JELD-WEN Tradition: Third-round notebook

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SUNRIVER, Ore. -- Fred Funk leads a major championship heading into the final round for the first time in his professional career. Two weeks ago, Funk was the 36-hole leader at the U.S. Senior Open and eventually finished second, four strokes back of Eduardo Romero.

Scott Hoch has put together two straight 66s. (Gibbons/Getty Images)

Inside the Numbers

54-Hole Leaderboard

Player Score 1. Fred Funk 200 -16 2. Jay Haas 201 -15 3. Tim Simpson 203 -13 T4. Joe Ozaki 204 -12 T4. Scott Hoch 204 -12 T4. Mike Goodes 204 -12 T4. Tom Watson 204 -12 T8. Scott Simpson 206 -10 T8. Bernhard Langer 206 -10 T10. Lonnie Nielsen 207 -9 T10. Gene Jones 207 -9

• Fred Funk's 54-hole score of 16-under 200 is just one stroke shy of the JELD-WEN Tradition record for three rounds. In 1997 at the Golf Club at Desert Mountain in Scottsdale, Ariz., Gil Morgan was at 17-under 199 after play on Saturday, five strokes ahead of Isao Aoki and John Jacobs.

• For the first time in four years, there are no co-leaders after 54 holes at the JELD-WEN Tradition. Amazingly, the Champions Tour has not had co-leaders going into the final round of any of the 21 events that have been played in 2008.

• So far this year, only one of the three previous 54-hole leaders in majors has gone on to win on the Champions Tour this year. Eduardo Romero held a two-stroke lead over Fred Funk after three rounds of the U.S. Senior Open and went on to win by four strokes. Bernhard Langer (Senior PGA Championship/one stroke) and John Cook (Senior British Open/one stroke) both failed to hold on in the final round. Overall this year on the Champions Tour, nine of 20 Saturday leaders/co-leaders have gone on to win.

• The winner of Sunday's event will receive 784 points in the season-long Charles Schwab Cup race based on double points being awarded in major championships this year. Bernhard Langer (currently tied for eighth) is the current leader with 1,905 points, followed by Jay Haas (second) with 1,797. Eduardo Romero (tied for 19th) is currently third in the Schwab Cup points race with 1,559. At the end of the official season, the player earning the most Charles Schwab Cup points will receive a $1 millon payout and will collect the Charles Schwab Cup.

• Of the 17 previous JELD-WEN Traditions that have gone 72 holes, eight have been won by the leader/co-leader after three rounds. Mark McNulty was a co-leader after 54 holes last year and went on to win. However, before McNulty, the last third-round leader to go on to win was Doug Tewell in 2001.

• Four players in this year's field have recorded three consecutive rounds in the 60s (Fred Funk, Jay Haas, Tim Simpson and Mike Goodes). In the history of the JELD-WEN Tradition, only four players have carded four straight scores in the 60s with Gil Morgan, the only eventual winner (1997). Mike Hill (1993), Dale Douglass (1994) and Mike McCullough (2001) all shot four straight sub-70 scores and finished second.

• Thanks to birdies on all four par 3s Saturday, Joe Ozaki posted an 8-under 64 that tied the JELD-WEN record for the lowest third-round score in tournament history. Al Geiberger (1993), Isao Aoki (2003), Dana Quigley (2003) and Allen Doyle (2004) all posted 64s on Saturday.

• Saturday's scoring average was 70.746, the first time a field has averaged under 71 in this event since Round 3 of the 2003 event at The Reserve Golf & Country Club near Portland (69.821). Last year on Saturday at Crosswater, the field scoring average was 72.873. Today, there were 24 rounds in the 60s compared with 21 sub-70 scores on Friday and 18 sub-70 rounds Friday.

• Fred Funk leads all players with 20 birdies, one more than Joe Ozaki. Jay Haas' bogey at the last hole Saturday ended his run of bogey-free holes at 53 straight. Fred Funk has not made a bogey in his last 27 holes.

• Fred Funk will play in the final group on Sunday for the fourth time this year. Earlier this season, Funk was in the final grouping at the MasterCard Championship at Hualalai (won), Ginn Championship at Hammock Beach (tied for fourth) and U.S. Senior Open (second).

• Jay Haas will be in the last grouping for the third time in 2008. Earlier this year, Haas was in the last group at the AT&T Champions Classic (fourth) and Senior PGA Championship (won). Tim Simpson last played in a final grouping on the Champions Tour in the 2006 Senior British Open (fifth).

• After 54 holes, No. 9 is the most difficult hole with a scoring average of 4.139 (+.139), but No. 17 is a very close second at 3.104 (+.104). The par-5 second hole remains the easiest after 54 holes at 4.657 (-.343). All in all through three rounds, 14 of the 18 holes at Crosswater are averaging an under-par score.

• Mark O'Meara's 7-under 65 Saturday jumped him up 28 spots into a tie for 25th, the biggest move of any player in the field on Satuday.

• Through 54 holes, Dave Eichelberger has hit 41 of 42 fairways. Scott Simpson has hit the most greens in regulation (46 of 54/85%). Mike McCullough has taken only 73 putts (24.33). Massy Kuramoto still hasn't three-putted, running his streak of holes without a three-putt on the Champions Tour to 290 in a row.

• A trio of major champions will play together in the 10:55 a.m. grouping Sunday. Tom Watson, a winner of eight majors on the PGA TOUR, will play with two-time Masters champion Bernhard Langer and 1987 U.S. Open champion Scott Simpson.

• Because of the threat of afternoon thunderstorms in the Bend, Ore., area, final-round tee times have been moved up. The first grouping will go off the first tee at 7:15 a.m. PT with the final grouping teeing off at 11:17 a.m. PT.