IRVING, Texas -- The final threesome has teed off in Saturday's third round of the HP Byron Nelson Championship. By early indications, scores may not be as low as in the first two rounds.

Justin Leonard, starting his round off the 10th tee, had the quickest start of any player, with birdies in his first three holes. That's the good news. The bad news is that the Dallas native, making his 20th start in his hometown event, started 11 strokes off the lead held by Keegan Bradley.

Brian Harman and D.H. Lee also are 3 under in their rounds and have moved inside the top 10 of the leaderboard.

Sang-Moon Bae has made up two of the three shots in which he trailed Bradley after the second round. Bae birdied his first two holes and is at 10 under, one shot behind Bradley.

Martin Kaymer and Camilo Villegas also have started strong; both are 2 under on their rounds through six holes.

Jordan Spieth, the 19-year-old from Dallas, is 2 over through his first nine holes and has dropped to 1 under.

FOLLOW THE FINAL GROUPS ON SHOT TRACKER

Click here to follow Keegan Bradley, Tom Gillis and Sang-Moon Bae

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Click here to follow Angel Cabrera, Graham DeLaet and Ted Potter Jr.

Keegan Bradley is seeking his second win at the HP Byron Nelson Championship (Pennington/Getty Images)

By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM

IRVING, Texas -- With a three-shot lead entering Saturday's third round, Keegan Bradley is in good position to achieve something no player at the HP Byron Nelson Championship has done in 32 years: win wire to wire.

Tom Watson did it in 1980 en route to winning the tournament for the third consecutive year (and fourth overall). In 1976, Mark Hayes also went wire to wire. Those are the only two HP Byron Nelson winners known to have won wire-to-wire. (Complete first-round scores are not available for inaugural event in 1944 won by Nelson himself.)

Bradley surged to the top of the leaderboard with a course-record 60 on Thursday that gave him a three-shot lead, and he maintained it on Friday with a second-round 69 under tougher afternoon scoring conditions.

"A three-shot lead with two rounds to play is a huge positive," Bradley said.

Bradley's three-stroke lead ties for the second-largest 36-hole advantage on the PGA TOUR this year (see chart below). Phil Mickelson had the largest 36-hole lead at the Waste Management Phoenix Open when he lead by four and eventually went on to finish off the only wire-to-wire win on TOUR this year.

Will Bradley follow suit? He's trying not to get too far ahead of himself.

"I can think about (winning) a little bit but we have two more rounds to play," Bradley said. "I certainly like my chances. I love this course and obviously the position I'm in is great. But I'm going to have to play really good golf to win the tournament.

LARGEST 36-HOLE LEADS IN 2013

By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM

IRVING, Texas -- Eleven players are within five shots of Keegan Bradley's lead entering Saturday's third round of the HP Byron Nelson Championhip. Of course, the closest players are three shots off the pace, thanks to Bradley's course record 60 that he shot on Thursday.

With threesomes instead of the usual twsomes set for the third round, here's a look at the final four groups teeing off at No. 1 on Saturday at TPC Four Seasons Resort:

12:10 p.m. ET
Harris English (-6), Gary Woodland (-6), Scott Piercy (-6) -- Woodland comes off a 65, one of the lowest rounds produced from the Friday afternoon wave. He made two putts of over 35 feet in the second round. English opened with a 64 on Thursday. Piercy entered this week ranked 174th on TOUR in bogey avoidance but has suffered just two bogeys this week.

12:20 p.m. ET
Angel Cabrera (-6), Graham DeLaet (-6), Ted Potter Jr. (-6) -- A double bogey late in Friday's round knocked Cabrera out of a tie for second. He's hit just 11 of 28 fairways this week. Potter and DeLaet had bogey-free rounds on Thursday.

12:30 p.m. ET
Charl Schwartzel (-7), John Huh (-7), Ryan Palmer (-7) -- Schwartzel, making his first start in this event, leads the field in greens in regulation; he was a perfect 18 for 18 on Thursday and followed by hitting 16 of 18 greens Friday. Palmer has top-10 finishes in his last two starts here, losing in a playoff two years ago to Keegan Bradley. Huh's best result this year was a T11 at the Masters; he leads the field in proximiity to the hole.

