Live Report: Waste Management Phoenix Open, Round 3
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FULL SPEED AHEAD SUNDAY (6:32 p.m.) The iffy weather should be through the Phoenix area by Sunday morning. The strong winds that buffeted TPC Scottsdale in the late stages of the third round will have subsided and only a few showers may linger from the heavy rain expected overnight.
Tee times will run off Nos. 1 and 10 from 10 a.m.-noon MT with the final group consisting of Brandt Snedeker, Scott Piercy and Matt Every. Snedekerwill be looking to win for the second time in his career while Piercy and Every are seeking their first.
Snedeker claimed sole possession of the lead with a round of 66 Saturday that left him 14 under for the tournament. Piercy is another shot back after a 65 while Every had a 68./
"The front nine was playing relatively calm and gettable I guess is the best way to put it, and the back nine the wind kicked up and it was playing really tough," Snedeker said. " But I played really good. I'm swinging it really good right now. Made one mistake on 14 and was able to make a long putt to save bogey. Besides that, I'm rolling it great. I've been hitting a lot of really quality shots, so it was a lot of fun out there. "
The penultimate group on Sunday will an interesting contrast with Mark Calcavecchia, who turns 50 in June, playing with 28-year-old Camilo Villegas and 21-year-old Rickie Fowler. -- Helen Ross
EAGLES FLY (6:05 p.m.): Scott Piercy used a pair of eagles to make a run up the leaderboard at TPC Scottsdale on Saturday. One came in the conventional manner, the other was a bit of a surprise.
Piercy got things rolling when he made a 40-footer at the par-5 third hole. His second came courtesy of a 361-yard drive at the par-4 10th that set up a 10-inch tap-in.
"I hit it exactly how I wanted to," Piercy said. "Just usually you can fly it right over that bunker and it bounces off the downslope and runs up about 15, 20 yards short of the flag and you've got a pretty easy pitch. But I guess I hit the cart path just perfect, and next thing you know (I was) tapping it in.
"Hey, when you get a good break like that, it puts a smile on your face for a long time."
Piercy, who is looking for his first TOUR win, said he couldn't have putted the ball that close. The shot from the tee is a blind one, but he thinks the group ahead had already cleared the green.
Asked whether he had gotten any nasty e-mails, Piercy said no. "But I haven't turned my phone on, either," he grinned.
"It was an exciting round, as the last couple days have kind of been," said Piercy, who has shot lower with each progressive round and finds himself in the final group on Sunday at TPC Scottsdale for the second straight year.
"I cleaned up the bogeys, a little unusual to make a couple eagles. But I knew it was going to be tough at the end of the day with the wind being -- I think it's supposed to blow it's like 26 miles an hour.
"So it was getting tough out there, and I'm glad I got it going early and I knew I had to hold on and bring it home. I'm excited about tomorrow, and it's kind of a similar position to last year, which was fun, and I learned a lot, just looking forward to tomorrow." -- Helen Ross
YOUNG GUN (5:48 p.m.): If he breaks through on Sunday, Rickie Fowler (21 years, 2 months, 15 days) would be the youngest player to win on TOUR since Tiger Woods won his first in 1996 at the age of 20 years, 9 months, 6 days. Sergio Garcia was 21 years, 4 months, 11 days when he won the 2001 Colonial.
"I feel really good going into tomorrow," said Fowler, who is two strokes off the lead after a 68 Saturday. "I left a bit out there the last five or so holes. I got off rough start, played well in the middle, and like I said, left a few out there. Hopefully we can go out tomorrow and get those back.
"I feel good about the game, and when the wind picked up I felt comfortable. I like playing in the wind. Right where we want to be going into tomorrow." -- Mark Stevens
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HOME ALONE (5:38 p.m.): Brandt Snedeker fired a 66 on Saturday to claim sole possession of the lead at 14 under after three rounds of the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Snedeker pitched to 9 feet at the 17th hole for his sixth and final birdie, breaking out of a tie with Scott Piercy in the process. Rickie Fowler and Matt Every are two strokes behind Snedeker.
Camilo Villegas, who shared the overnight lead with Mark Wilson, birdied his last two holes to finish with an even-par 71 that left him alone in fifth at 11 under. Wilson shot a 72 that left him in a nine-way tie for sixth. -- Helen Ross
QUIET CLIMB (5:20 p.m.): Hunter Mahan rode his low round of 2010 to a share of fifth entering the final round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open on Saturday. Mahan shot a bogey-free 66 that included a 33-foot birdie putt at No. 9, which was his final hole of the day.
"I got lucky with a tee time, really," Mahan said. "Started on the back, there were expectations of high, high wind, and for about 15, 16 holes we didn't really have much. Got through the turn and played it solid and played pretty well all day."
Mahan's best finish this year is a tie for 27th in his first start at the Farmers Insurance Open. He's comfortable with his game, though, and feels it's only a matter of time before things turn around.
