• Fred Couples is playing in his 25th consecutive Nissan Open this week (1982-2006). The two-time winner (1990, 1992) of the tournament sits tied for second through three rounds and is looking to record his sixth top-3 finish and 12th top-10 finish here. Along with his two victories, Couples has finished second three times – 1993, ’94, and ’96.

• Fred Couples has put himself in position to become a three-time winner at the Nissan Open. He won in 1990 and ’92 and would follow in the footsteps of Ben Hogan (1942, ’47-’48) and Arnold Palmer (1963, ’66-’67). The three players trail four-time winners -- MacDonald Smith and Lloyd Mangrum.

• Tiger Woods withdrew from the Nissan Open prior to the start of the third round due to the flu. Woods had been ill all week and playing in the cold and rain on Friday afternoon did not help the cause. It was the third time in his career that he has withdrawn from an event. Woods will receive last place unofficial money ($8,925) for making the cut.

The last time he withdrew from an event was the 1998 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (cut is made after 54 holes at this event) when he did not show up for the final round, which was played six months later. The tournament was originally stopped after two rounds in February due to inclement weather and then finished in August as a 54-hole tournament instead of a 72-hole tournament. The first time came during the 1995 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills GC when he played three holes of the second round but withdrew after injuring his wrist on the course.

• Woods has now made 11 starts at the Nissan Open without a victory. It’s the most starts at any tournament without a victory for him. The next closest is the Barclays Classic, which he has played four times without a win.

• Third-round leader Rory Sabbatini is in this position for the second time in his career. The first time came during the 2003 FBR Capital Open in Potomac, Maryland where he turned a one-stroke 54-hole lead over Niclas Fasth into a four-stroke win over three others.

• The four-stroke lead by Rory Sabbatini heading into the final round at the Nissan Open matches the largest 54-hole lead of the season. Chad Campbell rode a four-stroke lead to victory at the 2006 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.

• Rory Sabbatini (first) and Craig Barlow (tied for second) are the only players in the field with a chance to post four rounds in the 60s this week. The last time a player posted four rounds in the 60s at the Nissan Open was in 2002 when four players did so, including Sabbatini, who finished tied for second that week. The others: Len Mattiace (first), Brad Faxon (tied for second) and Fred Funk (tied for ninth).

• Three South African-born players sit within the top five on the leaderboard with one round to play at the 2006 Nissan Open -- Rory Sabbatini (first), Tim Clark and Trevor Immelman (both tied for fourth). They are looking to become the seventh international winner in the last nine years of the tournament. The other six winners since 1997 -- Nick Faldo (1997), Ernie Els (1999), Robert Allenby (2001), Mike Weir (2003, 2004) Adam Scott (2005).

• Craig Barlow, tied for second through three rounds, is looking for his best career TOUR finish. He has finished tied for third twice before -- 1999 Buick Challenge and the 2002 Air Canada Championship. Barlow is coming off a tie for fifth at last week’s AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. He has never posted back-to-back top-10s on the PGA TOUR in his nine-year career.

• Mark Brooks sits in a tie for seventh through three rounds. The 23-year TOUR veteran has just two top-10s in his last 99 events dating back to the end of the 2002 season. Brooks, who has finished outside the top 150 on the PGA TOUR money list the last three years, is in the last year of his 10-year full exemption for winning the 1996 PGA Championship.

• Third-round leader Rory Sabbatini leads the way with 18 birdies through three rounds. He still has a way to go to match his career-best output in a 72-hole tournament, 25 at the 1999 BellSouth Classic.

• Four players are tied for the lead in par-5 scoring average through 54 holes with an average of 4.11 -- Craig Barlow, Trevor Immelman, Brandt Jobe and Tom Lehman. Barlow (tied for second) and Immelman (tied for fourth) have used the par-5s to rise to the top of the leaderboard with one round to play.

• The best round of the day was turned in by John Rollins who fired a 7-under 64. The 64 allowed him to move up 30 places from a tied for 36th to sixth place with one round to play. It wasn’t the largest jump of the day though, that was made by Australia’s Geoff Ogilvy who’s 66 moved him up 46 spots from a tie for 69th (cut on the number) to a tie for 23nd.

• The par-5 503-yard first hole at Riviera CC is looking to become the easiest hole on the PGA TOUR through seven events in 2006. The hole is playing to a scoring average of 4.280 through three rounds, which would currently make it the easiest behind the par-5, 512-yard, 11th hole at the Arnold Palmer Private Course at PGA West during the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.

• Players looking for their first PGA TOUR victory sitting inside the top 10 with one round to play -- Craig Barlow (tied for second), Tim Clark (tied for fourth), Trevor Immelman (tied for fourth), and Dean Wilson (tied for seventh).

• The toughest green to hit at Riviera CC through three rounds has been the par-3, 336–yard fourth hole, which has seen just 22.9% (84 of 367) of the players find the putting surface. The hole is the third-toughest on the course with a scoring average of 3.305.

• Last week’s winner of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am Arron Oberholser withdrew from the tournament after the third round due to illness. Oberholser and Tiger Woods will split last place unofficial money of $8,925.

• Stephen Ames' disqualification was switched to a withdrawal. He had phoned in a message pulling out because of illness and therefore did inform officials of his intention to withdraw.