12:40 p.m. ET
Keegan Bradley (-11), Tom Gillis (-8), Sang-Moon Bae (-8) -- Bradley, not surprisingly, leads the fields in birdies with 14. He's seeking his second win here in three starts. Gillis tied his career-low with a 63 on Friday; he leads the field in strokes gained-putting, having picked up 7.7 strokes on the field through two rounds. Bae tied for eighth earlier this year at the Northern Trust Open, his best finish this year.

Because 83 players the made at the HP Byron Nelson Championship, the field will use split tees Saturday at TPC Four Seasons.

There will be a secondary cut after the third round, with the top 70 players (and ties) moving on to the final round The PGA TOUR oftenmust use split tees in the third round when an unusually high number of players make the cut.  Three weeks ago at the RBC Heritage, 91 players made the cut.

Leader Keegan Bradley is out last at 12:50 p.m. ET with Tom Gillis and Sang-Moon Bae.

Amanda Balionis and Will Haskett with SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio preview Round 3 of the HP Byron Nelson Championship from TPC Four Seasons Resort Las Colinas.

In the second round of the HP Byron Nelson Championship from TPC Four Seasons, Keegan Bradley leads at 11 under.

By PGATOUR.COM staff

IRVING, Texas -- The cut tline moved from 1 under to even par on Friday afternoon at the HP Byron Nelson Championship. That allowed defending champ Jason Dufner, among others, to make the cut on the number.

Sixteen players were at even par after Friday's round, including four past winners of this event -- Dufner, 2010 champ Jason Day, 2009 champ Rory Sabbatini and 2005 champ Ted Purdy.

Dufner had to make a 4-1/2 foot par putt on the final hole late in the day Friday to secure his spot on the weekend.

Day had played in the morning and finished at even par, which at the time was not good enough to make the cut, which in the middle of the day was projected at 1 under.

Padraig Harrington and Dallas native Justin Leonard also made the cut on the number, as did Kenny Perry, a Champions Tour regular making his first TOUR start of the year.

Guan Tianlang, the 14-year-old from China, missed the cut for the first time in three PGA TOUR starts.

A total of 83 players made the cut. That's the most since 2001 when 83 players made the cut that year.

Since more than 78 players made the cut, there will be an additional cut after Saturday's third round to the top 70 and ties.

By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM

IRVING, Texas -- Keegan Bradley certainly was satisfied with the course-record 60 he shot on Thursday. But he may have taken more satisfaction from Friday's second-round 1-under 69, a grinder's special that allowed him to maintain his three-shot advantage through 36 holes of the HP Byron Nelson Championship.

"I'm almost more proud of this round than yesterday because I didn't feel comfortable all day," Bradley said. "I don't know what it was. I can't put my finger on it. ... I was a little uncomfortable and then I settled it and hit some really good shots."

Following up a record round is never easy. Bradley knows that from experience. He once shot 61 at a Web.com Tour event, and shot 77 the next day.

After his round Thursday, Bradley said he received a 100 messages of congratulations from well-wishers but tried to put it in perspective.

"I don't get too caught up in it," Bradley said. "Whenever you shoot rounds like that, people make a big deal out of it, more than I do."

Still he didn't get off to a great start Friday.

Bradley has made five bogeys through the first two days at TPC Four Seasons Resort. Two of those bogeys have come at the par-4 first, and two others have come at the par-4 18th. For the middle 16 holes this week, Bradley is a cumulative 15 under.

On Friday, Bradley's opening drive missed the fairway to the left and his approach came up short of the green. He missed a putt from 6 feet, 7 inches that would have saved par.

"The first hole is probably the easiest hole out here," Bradley said. "I don't know why I keep making bogey on that hole."

Bradley birdied the fourth with a putt from just inside 9 feet, then bogeyed the sixth before birdies at the two par 5s (seventh and 16th) along with the par-4 10th.

Leading by four shots going to the 18th hole, Bradley didn't want to take any chances with water down the left side. So he bailed out again with his tee shot, just like on Thursday. His ball landed in the trees, and his low-liner under the limbs ran through the green and landed in the collection area on the other side to set up his bogey.

His caddie, Steve "Pepsi" Hale, said he might as well put a yardage plate in the trees for Bradley, given how frequently he find himself over there. But Bradley insists his problems off the 18th tee will be corrected this weekend.

