The Live Report, Round 3: AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

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Dustin Johnson took command of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am with a 5-under 67 Saturday.

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MORE FROM MICKELSON (7:25 p.m.): When Phil Mickelson birdied his first three holes Saturday, a couple of numbers quickly started dancing in his head.

Numbers such as 63 and 64. In other words, numbers that would rocket him up the leaderboard.

"I was thinking of trying to get back in the tournament and try to win it," Mickelson said.

But ...

"Then it wasn't that far off I was trying to make the cut. It changed quickly for me."

Indeed, Mickelson fought hard just to make the cut on the number, shooting a 71 at Pebble Beach that leaves him at 2 under for the tournament.

A triple-bogey at the par-3 12th put him in jeopardy of not advancing to Sunday. He hooked a 5-iron that caught the wind, then hit a cart path and went out of bounds. That left him at even par, but he birdied two of his last four holes to just sneak in.

"I'm making some big mistakes, score-wise, and yet I was able to fight to make the cut," said Mickelson, who has not gotten off to the fast start he normally has on the West Coast.

"I think every round will help to get me back into playing condition," he said. "It's been more challenging this year to get my game sharp." -- Mike McAllister

GOOSEN GOES OTHER WAY (6:58 p.m.): For everything that Retief Goosen did right in Friday's second round when he shot an 8-under 64, he did exactly the opposite on Saturday in shooting a 2-over 74 at Spyglass Hill.

Consequently, his two-shot lead has now become a five-shot deficit, as he stands in third place behind tournament leader Dustin Johnson heading into the final round at Pebble Beach.

"It was a terrible round of golf," Goosen said. "I played poorly tee to green. It was a very disappointing round. I played myself a little bit out of the tournament now.

"I'm going to need a very low round tomorrow to have a chance at catching the leader now."

What he'll also need is to regain the rhythm that he had on Friday but lost Saturday. Although ShotLink had him hitting 11 of 18 greens in regulation Saturday, Goosen said he thought it was more like five.

"Everything was out of sorts," he said. "My timing of my golf swing was bad. I kept hitting it left and right, which is not good. ... It was a real struggle. It's a shame." -- Mike McAllister

MICKELSON MAKES CUT (6:25 p.m.): Phil Mickelson made the cut on the number this week, but it took a birdie on the 18th hole at Pebble Beach to do so.

Mickelson was in danger of missing the cut for the second time in his first three events of a season for the first time since 1992, his first full year on the PGA TOUR.

Mickelson had a wild round on Satuday, opening with three straight birdies before adding two bogeys and a triple-bogey 6 on the par-3 12th, where he hit his tee shot out of bounds to the right.

After seeing Brandel Chamblee's breakdown of Mickelson's tee shot on the hole, you can understand why he had so much trouble. Mickelson got really shallow on his takeaway and as a result his swing plane was well outside the ball. On his downswing, Mickelson was really steep and therefore his plane was well inside the ball. The result? A badly pulled shot for the left-hander that erased all his hard work on the first three holes.

Nonetheless, Mickelson recovered on the par-5 18th to make birdie and shoot a 1-under 71 today secure a spot in Sunday's field. -- Brian Wacker

FIRST-TIMER (5:30 p.m.): Dustin Johnson will be in unfamiliar territory when he enters the final round at Pebble Beach. For the first time in his young PGA TOUR career, he'll have the third-round lead. In his lone TOUR victory at Turning Stone last year, he was seventh going into the final round.

Johnson just put the finishing touches on a 5-under 67 at Poppy Hills, giving him a three-day total of 15-under 201. That assures him of the lead going into Sunday's round; Retief Goosen, who just finihsed his round of 2-over 74, is currently his closet pursuer at 10 under.

Johnson was 1 under on his round through nine holes, but then turned it on with three consecutive birdies to start his back nine. He finished his round with another birdie at Poppy's par-5 18th. -- Mike McAllister

Here's a look at Johnson's scorecard from today:

ESTES IN RARE POSITION (5:05 p.m.): Bob Estes hasn't had a top-three finish on the PGA TOUR since the 2006 season when he was second at both the Shell Houston Open and the Reno-Tahoe Open. But if he can hold his current position, that will change this week.