"I'm a little disappointed, but I'm doing the right things," Mahan said. "I'm getting better. The whole of my game is actually really good, so that's kind of exciting." -- Helen Ross
JUMPIN' JANZEN (5:10 p.m.): That 4-footer he missed on the 18th hole certainly wasn't the way Lee Janzen wanted to finish. Considering he had played the previous five holes in 5 under, though, the veteran probably couldn't be too disappointed with his position.
"It's definitely exciting," said Janzen, who shot 67 Saturday to finish 10 under for the tournament. "... "I just had a good finish, I guess three birdies and an eagle and a bogey, but still, 5-under par the last 11 holes is good. I'm certainly moving forward, and I feel like I have a pretty good chance for tomorrow if I shoot a good score. I've got a shot."
Janzen birdied both par 5s on the back nine, then delighted the big, boisterous crowd at the 16th hole when he rolled in a 22-footer before holing a shot from 54 yards at the driveable 17th for eagle. Sunday he'll be looking for his first victory since 1998, his second U.S. Open championship.
"We know in the past people have shot 60 (at TPC Scottsdale)," Janzen said. "It doesn't necessarily mean the weather has to be perfect for guys to shoot a low score. I know (when) Steve Jones (won) the course was set up very difficult and he shot very low, and when Calcavecchia won, the weather was terrible.
"The birdies are always there, it doesn't really matter what kind of day it is. We didn't make very many birdies on the front nine. But 13 through 17 there's a lot of excitement that can happen one way or the other. No matter how your round is going, you can always turn it around right there." -- Helen Ross
OLDIE BUT GOODIE (4:45 p.m.): Mark Calcavecchia has won the tournament now known as the Waste Management Phoenix Open three times (1989, 1992 and 2001) -- and he's had six other top-10 finishes here in 23 starts. So it's no surprise to see him on the leaderboard again, even four months shy of his 50th birthday.
"I get around here okay every now and then," Calcavecchia, who stands 10 under, said. "I just like playing here. It's nice to stay at home. I've got a lot of family and friends and people I only see once a year I see this week. That's always good to do. Like I said, I've always played well when I get to stay at home."
If Calcavecchia ends up winning on Sunday he would join Sam Snead and Raymond Floyd as the only players to have won a PGA TOUR event in four different decades. And he would join Snead as the only player to have won the same tournament in four decades.
Snead won the Greater Greensboro Open in 1938, 1946, 1949, 1950, 1955, 1956, 1960 and 1965 -- when he was 52 years, 10 months and eight days old.
The leaderboards this week have featured a mix of veterans like Calcavecchia, Lee Janzen, Tom Lehman and Fred Couples, as well as young guns like Rickie Fowler, Anthony Kim, Matt Every and Camilo Villegas. Calc, who made birdie putts of 26 and 30 feet on his last two holes, says he relies on his experience as he competes with players nearly half his age.
"I won't say we've played here a lot," Calcavecchia said. "There's a lot of young kids up there that are playing great, too. I guess bottom line is we know how to do it. It's in there, it's just a question of whether we can find it.
"It's not like a mystery whether we're going to play good or not -- well, it is, but you know what I mean. It's in there, it's just a question of pulling it out every once in a while. When you've had a good career as me and Fred and Tom have had, eventually you're going to play good." -- Helen Ross
HERE IT COMES (4:05 p.m.): The wind has definitely picked up in the last hour and the sky is filling with thickening clouds. The final hour or so of the third round should be interesting.
The players safely in the clubhouse at 10 under -- Mark Calcavecchia, Joe Ogilvie, Lee Janzen and Hunter Mahan -- are probably loving life right now. -- Helen Ross
PHOTO OP (3:40 p.m.): Matt Every, currently tied for third at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, is showing off his talent on the golf course this week at TPC Scottsdale. He happens to have some cred as a model now, too.
Every was part of an eight-page fashion spread in this current edition of Men's Journal. Also featured were Nationwide Tour grads Blake Adams, Derek Lamely, Alex Prugh, Josh Teater and Jerrod Turner, plus q-school grad Cameron Tringale.
A year ago, the fashion layout in Men's Journal -- the U.S.'s second-leading men's magazine -- featured NBA rookies. Click here to see a photo gallery of the pictures in the spread. -- Helen Ross
CHANGING LUCK (3:15 p.m.): Pat Perez will be the first to tell you TPC Scottsdale doesn't fit his eye. He is working on his third straight round in the 60s, though, and making a strong bid to win his adopted hometown's event.
Perez has just made a 2-footer for birdie at the 10th hole. So he's 2 under for the day and 11 under for the tournament -- just two strokes off the pace being set by Scott Piercy.
Perez has made a couple of big changes this week. He put new shafts in his TaylorMade irons this week and switched from a crosshanded grip on an Odyssey putter to conventional with a Scotty Cameron. -- Helen Ross
NEW LEADER (2:55 p.m.): An unlikely tap-in eagle has enabled Scott Piercy to grab sole possession of the lead at 13 under in the Waste Mannagement Phoenix Open.
