The Live Report: Quail Hollow Championship, Round 3
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By PGATOUR.COM Staff
OVERNIGHT LEADER (6:10 p.m.): Billy Mayfair once beat Tiger Woods in a playoff at the 1998 Nissan Open. He's the only guy to have done that. He's even beaten cancer, which he was diagnosed with in 2006.
For a while, Mayfair also held the lowest handicap at Whisper Rock, where he won his match last week and where a number of TOUR players are members. He won a Monday qualifier just to get in this tournament and, as Mayfair pointed out in his post-round press conference, he beat his wife last week, even though he had to give her a bunch of strokes.
"Winning's winning," said Mayfair, whose last victory came 345 starts ago in the 1998 Buick Open. "If you would say I was leading after the third round this quickly, I don't know. But I played real well last week in New Orleans. I played real good on Saturday and shot 1 over on Sunday in the wind and all that, but I felt like I was playing good. I really felt like my chipping, my wedge game and my putting was coming along very well, and I've been working hard at that at home."
The only other player to go longer between victories on TOUR is Robert Gamez -- ironically one of the players Mayfair beat in the qualifier field to get here. Mayfair has been playing well of late, though, even as he does so with nothing more than past champion status. In New Orleans, for his example, he shot 69-68 in the second and third rounds. Earlier this season, he tied for 23 rd in Mexico.
Now he's in position for his first victory in more than a decade.
"It's fun getting the heart pumping," Mayfair said. "It's fun to get out there and hear the crowds roaring for you, and when you make a good putt, you make a birdie, you say to yourself, dang, I did that, and I'm back to playing the way I want to play again.
"When you haven't won in a long time, you start doubting yourself a little bit and maybe don't have the confidence that you should have. Today was a big day for me. To go out there and have the lead and still have the lead going into the fourth round tomorrow will give me a lot of confidence and make me sleep a little bit better tonight and know that if I just go out there tomorrow and play well, I've got a great chance of winning." -- Brian Wackier
MICKELSON NOT HAPPY (6 p.m.): There's no question Phil Mickelson likes the Quail Hollow Club. Its greens? That's another story.
"For as beautifully designed as this golf course is tee to green, the greens are by far the worst designed greens we play on TOUR," said Mickelson, who took 29 putts Saturday and missed a number of short ones. "Even though they're in immaculate shape, I would say that 18 would be the worst green that we have on TOUR, except that it's not even the worst on this golf course; 12 is."
Mickelson's ball-striking also wasn't great Saturday, which means he'll have a conversation with Butch Harmon Saturday night before getting in some early-morning work on Sunday to try to erase the two-shot deficit he faces.
"'I'll have time to work on it in the morning and hopefully get it turned around and feel confident heading into the final round," Mickelson said.
"[Quail Hollow] does test your patience, yes. It's easy to get frustrated with some of the shots that you get left with out here. I ended up shooting 1 under and was able to keep myself in contention for Sunday, so I'm pleased with that. It was a very difficult course today as the winds picked up as we started to tee off. The greens had a lot more traction and weren't quite as smooth as they were yesterday morning, so it was a lot more challenging course." -- Brian Wacker
WRAPPING UP ROUND 3 (5:45 p.m.): Billy Mayfair will take a two-shot lead to the final round, trying to become the first Monday qualifier to win on the PGA TOUR since Fred Wadsworth in 1986.
Chasing him are Davis Love III and Masters champion Phil Mickelson, who just might be playing the best golf of anyone on the planet. And as Mickelson pointed out earlier in the week, he's 2-for-2 when being treated for illness during a tournament week.
Another shot back from them are a group of three players at 6 under that includes another Masters champ in Angel Cabrera, while Anthony Kim headlines those at 5 under in what should be a Sunday showdown of major proportions. -- Brian Wacker
40-SOMETHINGS (5:37 p.m.): So much for the kids on the PGA TOUR. The top three names on the leaderboard -- Billy Mayfair, Davis Love III and Phil Mickelson -- are all near or over 40 years of age. Mayfair is 44 and Love 46, while Mickelson will turn 40 in June. -- Brian Wacker
KIM ENJOYING HIMSELF (5:17 p.m.): Finally, Anthony Kim is having fun again. Even when he's hitting it up opposite fairways and hitting over bleachers. Kim was back to spraying it off the tee again in the third round, but his 2-under 70 keeps him in contention just four shots back.
"I'm trying to stay in the moment," said Kim, who showed up at Quail Hollow after a 14-hour commute from South Korea, where he played last week.
How much does Kim enjoy being here?
"It's my favorite tournament," Kim said. "I may just buy a house out here." -- Brian Wacker
DOWN THE STRETCH (5 p.m.): Earlier in the day, Rory McIlroy said he expected the lead to be at least 10 or 11 under by the end of the third round. He's not that far off right now with Billy Mayfair still holding the lead, 2 under on his day and 10 under for the week with three holes to play.