Estes, a four-time winner on the TOUR, moved from 20th to third today with a 5-under 67 at Spyglass Hill that got him to 9 under for the week. Not surprisingly, Estes leads the field in greens in regulation this week -- he's seventh on TOUR this year after being 32nd in 2008 -- and he's T11 in driving accuracy.

Estes will need a lot more of that on Sunday, however, since he trails leader Dustin Johnson by five at the moment. -- Brian Wacker

LEFTY GOES WAY RIGHT (4:45 p.m.): Phil Mickelson had a solid round of 2 under going today, until he played the par-3 12th. Mickelson pulled his tee shot well to the right on the 202-yard hole, forcing him to take a penalty drop. His third came up short of the green before he finally made it on and two-putted for a triple-bogey 6.

That erased a three-birdie start for Mickelson and he's at 1 over through 13 holes today and even par for the tournament. With the cut line currently at 2 under, Mickelson is in danger of missing his second cut in three events this season. -- Brian Wacker

FROM THE INBOX (4:25 p.m.): Reader Ken Wasiak just e-mailed in wondering if Dustin Johnson were to win would he qualify for the Masters. The answer is yes. Any player who wins an event that awards a full FedExCup point allocation from the previous Masters to the current Masters would qualify for a trip down Magnolia Lane. -- Brian Wacker

THIRD-ROUND LEAD (4:15 p.m.): How important is it to be the third-round leader at this event? Consider that in five of the last six years, the third-round leader (or co-leader) went on to win on Sunday. Only last year's co-leaders, Dudley Hart and Vijay Singh, failed to complete the deal -- and Singh had his chances, losing in a playoff to Steve Lowery.

Dustin Johnson, the current leader midway through the third round, was two shots back of the lead after three rounds last year at Pebble and eventually finished seventh. -- Mike McAllister

Here's how the third-round leaders have fared this decade:

DOES CARSON KNOW SOMETHING? (4:05 p.m.): Late-night television talk show host Carson Daly was just interviewed by CBS' David Feherty, who sheepishly asked when Daly thought Tiger Woods might be back. "Look out because he's going to be back in a couple of weeks so everyone should start to get a little nervous," Daly said.

A couple of weeks would seem to indicate that Woods would indeed return at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship in Tucson.

Daly and Woods have known each other for over a decade now, having played with and against each other during their junior golf days while growing up in Southern California. -- Brian Wacker

TIME TO CHECK IN WITH NATIONWIDE TOUR GRADS (3:50 p.m.): Last week, Nick Watney's Buick Invitational victory became the 240th PGA TOUR win by a Nationwide Tour graduate. The season is young, but there are already three trophies in the hands of Nationwide Tour alums. For more Nationwide Tour coverage, click here. -- Ceri Mobley

Here's how the graduates are doing this week:

BIG NAMES HEADED HOME (3:36 p.m.): If you want to catch a glimpse of Padraig Harrington, Vijay Singh or David Toms, you'd better tune in today. All three appear to be headed for a missed cut.

Harrington is 1 under today, but 2 over for the week with scores of 74-73 through the first two rounds. Singh, meanwhile, is playing for the first time in a month after having knee surgery and maybe showing signs of rust. He took 34 putts in each of the first two rounds and though he's 1 under today, he's 2 over for the week.

Toms is also struggling with the putter, having taken 32 and 30 putts in each of the first two rounds. He's 5 over for the tournament so far.

As a result of Toms likely missing the cut, that means 17-year-old Japanese sensation Ryo Ishikawa would qualify for the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, probably as the 64th and final seed, in two weeks. His possible first-round opponent? Tiger Woods, if Woods indeed does decide to play. -- Brian Wacker

ANOTHER JOHNSON CATCHING FIRE (3:20 p.m.): Hottest player currently on the course? That would be Sweden's Richard S. Johnson, who is 5 under through his first seven holes at Spyglass Hill and is now at 8 under for the tournament, five shots off the current pace of Dustin Johnson.

