the Children's Miracle Network Classic at Walt Disney World Resort. He finished T2 that week.

• Leonard has yet to record a top-10 finish in his 18 starts of 2010. This is the deepest into a season in his career he has gone without a top-10 finish -- the previous longest stretch came in 2007 when he waited until July 1 at the Buick Open to finish in the top 10 (T2). Leonard has never had fewer than two top-10 finishes in a PGA TOUR season, including 1994 when he played in 13 events at the end of the year and earned his TOUR card.

• With just three weeks remaining (including this week's Bridgestone Invitational) to earn points toward qualifying for the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup, Leonard is currently on the bubble at No. 122. The top 125 after the Wyndham Championship qualify for the first Playoff event, The Barclays. A win this week is worth 550 points and would move Leonard as high as No. 27.

• Leonard is currently ranked No. 52 in the U.S. Ryder Cup Team standings with just this week and next week's PGA Championship remaining to automatically qualify for the team (top 8 in standings). Leonard, the hero of the 1999 Ryder Cup, has competed in three Ryder Cups (1997, 1999, 2008) and five Presidents Cups (1996, 1998, 2003, 2005, 2009).

• With next week's PGA Championship being contested at Whistling Straits, it's worth remembering that Leonard finished T2 there in 2004. He was one shot behind Vijay Singh entering the final round, but made up that deficit and held a one-stroke lead over Singh and DiMarco with one hole to play. He missed a 12-footer for par that forced a three-man, three-hole playoff, which Singh eventually won.

• At No. 101 in the Official World Golf Ranking, Justin Leonard would be the second-lowest ranked player to win the Bridgestone Invitational should he take the title home on Sunday, behind Craig Parry, who was No. 118 when he won this event in 2002.

Bo Van Pelt, (67-68-69=204, -6) -- T7
• Bo Van Pelt enters the Bridgestone Invitational with five top-10 finishes in 2010. The most top 10s he has ever recorded in a season is six in 2005. Van Pelt, who qualified for the tournament via his spot inside the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking, finished T3 at the Memorial Tournament earlier this year here in Ohio. Van Pelt has earned more than $2 million this year for the first time in his nine-year PGA TOUR career.

• Van Pelt, who is ranked No. 19 in the FedExCup, is looking to reach THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola for the first time in his PGA TOUR career.

Peter Hanson, (69-66-68=203 (-7) -- T4
• Sweden's Peter Hanson is in contention by posting three consecutive rounds in the 60s for the first time in his World Golf Championships career (five starts, including this week). Hanson earned a spot in the field as a player, not otherwise qualified, who was top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking as of July 26. Hanson is currently 15 th in European Ryder Cup Points List.

Hanson is competing in the Bridgestone Invitational for the first time in his career.

Jeff Overton, (67,70,67=204, -6), T7
• At No. 6, Jeff Overton is the highest-ranked player in the FedExCup standings without a win, although he came tantalizingly close last week at The Greenbrier Classic. Only Stuart Appleby's 59 on Sunday kept him from winning his first tournament, but the T2 finish was enough to move him to No. 47 in the Official World Golf Ranking and earn a last-minute spot in the Bridgestone Invitational field. Overton has finished inside the top 12 in seven out of his last 10 starts. During that stretch he has three runner-up finishes (Zurich Classic of New Orleans, HP Byron Nelson Championship, The Greenbrier Classic) and two third-place finishes (Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, AT&T National). This is his first start in a World Golf Championships event.

Miscellaneous Stats
• Eleven of the 15 players who finished the third round in the top 10 are from the United States. Seven of the top nine players are from the U.S. Ernie Els and Peter Hanson are the only players from outside the U.S. who finished 54 holes inside the top 9.

• South Africa's Charl Schwartzel and England's Paul Casey are the only two players in the field this week to record top 10s in each of the first two World Golf Championships events of 2010. Casey (2 nd - Accenture Match Play Championship; T6 - CA Championship) and Schwartzel (T9 -- Accenture Match Play Championship; 2 nd - CA Championship) are both at 1-under-par and T30.

• The three past champions of the Bridgestone Invitational in the field have not fared well thus far: Stewart Cink (2004) is T42; Vijay Singh (2008) is T60; and Tiger Woods (1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009) is 78.

• There are 24 players making their Bridgestone Invitational debut in 2010. Other than the event's inaugural year in 1999, no player has ever won the Bridgestone Invitational in his first appearance. Here is a look at how this year's first timers stand after 36 holes:

• Scoring Averages at the par-70 Firestone Country Club:

• Bogey-free rounds:
Round 1 -- Kenny Perry (66), Adam Scott (66), Chad Campbell (67), Sean O'Hair (67), Paul Casey (68)
Round 2 -- None
Round 3 -- Sean O'Hair (64) and Ryan Palmer (63)