Live Report: Transitions Championship, third round
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By PGATOUR.COM staff
K.J. CHOI INTERVIEW (5:55 p.m.) -- K.J. Choi's lone bogey came when he bogeyed the 18th on Saturday, but he says he's raring to go tomorrow:
"I really want to win, I'll try. So I'll pray a lot tonight," said Choi, who has not won since the 2008 Sony Open in Hawaii. "A little rested and good sleep and a new day, and I'm fighting tomorrow."
Choi has continuously saved par almost every time he's missed the green, and he credits the short game success to the work he put in back home in Texas last week.
"The last days back home was windy, and I practiced chipping a lot," Choi said. "So I'm making par every time in the last two rounds."
FURYK IN THE HOUSE WITH A 67 (5:49 p.m.) -- Jim Furyk picked apart the difficult 18th hole with a drive on the right side of the fairway, a 6-iron to the left side of the green, and two putts.
Furyk missed only one fairway in the third round and just four greens. Another testament to Furyk's ball-striking in the third round: He avoided every one of Copperhead's 75 bunkers.
Here is a look at Furyk's card:
HARRINGTON STUCK IN NEUTRAL (5:28 p.m.) -- Since his opening birdie, Padraig Harrington had been saddled with two bogeys and 12 pars. The main culprit? His driving. He's hit only six fairways in 11 tries on Saturday, and his birdie chances have simply and far between.
Harrington will undoubtedly need a very low round on Sunday if he wants to win for the first time since the 2008 PGA Championship.
FURYK LEADS BY THREE (5:11 p.m.) -- Jim Furyk is at 11 under after sticking his tee shot on the par-3 15th to 16 feet and making the putt. It's his third birdie on the back nine, but with a little it of luck, he could have had five birdies in a row. Furyk missed a 9-foot birdie putt on 13 and tapped in for par, and then two-putted the par-5 14th for par.
K.J. Choi, the only other player to hit 9 under, bogeyed the 18th to slide back to 8 under. His 67 was the third day in a row he's broken 70 this week.
BYRD TUMBLES DOWN THE LEADERBOARD (5:05 p.m.) -- The Snake Pit just swallowed Jonathan Byrd, who dropped three shots with a bogey at the 16th and a double bogey at the par-3 17th. The double bogey was a killer -- a three-putt from four feet -- dropping Byrd to even on the day and 5 under for the tournament.
DONALD VICTIMIZED BY 18TH (4:50 p.m.) -- Luke Donald drove into the trees on the 445-yard 18th, missed the green and was saddled with just his second bogey on the day. He finishes with a 67, three shots back of Furyk.
The 18th is not the toughest hole on the course on Saturday -- that honor goes to the 235-yard eighth, which is playing nearly 250 yards:
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| The par-3 eighth hole was brutal in the third round at Copperhead: | ||||||||||||
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FURYK UP BY TWO (4:33 p.m.) -- Jim Furyk has been solid on the greens all week at Copperhead, and the hole got in the way again on the par-4 12th. His 33-foot birdie putt found the center of the cup for his second birdie in two holes. He's the first player to hit 10 under.
Four players, including two-time Copperhead champ K.J. Choi, are two back.
FURYK BACK IN THE LEAD (4:21 p.m.) -- Jim Furyk -- and the rest of the field -- have been marking down the par-5 11th as an easy birdie. Furyk has just become the latest to make a 4 at the hole, which is the third-easiest on the course at 4.892.
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| The field has been running over the par-5s at Copperhead ... except the long fifth: | ||||||||||||||||||||
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EIGHT PLAYERS ARE ONLY A SHOT BACK (4:17 p.m.) -- There are nine players sitting at either 8 under or 7 under right now, including Bubba Watson, who birdied the ninth hole, and Jeff Maggert, who birdied the 12th.
Steve Stricker pulled into a tie for the lead with Jim Furyk when he hit the par-5 11th in two for an easy birdie.
PLANES, TRAINS, AUTOMOBILES (4:07 p.m.) -- Well, mainly just planes and automobiles. Helen Ross files this report from Geoff's Ogilvy's crazy last 24 hours:
Ogilvy was tied 85th as he finished the second round. So he booked a flight home for around 6 p.m. and headed to the Tampa airport about 3 o'clock.
Ogilvy was drinking a beer and checking the scores on the computer when all of a sudden he noticed he was tied for 77th. By the time he actually got on the plane, he had moved to 72nd -- which was dangerously close to the 70 and ties who would be playing on the weekend.
"I'm like, I can't do this," Ogilvy recalled. "I've got to get off. So about 20 minutes before we leave, I get off the plane and I say, I've kind of got an emergency. Can I get my bags off the plane?"