Richard S. Johnson, who started Saturday's round on the back nine, reeled off four consecutive birdies (hole Nos. 11, 12, 13, 14) and has added another birdie at the par-4 16th.

Johnson won the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee last year, but has missed the cut in three of his five previous appearances at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. His best finish here was a T30 in 2005.

To follow Johnson's round, click here. -- Mike McAllister

LONG OFF THE TEE, ACCURATE INTO THE GREEN (3:05 p.m.): It's really no big surprise that current co-leader Dustin Johnson is leading the field in driving distance this week -- he ranked fourth on the PGA TOUR in that category last year. What is a surprise is that Johnson has been so accurate on his approach shots, ranking 15th in greens in regulation after ranking 129th on TOUR last year.

Johnson is 4 under today through his first 11 holes at the difficult Poppy Hills. On the week, he's made just one bogey and one double bogey -- the bogey coming today at No. 8 on Poppy and the double at No. 17 on Spyglass yesterday. -- Brian Wacker

BOGEY-LESS STREAK ENDS (2:41 p.m.): Through two rounds, Bill Lunde was the only player among the 180 pros in the field to avoid posting a bogey. But Saturday morning, his streak ended with a bogey on the par-5 12th hole (he began his round on the back nine) at Poppy Hills. -- Mike McAllister

Here are the players who carded bogey-free rounds in the first two days (each of the three courses in the rotation plays to a par 72):

NO PREVIOUS SUCCESS REQUIRED (2:30 p.m.): Thus far, it appears that previous success at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am is not required to be a contender this week.

Consider the batch of players currently on the front page of the leaderboard. None are previous winners of this event, and, outside of Mike Weir, top-10 finishes have been scarce. The second-round leader, Retief Goosen, has never even played the AT&T Pebble Beach until this week. Dustin Johnson, his closest pursuer, does have a top 10, but not much experience. He's only making his second start here. -- Mike McAllister

CHECKING THE CUT LINE (2:15 p.m.): PGA TOUR rookie Webb Simpson is in danger of missing his first cut of the season after finishing in the top 20 in three of his first four events this year.

Currently, Simpson is 1 under for the week and the cut line is at 2 under. There's still plenty of time for him to make a birdie or two on the back nine at Pebble Beach and make the cut, but Simpson has now shot in the 70s in his last eight rounds. That, after opening the season with 10 of his first 11 rounds in the 60s. -- Brian Wacker

CALC BACK AT PEBBLE (2:05 p.m.): Mark Calcavecchia has only played the AT&T Pebble Beach three times this decade, and only once in the previous seven years. One of the reasons was the dicey weather that develops over the Monterey Peninsula in February.

But he's back this week because of weather conditions at other events earlier this year. Perfect weather conditions, that is.

"The weather was dead-perfect at the Hope and Phoenix, and I missed the cut in both of them," Calcavecchia said. "So I thought I would come up here and freeze my butt off, cold, wind and rain, and see how I did. So it seems to be working out."

Indeed. Calcavecchia, who is playing Spyglass Hill today, will begin the day at 8 under after shooting 67-69 in the first two rounds. That puts him within striking distance of the leaders.

Calcavecchia has just three top-10 finishes in his first 13 starts in this tournament, with his best finish a T6 in 1990. -- Mike McAllister

NO. 9 PROVING TOUGH (1:52 p.m.): The ninth hole at Pebble Beach has proven to be the most difficult this week -- and possibly this season. If its average score of 4.35 holds for the week, No. 9 at Pebble will have played the toughest of any hole this year. -- PGA TOUR Staff

Here is how it stacks up this year vs. historical ShotLink data:

MICKELSON MAKING A MOVE (1:40 p.m.): It looks like Phil Mickelson may have finally found his swing. He is 3 under today after birdieing three of his first four holes at Pebble Beach. