Lee Westwood took advantage of the par-5s and made a move on Saturday. (Cannon/Getty Images)

By Melanie Hauser, PGATOUR.COM Correspondent

HUMBLE Texas – Lee Westwood was smiling after his third-round 67 and the moment was duly noted by the press.

“Golfers are never satisfied, are we?’’ he said with a grin. “We roll a few in and think we can roll a few more in. Just a vicious circle. I like the way I putted it today and the greens were a little bit slower, that's what I found tricky about it. Left a lot of putts short.’’

Made a few too, which put him into position to contend in Sunday’s final round. He walked off the course just two shots behind the leaders and is one of about a dozen players with a good chance to win the Shell Houston Open.

The 67 left him at 9-under, two back of the leaders, going into the final round, but it could have been one better if he hadn’t bogeyed 18.

“I played much more solid today,’’ said Westwood, who shot even-par Friday. “I played the par 5s in 3-under par. The first day I was 1-over. You can't afford to do that.

“Today, it was obviously a lot better. I'll shoot lower scores if I start playing the par 5s better ... I mean, built up a little bit more confidence and I hit the ball really nice today. It's longer, so I'm sure I'll start to swing at it better and made a few putts as well.’’

Well outside the top 100 in the FedExCup race, Rory McIlroy will play next week to try and get on track. (Halleran/Getty Images)

By Melanie Hauser, PGATOUR.COM Correspondent

HUMBLE Texas – Talk about playing your way to Augusta.

Every day Rory McIlroy’s game gets a little bit better. Every day he gets a little more confident.

Even after after he struggled on the back nine -- three bogeys in the last six holes, including one at 18 – he was upbeat. McIlroy’s 1-under 71 in the third round left him with far too steep a hill to climb to win Sunday – he was nine shots behind the leaders as they played late into the afternoon.

“Obviously not the finish I wanted,’’ he said. “ showed a lot of really positive signs out there, and I would love to take it forward into tomorrow and also into next week. Ultimately into the Masters in a couple weeks’ time.

“It's all moving in the right direction. I definitely feel like I played a lot better than the 71 on the scorecard suggests. So, you know, even though it wasn't my best round, scoring-wise, it was still a great one for me.’’

A top-10 at the Shell Houston Open would be nice. A win too, but that’s likely in his dreams here. And would mean he’d have to count on a myriad of mistakes from other people.

So, he thought Friday night, why not just head on over to San Antonio – 3 hours away – and get in some more competitive rounds before Augusta.

“Something I hadn't thought about until basically after I finished yesterday,” McIlroy said. “J.P. (Fitgerald, his caddie) was the one that mentioned it to me. Said, ‘If you just play a few more rounds, I think you're going to be ready.’ I didn't really think about it too much and sat down, had some lunch, started to think about it and I texted him and said, I don't think this is a bad idea. Probably took me an hour or two to sort of think about it and decide about.’’

The decision means he has to put off a UNICEF visit to Haiti, but, while it was important, so is the first major of the year. And he’s excited – not worried – about playing the week before a major.

“This is my 13th competitive round this year,’’ he said. “There's not any worry of burnout. No. I just feel like I'm playing well, I'm hitting the ball well. Everything feels good, my game. It's just about playing a bit more competitive course and getting a little sharper.

“I feel a little rusty out there at times. I think the more rounds I play, the better it will be for me going into Augusta.”

Overall, McIlroy played well tee-to-green.

“I drove the ball much better … I'm happy,’’ he said. “I had a putt on the 13th green to be 5-under par for the day. Obviously it wasn't meant to be.

“Made a couple of silly iron (shots) coming in, but, you know, I think with a bit more competitive play, one round here to go this week and hopefully four more rounds next week, I'll be ready. I'm very, very happy with the signs that I've seen.’’

Bill Haas is in contention at Redstone thanks to shots like this 37-foot birdie roll on the par-4 11th.

By PGATOUR.COM Staff

To say that Rory McIlroy was disappointed in his finish Saturday would be an understatement.

McIlroy birdied four of his first 12 holes, then stumbled home with a slew of bogeys, including one on the par-4 18th. Still, he maintained that his ball-stirking is coming around.

"I had a 5-foot putt to go 5-under through 13 and 3-putted there," McIlroy said. "Didn't have the best of finishes, but I saw a lot of positives out there, I hit the ball really wet, the best I've hit it on the course this week and made me really happy with my game. I needed to eradicate those mistakes.

"It's all moving in the right direction. I definitely feel like I played a lot better than the 71 on the scorecard suggests. So, you know, even though it wasn't my best round, scoring-wise, it was still a great one for me."