The airline didn't look kindly on Ogilvy's plight, though. The plane was oversold and there were plenty of tight connections. So the person at the gate suggested he put in a baggage claim -- but that meant his clubs would have to go all the way to Phoenix and wouldn't make it back to Tampa until Saturday afternoon.
Ogilvy flew on to Phoenix, got his bags, then booked a charter flight back to Tampa, arriving back at 5 a.m., three hours before his tee time. He shot 65, how lowest round of the year, moving him well up the crowded leaderboard.
Here is look at Ogilvy's card:
PETTERSSON BACK TO 8 UNDER (3:50 p.m.) -- Another victim at the mile-long par-3 eighth hole: Carl Pettersson bunkered his approach and failed to get up and down. He's now tied with Jim Furyk and Padraig Harrington at 8 under.
STRANGE TEE SHOT FOR BUBBA (3:45 p.m.) -- Bubba Watson tried to hook a 3-iron to the green at the 247-yard eighth, but his left-handed hook clipped a tree on the left side of the fairway and kicked back into the rough. Watson salvaged a bogey, but he's now three shots back as he tries to win his first tournament in 115 career PGA TOUR starts.
DONALD SNEAKS IN (3:35 p.m.) -- Luke Donald's career was slowed by a serious wrist injury that kept him off the Ryder Cup in 2008, and since then, he's slowly been rebuilding the his profile as a legitimate top 30 player in the world.
Donald has every shot in the bag except the 330-yard drive, so the Copperhead Course sits him well. He's racked up five birdies in the last eight holes and now just two shots back of Carl Pettersson, who has kept the lead for the past hour.
Donald is back to 23rd in the Official World Golf Ranking after his solo second at the Northern Trust Open in February.
• To track Donald with Shot Tracker, click here.
MILITARY APPRECIATION HOLE (3:25 p.m.) -- If you tuned into NBC's broadcast, you've already seen the American flag atop the pin at the par-4 16th hole. Transitions set up a Military Appreciation tent off the 16th green, and it has been a popular destination all week,with all active and retired military admitted to the tournament free of charge for every round.
"This is a very important initiative for us," says Tournament Director Gerald Goodman, representing title sponsor Transitions Optical and the sponsoring charitable group, The Copperheads. "We have had a military day in the past that included a hospitality area, and we are pleased to be able to expand it to each day of the tournament."
The Military Hospitality Area provides an exclusive viewing area with complimentary food and beverages for anyone with a military ID card plus one guest.
GOOSEN GOING BACKWARD (3:12 p.m.) -- Retief Goosen's chances of defending his title at Innisbrook just got a little bit slimmer.
Goosen missed the green at the tough par-4 third and failed to get up and down, and he also missed the green at the par-3 fourth, which, at 195 yards, is the shortest par-3 on the course.
HARRINGTON KNOCKED FROM LEAD (2:50 p.m.) -- As NBC prepares to go live for their 3 p.m. ET broadcast, Carl Pettersson has just birdied the par-3 fourth and take the lead at 9 under.
Harrington, playing with Pettersson, bogeyed the same hole after badly missing the green. Harrington has been able to get up and down all week at Copperhead, but his 11-footer for par slipped past the cup.
Harrington has made 10 birdies this week, but none of them have come on any of Copperhead's five par-3 holes. He's 2 over for the week on the par-3s.
SIMPSON APPROACHES THE SNAKE PIT (2:35 p.m.) -- Second-year player Webb Simpson has birdied five of his last seven holes to get within three shots of the lead, but he's about to enter the final three-hole stretch, where he's even par through the first two rounds.
Simpson made the cut on the number after missing the weekend in each of his last two tournaments. He missed the cut at the Transitions Championship last year.
HARRINGTON IN THE LEAD AGAIN (2:23 p.m.) -- In what is typical of Padraig Harrington this week, the Irishman hit two unremarkable shots on the first shot and yet produced his 10th birdie in 37 holes.
Harrington pushed his drive right on the opening 560-yard hole, which is playing 540 yards today, and laid up slightly short of the green. His 80-foot chip landed just a foot from the hole for an easy four, and he became the first player in the tournament to hit 9 under.
A strong trio of players -- including Jim Furyk, Retief Goosen and Steve Stricker -- all ranked in the top 20 in the world -- are within two shots of the lead.
• To track Harrington with Shot Tracker, click here.
AGAINST THE GRAIN (2:15 p.m.): -- None of the players currently in the top 10 on the leaderboard are in their 20s -- yet five of the winners on TOUR this year have been under 30. The old man of the bunch is Steve Elkington, who is 47. -- Helen Ross
TRIO TIED AT 8 UNDER (2:06 p.m.) -- Birdies on the easy opening par-5 opening hole for Jim Furyk and Retief Goosen, who each hit 8 under and into a tie for the lead with Padraig Harrington, who is in the middle of the first fairway.
