54-hole leader Chris Couch is making his 66th career PGA TOUR start as a professional this week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, including his 10th of the 2006 season. The only other lead Couch has held on the PGA TOUR was the 36-hole lead at the 2005 Cialis Western Open, where he received a sponsors exemption. He finished tied for 13th in Chicago.

Mark Wilson who teed off at 7:31 a.m., was the only player in the 71-player field to record a bogey-free round on Saturday. Wilson fired a 3-under 69.

The four past champions who made the cut at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and how they fared in the third round:

Chris Couch who made the cut on the number on Friday teed off early on Saturday and took advantage of the conditions. Couch, who was in the fourth group to go out on Saturday morning, fired a 8-under 64 and moved from a tie for 58th to the third round leader. Tee times ran from 7:16 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. At the start of the round the winds were 12 to 15 mph with gusts 25-30 mph by 3:15 pm the winds were 15 to 20 mph with gusts 20 to 35 mph.

 Tee time  Player               Score  Rd 2 Pos   Rd 3 Pos   Change
7:39       Chris Couch            64      T58        1       up 57
8:11       Dean Wilson            66      T58        T3      up 54
9:07       Charles Howell III     66      T33        2       up 29
           Charley Hoffman        76      T3         T42    down 39
           Hunter Mahan           77      T13        T61    down 48
           Wes Short, Jr.         77      T13        T61    down 48
11:48      Eric Axley             77      T3         T56    down 53
12:06      Michael Allen          78      T3         T59    down 56    

Chris Couch’s 8-under 64 is his lowest single-round score of 2006. His career best on the PGA TOUR is a 63 in the third round at the 2004 Southern Farm Bureau Classic.

           No. of players   Stroke average   Rd in 60s
Thursday         156           70.596            56
Friday           153           71.377            44
Saturday          71           72.127            13    

Carlos Franco, 69-70-68—207, T6
David Toms, 69-67-72—208, T13
Steve Flesch, 67-73-69—209, T21
Scott McCarron, 70-69-71—210, T31

Scoring statistics:

                                 Round 1    Round 2    Round 3
Under-par rounds                  101        75         33
Scoring Avg.                     70.59     71.377     72.127
Morning wave scoring avg.        70.74      70.53
Afternoon round scoring avg.	 70.45      72.39
Rounds in 60s                      56        44          13