Deutsche Bank Championship: Third-round notebook
By Doug Milne, PGA TOUR Staff
NORTON, Mass. -- Because 86 players made the cut after Round 2, there was a subsequent second, 54-hole cut on Sunday afternoon that reduced the field to 72 players for Monday's final round. Even though 14 players will not play in the final round, they will receive FedExCup points and monetary earnings based on their 54-hole finish.
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• First-round leader Mike Weir fired a 4-under-par 67 in Round 3 to take a single-shot lead over Camilo Villegas into the final round of the 2008 Deutsche Bank Championship.
• Mike Weir's 17-under-par 196 (61-68-67) breaks the previous lowest 54-hole score at the Deutsche Bank Championship held by Adam Scott when he fired opening rounds of 69-62-67--198 in 2003. Weir's 54-hole lead of 17-under 196 is the fourth lowest (in relation to par) of the year. The others were: Parker McLachlin, -20 at the Legends-Reno Tahoe Open; Carl Pettersson, -19 at the Wyndham Championship; Robert Gamez, -18 at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic; and Tiger Woods, -18 at the Buick Invitational.
• The last time Mike Weir opened with three rounds in the 60s was at the 2006 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
• Three of the five previous 54-hole leaders in Deutsche Bank Championship history have gone on to win: Adam Scott in 2003, Vijay Singh in 2004 and Olin Browne, who was tied for the lead following the third-round in 2005.
• The third-round leader has gone on to win 20 of 36 stroke-play events on the PGA TOUR in 2008, including most recently Carl Pettersson at the Wyndham Championship.
• Playing in his 85th PGA TOUR event since joining the TOUR in 2004, 26 year-old Camilo Villegas fired a bogey-free, 8-under-par 63 Sunday to trail Mike Weir's 17-under lead by a single stroke into the final round.
• Camilo Villegas is proving that distance makes a difference at TPC Boston. Heading into the week, he was ranked 52nd on the PGA TOUR with an average drive of 292.8 yards. Through three rounds this week, Villegas is ranked 11th with an average drive of 309.9 yards.
• Heading into the Deutsche Bank Championship, Camilo Villegas was ranked 49th in putting. In addition to improvements in distance off the tee, he ranks second in putting through three rounds this week with a 1.541 average.
• The best finish for Camilo Villegas this year came with third-place honors at the AT&T Classic at the TPC Sugarloaf. In August, Villegas posted the best major championship finish of his career with a tie for fourth at the PGA Championship.
• Camilo Villegas' 8-under 63 in Round 3 wasn't the first time he posted that score at the TPC Boston. In last year's opening round, he fired a round of 8-under 63 to take the overnight lead. Second, third and final rounds of 72-69-72, respectfully, resulted in a tie for ninth.
• After missing the cut last week at The Barclays, Camilo Villegas entered this week ranked 68th in the FedExCup standings. He enters the final-round having played his last 42 holes with just a single bogey (#5/Rd. 2).
• 2004 Deutsche Bank Championship winner, Vijay Singh, posted a 2-under 69 in round three to sit at 14 under for the tournament, and will begin Sunday's final round three strokes behind Mike Weir's 17-under lead. Singh, however, has a proven track record of not letting a 54-hole deficit keep him out of the winner's circle.
• Sergio Garcia fired a 3-under-par 68 in Round 3 and will begin the final round Monday trailing Mike Weir's 17-under-par lead by three strokes.
• Sergio Garcia's bogey on the par-4 fourth hole in round-three is his only bogey in his last 42 holes. Garcia is hoping to for a victory on Monday to snap runner-up finishes in his last two starts (PGA Championship, The Barclays).
• Currently ranked 93rd in the FedExCup standings, Ben Crane is doing what it takes to make it to the BMW Championship, where only the top-70 in FedExCup standings qualify. Following an opening-round 1-over-par 72 to take a share of 93rd place, he bettered on that in Round 2 with a 6-under 65 to finish tied for 45th. In Round 3, Crane fired an 8-under 63 to vault all the way up the leader board to a tie for fifth.
• Ben Crane is in search of his fourth top-10 finish of the year. Following a tie for fourth at the FBR Open, he posted a tie for sixth at THE PLAYERS Championship in May. Two weeks later, he finished fifth at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial and jumped to 37th on the FedExCup points list.
• Tom Pernice Jr. is making his 500th career start on the PGA TOUR this week at the Deutsche Bank Championship. The two-time TOUR winner posted a 2-under 69 on Sunday to move to a tie for 21st. This is Pernice's sixth start at the TPC Boston, with a tie for 32nd in 2003 his best showing.
• Tom Pernice Jr. (69) was one of three players with bogey-free rounds on Sunday. The others were Camilo Villegas (63) and Chad Campbell (69).
• Players in Round 3 found scoring conditions a tad tougher than so in Round 2. The scoring average in Saturday's second round was 69.88. On Sunday, however, the scoring average was 70.24.
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