FURYK'S UNUSUAL LOFTS IN HIS LONG IRONS (1:51 p.m.) -- Ben Hogan was famous for not carrying a 7-iron at Merion Golf Club in Pennsylvania -- "There are no 7-iron shots at Merion," he is reported to have said -- and Jim Furyk has also eschewed what others consider to be a vital piece of equipment.
For years, Furyk has not carried a 4-iron, instead electing to carry a 3-iron instead of a pair of hybrids. That particular choice has been a problem this week at the 205-yard eighth hole, which will play 247 yards in the third round (205 in the second round).
The shot would have been a normal 4-iron for Furyk, but he knew he couldn't stand on the gas with a 5-iron. He was forced to hit a cut 3-iron, which worked well because the loft on his 3-iron resembles a normal 4-iron.
Furyk, who enters the third round just a shot back after opening with rounds of 67-68, explains how he tinkers with his long irons:
"My 5 [iron] is a touch strong and my 3 [iron] is actually quite weak. It's like a 3-, 4-iron. So I don't hit that nearly as far as most guys hit their 3-iron, but I hit my five a touch farther, surprise a few people once in awhile. It really doesn't bother me."
"The only time if I'm playing a golf course where I know I'm going to have a lot of long irons in my hand, I'll put a four in. I usually have a backup set where I have like a stronger 3-iron and I can throw a 4-iron in. Or I pull my weak 3-iron and put two new irons in and a wedge of some sort. I do that at the British Open a lot, because just keeping the ball down flat and low, that weak 3-iron doesn't really do the job."
WATNEY ONLY THREE BACK (1:21 p.m.) -- Nick Watney is among a handful of players going very low on Saturday; he's 6 under after 15 holes and only three shots from the lead.
Watney, who made the cut right on the number, has missed only three greens on Saturday after hitting only half his greens the first two days.
EARLY START ON SUNDAY (1:08 p.m.) -- Due to the threat of inclement weather, there will be a two-tee start on Sunday with an expected finish time of 3 p.m. Exact tee times will be announced later today once the secondary cut is made. -- Helen Ross
LOW ROUND OF THE YEAR FOR OGILVY (1 p.m.) -- Geoff Ogilvy made the turn in 35 and kept firing at the pins on the back side, racking up five more birdies for that 65 that moved him from 57th all the way into a tie for 12th.
The round is Ogilvy's lowest on TOUR since the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions last November.
SENDEN INTO THE TOP 10 (12:37 p.m.) -- Seeing John Senden's name on the leaderboard shouldn't come as a surprise. After all, he finished second at the Transitions Championship in 2007 and '08.
The Aussie, who is known for his ball-striking, is seeking his second PGA TOUR victory. He's birdied four of his first six holes to move to 5 under for the tournament and three off the lead held by Padraig Harrington, who tees off at 1:55.
The winner of the 2006 John Deere Classic, Senden had seven top-10s last year and is coming off a joint 11th last week at Doral. -- Helen Ross
HARRINGTON KNOWS HE HAS A LOT OF WORK TO DO (12:15 p.m.) -- Padraig Harrington has always played well on tough courses, and maybe that is why he decided to add the Transitions Championship to his 2010 schedule.
Padraig's been a chipping machine all week -- he holed out twice from off to the green on Thursday -- but he knows it will only get tougher from here. His 8 under total already matches Retief Goosen's winning score from last year, but weekend of ultra-fast greens and tucked pins will make things much more difficult.
"I'm definitely getting more comfortable with the golf course," said Harrington, who had limited practice time at Copperhead after spending Wednesday at the White House. "But I also realize that, you know, obviously there will be two new pin positions Saturday and Sunday, and probably tougher pins on Sunday, in particular, and I won't be that familiar with it."
MORNING MOVERS (12:05 p.m.) -- Several players are taking advantage of morning tee times to move up the leaderboard: Jason Bohn, Geoff Ogilvy and Greg Chalmers are all 4 under.
Ogilvy, who made the cut right on the number, has birdied three of his last four holes to move into the top 25.
WEATHER CHECK (11:55 a.m.) -- Sunny skies, gentle breezes and temperatures in the mid-70s should create another good scoring day at the Copperhead Course. And given Sunday's forecast, it would be good to take advantage if Innisbrook's generosity in the third round.
A cold front will move in on Sunday with increasing clouds in the morning and the chance of showers and thunderstorms by mid-afternoon. The chance of precipitation is 50 percent. -- Helen Ross
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