Phil Mickelson, meanwhile, is 2 under on his round as well, and as a result is two back. Davis Love III, J.J. Henry, Dustin Johnson and Angel Cabrera are another shot back from that as the third round winds down here. -- Brian Wacker
LOVE-FEST (4:30 p.m.): It's been a while since Davis Love III has been in contention, but he is now after a bogey-free 68 in what's proving to be a difficult afternoon for scoring here.
Love, who has two top-15 finishes but also has five missed cuts, was so zoned in, in fact, that afterward he wasn't even aware he had three birdies over the last five holes.
A big part of why Love has played so well, he said, is having his swing in rhythm, something he hasn't had much of this season. Quail Hollow is also a course that suits Love, who was born in Charlotte, N.C., well.
"It's a great place to play golf," Love said. "It's like a mini-major. You get a good feeling playing here." -- Brian Wacker
NOT-SO-SWEET 16 (4:14 p.m.): Anthony Kim was lurking just two shots off the lead -- that is until he made a mess of the par-4 16th hole. After losing his tee shot to the right, Kim couldn't escape the trees and was forced to play his third shot up the next fairway. He then hit his approach over the grandstands and two-putted from 20 feet.
The double bogey dropped Kim to 2 under on his round and 5 under for the week and back into a tie for 10th four shots back. -- Brian Wacker
FINAL ROUND MOVERS (4:06 p.m.): It's early yet, but here's a look at the way the contenders rank in final round scoring average.
If the numbers are any indication, look for Anthony Kim, who is currently tied for second, to win the Quail Hollow Championship on Sunday. -- Helen Ross
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KIM NOW IN CONTENTION (3:48 p.m.): Anthony Kim's week started with five birdies in his first eight holes. The 2008 Quail Hollow champion eventually gave them all back with five bogeys over his final 10 holes, though. Here he comes again. Kim has five birdies over his last 11 holes and is now within two shots of Billy Mayfair's lead.
Remember, Kim knows how to go low here. In his victory here, Kim set a tournament record of 16-under 272 on his way to the five-shot win. He's a lot like Tiger Woods in that regard in that he tends to play really well on certain courses and this is one of them.
Kim has company, by the way, in Davis Love III, who has three birdies in his last four holes to also get to 7 under. -- Brian Wacker
MICKELSON'S PUTTING WOES (3:40 p.m.): Phil Mickelson is still just one shot off the lead, but it's no thanks to his putter. Mickelson just missed his third putt from inside 10 feet and as a result only managed par on No. 11. Earlier, Mickelson missed one from inside of 2 feet. So far, he has three birdies and two bogeys with 19 total putts. -- Brian Wacker
STATE TIES (3:30 p.m.): Davis Love III was born here in the Queen City when his father was the head pro at Charlotte Country Club, which is about 10 minutes away from Quail Hollow.
Love went on to play golf at the University of North Carolina and the 46-year-old remains one of the state's most popular -- and successful -- golfers.
The 20-time PGA TOUR champ is making a move up the leaderboard Saturday, too. Love just birdied the 14th and 15th holes to move to 6 under and two strokes off the lead held by Paul Goydos and Billy Mayfair.
Another player with ties to the state -- former N.C. State All-American Garth Mulroy -- is among the players tied at 5 under. -- Helen Ross
NEEDS A WIN (3:24 p.m.) Billy Mayfair is one of 21 players remaining in the field at Quail Hollow who could get into THE PLAYERS Championship next week with a victory.
Mayfair, who is currently tied for the lead with Paul Goydos at 8 under, has only missed one PLAYERS since he turned pro in 1988. That came in 2005 after he finished 140th on the money list the previous year -- and he finds himself in a similar situation this year after finishing 157th in 2009.
The top 125 on the previous year's money list are among the exempt players for the PGA TOUR's showcase event. -- Helen Ross
DOUBLE DIP (3:10 p.m.): We're a long way from this one being decided, but should Phil Mickelson, who is two back after making the turn in even-par 36 with two birdies and two bogeys, go on to win, he'd join some pretty rare company.
How rare? Only Tiger Woods has won both his last start before a major then gone on to win a major and won his first start after winning a major. Mickelson, of course, completed the first part of that when he won the 2006 BellSouth Classic, then went on to win the Masters. Now, he's trying to win his first start since taking this year's Masters.
Woods won the 2007 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, then captured the PGA Championship. A year earlier, the two events were flip-flopped with Woods winning both. He did the same thing in 2000. -- Brian Wacker
GOYDOS, MAYFAIR SHARE LEAD (2:55 p.m.): Paul Goydos just made his third birdie of the day, only missing one green and taking 12 putts through his first eight holes in the process, to grab a share of the lead with Billy Mayfair.
Mayfair is bogey-free as well, but he has just one birdie. Still, this is the first time Mayfair has been in this position since 2002 when he led after two rounds of the Michelob Championship.
More improbable is the fact that Mayfair is where he is as a Monday qualifier. The last Monday qualifier to win on the PGA TOUR was Fred Wadsworth at the 1986 Southern Open.