"I'm going to hit good ones Saturday and Sunday," he said.

By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM

IRVING, Texas -- Keegan Bradley followed his spectacular round on Thursday with a workmanlike one on Friday, carving out a 1-under 69 to maintain his three-shot lead through two rounds of the HP Byron Nelson Championship.

Bradley shot a course-record 10-under 60 in the opening round, producing one eagle and 10 birdies in the process. That round took place in the morning under favorable scoring conditions.

On Friday, Bradley and the rest of the afternoon wave played a much tougher course that was dry and firming up, with more wind. His 69 included four birdies and three bogeys, including his second consecutive bogey at the 18th hole when he bailed out on the right with his tee shot.

That was his only bogey over his last 12 holes and left him at 11 under through 36 holes.

"I'm really happy shooting 69," Bradley said. "I didn't feel real comfortable all day."

Tom Gillis and Erik Compton, going out in the morning group, shot the low round of the day, a 7-under 63 that matched their career lows.

That moved Gillis to 8 under for the tournament and puts him in position to chase his first PGA TOUR title. But he's not looking that far ahead.

"As of right now, (his score) hasn't done anything yet, other than give me a chance," Gillis said.

Tied with Gillis in second place is Sang-Moon Bae, who shot his second consecutive 66 under tougher conditions.

"Looking forward to next two rounds," Bae said.

Tied for fourth is John Huh, Ryan Palmer and Charl Schwartzel at 7 under, followed by a group of six players another shot back.

Guan Tianlang, the 14-year-old amateur from China, missed the cut after shooting a 7-over 77. Guan had made the cut at the Masters and the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

"I won't make the cut every time," Guan said, "but I think I learned more."

Jason Dufner's putter has let him down this season. (Pennington/Getty Images)

By Fred Albers, PGATOUR.COM Correspondent

IRVING, Texas -- Jason Dufner was ready to make his move. The defending champion was putting for eagle on the seventh green from 68 feet away. Dufner had just birdied the sixth and an eagle would provide momentum for a great round. Just a two-putt birdie might lead to a string of red numbers. What happened? Dufner three-putted for par. Everyone knows he is not putting as well this year as he did in the past, ranked 153rd in strokes-gained putting after ranking 78th in 2012. However, there is a hidden stat within that number: Dufner is ranked 180th in three-putt avoidance. He has 32 three-putts this year including two this week. You simply can’t score on the PGA TOUR when you give strokes away on the greens with three-putts.

Observations

Sluggish: Keegan Bradley said he had a hard time "getting into the round." His concentration was not sharp and he said he felt sluggish the entire 18 holes. Perhaps it was the heat of the afternoon or perhaps it was the difficulty of the golf course. The greens were not as receptive as when Bradley played early Thursday morning and the wind came in swirling gusts. Golf is a game of momentum and TPC Four Seasons did not allow many players, with afternoon tee times, to get on any sort of run.

Preferred lies: It was a bit of a surprise that players were once again allowed to improve their lies. Most of the course had drained from the two-inch rains on Wednesday night but holes 11 and 14 were still soggy, so lift, clean and place was instituted throughout the golf course. It might also have been fairer to allow Friday's morning wave of players to have the same advantages as those golfers who went early on Thursday in the opening round.

Concentration: Tom Gillis walked off the ninth green with a smile on his face, even though he had just three-putted his 36th hole from 9 feet. Gillis had a putt to tie for the lead and gave it a little too much speed, lipping out on the left side. What followed was a lapse in concentration. Gillis was so focused on the birdie that he could not regain his mental edge and missed the 3-foot par putt. He may also have been tired. Gillis awoke at 3:40 a.m. and could not get back to sleep. A combination of nerves and adrenaline kept him awake, watching the clock tick away the minutes until it was time to leave for the course. To Gillis' credit, he was able to turn those nerves into a 63, despite a three-putt on his final hole.

Heat: It might have been the hottest day of the year on the PGA TOUR when you consider both temperature and humidity. The golf course was a sauna with a bright sun beating players into submission. Several golfers walked the tree line to seek out pockets of shade and everyone drank as much water as possible. The greens were watered following the second round so the putting surfaces will not be stressed this weekend.

Fred Albers is a course reporter for SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio. For more information on SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio, click here.