Piercy drove the green at the par-4 10th hole, hitting his tee shot 361 yards to 10 inches for the eagle and moved into a four-way tie. He followed that with a 9-footer for birdie at No. 11 and now he's alone at the top.
Piercy could turn his season around in a hurry, too. He's missed three cuts and withdrawn once, and he's only cashed one check when he tied for 20th at the Farmers Insurance Open. -- Helen Ross
CRAZY LIKE A FOX (2:40 p.m.): Some people questioned Matt Every's sanity when he decided not to putt out on the 18th hole on Friday as shadows settled over TPC Scottsdale. When his playing partners, Chad Collins and Phillip Francis, elected to finish, Every was the only player remaining on the course when play was suspended.
The putt was only 4 feet, 4 inches -- but it was for an all-important birdie for Every, who had started the day one shot off the lead but was stuck in neutral. So he came back out on Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m. local time and made the putt to finish 36 holes at 9 under.
Who knows how important that putt will be. The Florida standout just made an 11-footer for birdie at the eight hole so now he trails Scott Piercy, Mark Wilson and Camilo Villegas by just two strokes. -- Helen Ross
IS IT TIME? (2:25 p.m.) Brandt Snedeker is a victory waiting to happen. And the way he's playing Saturday at TPC Scottsdale, this might be the week.
Snedeker has just rolled in a 14-footer for birdie at the seventh hole -- his second of the day -- to move to 11 under. He's tied for second with Ryan Moore, Pat Perez and Mark Wilson, one stroke off the lead held by Camilo Villegas.
The Huck Finn look-a-like from Tennessee hasn't finished lower than a tie for 21st in four starts this season. Snedeker tied for second at the Farmers Insurance Open and 10th at the Bob Hope Classic. -- Helen Ross
STREAK ENDS (2:05 p.m.): Anthony Kim had gone 38 holes at TPC Scottsdale without a bogey. Until he came to the par-5 third hole on Saturday, that is.
Kim flirted with fairway bunkers on his first two shots, then hit his third into a sandy waste area to the side of the green. He chipped out and then onto the green, eventually holing a 14-inch putt for the bogey.
So Kim is now 9 under for the tournament, three strokes behind his playing partner, Camilo Villegas. -- Helen Ross
LEFTY'S TROUBLES (1:35 p.m.): After turning things around on his second nine holes Friday, Phil Mickelson said he was "optimistic" that Saturday would be a good round.
Looks like he's going to need a similar reversal of fortunes in the third round, though. He's only hit two fairways in his first nine holes and five greens. Of more concern, though, is the putter -- he's already used 16 putts.
Mickelson just rolled in a 10-foot birdie putt at the ninth hole so he's 2 over for the day and has dropped back to 4 under for the tournament. -- Helen Ross
SCORING'S GOOD (1:15 p.m.): Judging by early results, there are some birdies to be had out there at TPC Scottsdale on Saturday. Ryan Palmer and Joe Ogilvie started on the back nine, and both are 4 under -- through nine and seven holes, respectively.
The Waste Management folks have to be pleased to see Ogilvie on the leaderboard, too. He and Charley Howell represent the company on the PGA TOUR, and Ogilvie will be wearing their trademark green glove.
Ogilvie has worked his way to 9 under, and he's three strokes off the lead. Hoffman missed the cut. -- Helen Ross
DIFFERENT STROKES (1 p.m.): We told you yesterday that Mark Wilson, at 35, was the old man among the top five players on the leaderboard at the midway point of the Waste Management Phoenix Open. He's also the only one who is married and has children.
Here's how they stack up in some other key categories.
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CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN (12:44 p.m.): Rickie Fowler is definitely going to stand out in the crowd today. He's wearing an electric blue golf shirt, plaid pants and bright blue golf shoes with yellow insets.
Looks like Fowler channeled his inner Ian Poulter. -- Helen Ross
WACKY WEATHER? (12:25 p.m.): It could be an interesting day at TPC Scottsdale -- for a variety of reasons.
Not only is the leaderboard loaded with a host of interesting characters, the weather could turn out to be a story, as well. There is a wind advisory from 2 p.m. MT (4 p.m. ET) until midnight which could well impact play as the leaders make the turn.
Southeast winds at 6-12 mph are expected to switch to the south and increase to 15-25 mph. Gusts between 25-40 mph are in the forecast for late in the afternoon and thunderstorms could usher in even stronger winds.
Tee times were moved up about an hour due to the forecast so the leaders will tee off at 10:50 p.m. MT (12:50 p.m. ET). The rain is expected to hold off until after 6 p.m. but should be heavy overnight with an accumulation of nearly an inch.
Temperatures should top out around 70 on Saturday. There is a 50 percent chance of rain on Sunday morning, and the highs will only be in the low 60s. -- Helen Ross
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