Watch above: Phil Mickelson was all smiles after birdieing the 18th Saturday at Redstone.

By PGATOUR.COM Staff

It wasn't quite the 63 that he shot in 2011 to pull away from the field, but Phil Mickelson had his best round of the week on Saturday.

Mickelson birdied two of the last three holes -- including the long 18th -- to post 67 and move into the top 10 just before the leaders teed off.

I feel like it's getting better each day and that's what I was hoping for," Mickelson said. "I feel like I'll have a low one tomorrow.  I'm not sure how far back I'll be, but I feel like I've got a low round in me tomorrow."

As Jonathan Wall reported Friday, Mickelson has been testing a new 3-wood this week at Redstone. Just as importantly, Mickelson has gone back to a regular putting grip after using a claw version off and on.

"I have a tendency with the regular grip to get my hands way ahead," Mickelson said. "With the set-up and the putter and having putted with the claw for awhile, I feel very comfortable with the regular grip and I'm in the proper position because of it."

Prior to the third round of the 2013 Shell Houston Open, Will Haskett and Dennis Paulson from SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio discuss early day scoring conditions.

Amanda Balionis and Fred Albers with SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio preview Round 3 of the Shell Houston Open from the Tournament Course at Redstone Golf Club.

Check out the best highlights from the second round of the Shell Houston Open on Friday.

Jason Kokrak rebounded from a double bogey on his eighth hole on Friday. (Petersen/Getty Images)

By Melanie Hauser, PGATOUR.COM Correspondent

HUMBLE Texas – Jason Kokrak couldn’t resist.

He’d been playing. Everyone else had been Dufnering. So before he met the media Friday afternoon, he plopped down on the riser and posed for a few tweet-able moments.

That done, he was all smiles. He wasn’t sure at the time if he’d be playing with Steve Wheatcroft or D.A. Points. Both are buddies. Either would be a perfect partner for the start of a weekend run.

Especially Wheatcroft. And he got it.

Kokrak and Wheatcroft will be last off Saturday afternoon as the Shell Houston Open rolls into the final 36 holes with Wheatcroft leading at 10 under and Kokrak and Points tied, one shot back.

“I congratulated (Wheatcroft) on getting into the Monday qualifier,’’ Kokrak said. “ Played well yesterday late in the round, so, you know, I'm happy for him.  I'm happy he's doing well.  Hopefully I can go out there and overtake the lead or -- hopefully I overtake him late Sunday, but hopefully go out there and have a lot of fun.’’

A win would get either one of them into the Masters in a few weeks, but Kokrak said it’s not really on his mind.

“I don't think it's really on my mind too much,’’ said Kokrak, who backed up an opening 66 with a second-round 69. “Been struggling the last couple of weeks, so it hasn't -- I haven't really been thinking about it, but it's one of the bonuses of winning out here.

“But, you know, it might creep into my mind a little bit, but for right now, there's so much golf to be played that I'm going to concentrate on my own game tomorrow.”

Kokrak’s lone hiccup Friday was a double-bogey at the 17th hole.

“Other than that, I started hitting stride on the back,’’ he said. “Hitting solid shots, hitting it in the fairways and hitting really good tee balls. Putting myself in good positions is key for this golf course. There's a lot of water out there, lot of wind. So hitting it solid, there's something to be said about it.’’

By Melanie Hauser, PGATOUR.COM Correspondent

HUMBLE Texas – It’s been coming for a while now.

Stewart Cink has worked on his mechanics. He and caddie Matt Hall have worked on lines and concentration.

And Friday, it all came together as Cink jumped into contention with a second-round 66 that left him three shots behind leader Steve Wheatcroft going into the weekend at the Shell Houston Open.

“I’ve been threatening to put a round like this together for a while,’’ Cink said. “Today, early on, a lot of putts went in and it's amazing how much bigger the hole looks when a few go in early.  All day it just felt really, really nice and calm out there. I just need to keep doing the same things.’’

While some players grumbled about the wind, Cink said, “it blew just the right amount for a good test.’’

Cink, who is playing for just the third time in Houston, was in a similar position earlier this year at the Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation where he finished T10.

The former British Open champ ran off three consecutive birdies at the fourth, fifth and sixth to turn at 4 under (3-under for the day), then closed with three more birdies on the back.

“I'm excited to be in position to maybe, you know, make a charge or, you know, within shouting distance of the lead anyway, going into a weekend or into a last round, it would be -- that's why we play the game,’’ he said.