This is Mayfair's eighth trip here, but he had to go through Carolina Golf Club to get in. Prior to Friday, he'd never recorded back-to-back rounds in the 60s at Quail Hollow. By the looks of it, if he can get a third he should be at or the near top of the leaderboard at the end of the day. -- Brian Wacker
SCORING SLOWDOWN (2:24 p.m.): Remember all those low scores in the morning? Well, the afternoon wave isn't exactly matching them. It's early, but leader Billy Mayfair is even through his first four holes. Paul Goydos and J.J. Henry are 1 under. Phil Mickelson is even. In fact, the lowest number on the first page of the board right now from the afternoon is 2 under by Anthony Kim and Bo Van Pelt. -- Brian Wacker
MICKELSON GIVES ONE BACK (2:10 p.m.): That opening-hole birdie for Phil Mickelson was just erased with a bogey on the par-4 fourth, where Mickelson three-putted from just inside 37 feet. He had a chance to bounce right back with a birdie on the par-5 fifth, however Mickelson missed his attempt from just over a foot. He's still two back. -- Brian Wacker
GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS (1:50 p.m.): The good news for Billy Mayfair is that the second-round leader/co-leader has gone on to win six of 17 stroke-play events on the PGA TOUR this season -- not a bad percentage.
The bad news is only once has the second-round leader/co-leader gone on to win the Quail Hollow Championship (Tiger Woods). Right now, though, Mayfair is hanging on, even par through his first two holes and still leading at 8 under. -- Brian Wacker
PHIL OUT FAST (1:25 p.m.): That didn't take long. Phil Mickelson just birdied the par-4 first hole here -- so did his playing partner, Paul Goydos, which should make for maybe the most entertaining group here today.
Mickelson hit his approach to inside 9 feet before making the putt, while Goydos rolled in a 24-footer. Click here to follow them live with Shot Tracker. -- Brian Wacker
THE HOLE STORY (1:05 p.m.): The last group won't tee off for another 30 minutes, but to further the point Steve Marino made earlier, here's a look at the scoring averages through two rounds here at Quail Hollow. You'll notice the back nine has played a stroke tougher than the front here. -- Brian Wacker
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CLOUDS GATHERING (12:45 p.m.): Dark clouds are gathering here at Quail Hollow, where the temperature is already 81 degrees and the humidity well up. There is, however, only a 10 percent chance of precipitation so we should (hopefully) go uninterrupted. -- Brian Wacker
MARINO MOVES UP, TOO (12:30 p.m.): The low numbers continue to pour in, at least for a few guys. Steve Marino, who, like Rory McIlroy made the cut on the number, shot a 67 and is now tied for 11th at 5 under.
"I just was hitting the ball a lot better today," said Marino, who had three straight top-15s before missing the cut in New Orleans. "I was hitting everything right and short, but I made three birdies in a row and I just got on a roll and kept the momentum going."
Part of what Marino attributes his sudden turnaround Saturday to was the half-hour he spent on the range late Friday. That's when something just clicked in his swing, he said, and he started hitting the driver much better.
It will be especially important to get a low number on the board early, especially if the wind picks up. The wind is also out of a different direction today and it's more humid.
Not that Quail Hollow is playing that easy.
"If you're a little off your game, it's going to be long day," Marino said. "The greens are fast and they have some good pins. It's going to be a tough test." -- Brian Wacker
DON'T FORGET ABOUT ME (12:18 p.m.): Completely overshadowed in Rory McIlroy's morning 66? Scott McCarron's 67, which moved him into a tie for 13th at the moment at 4 under.
Afterward, McCarron joked with the media, which swarmed around McIlroy, telling them that he wasn't talking. McCarron hit just six fairways on Saturday, but he had the long putter working, taking just 25 putts on his way to a six-birdie, one-bogey effort.
Like McIlroy, McCarron had missed his last two cuts, but he was able to take advantage of what, at least for now, are good conditions for scoring. -- Brian Wacker
MCILROY'S BIG MOVE (12 p.m.): Rory McIlroy is fortunate to still be at Quail Hollow, where he was headed toward a missed cut after back-to-back bogeys late in his second round. An eagle on his next hole, though, got him through to the weekend on the number and today he made the most of the opportunity, shooting a 6-under 66 to climb within two of the lead.
For McIlroy, it's the first time he's broken 70 in his last nine rounds. More importantly it may be a sign of turning his season around. McIlroy has battled back problems all year and hasn't finished better than 40th in a stroke-play event on the PGA TOUR.
McIlroy hurt the back -- it's a bone bruise from overuse -- practicing in Dubai at the start of the year when he was putting in 7-8 hours a day on the range and also playing tennis and soccer.
"Those few weeks, I was doing a little too much," said McIlroy. "Ever since then I haven't been able to do anything for it except ice it.
"Since then it has been a bit of a struggle. I'd get on the range and hit only maybe a hundred balls and have to top my session short."
McIlroy also admitted that it's been a little difficult living up to the enormous expectation that's been placed on him and at times that weight has gotten to be a little too much. Still, he feels he's in good shape if he can stay within 5 or 6 shots of the lead by the time the day is over.
In the meantime, he'll get some rest and ice down that back. Said McIlroy: "When you shoot 66 it's not that bad." -- Brian Wacker
Below is a look at McIlroy's scorecard. Click here to replay his round with Shot Tracker.
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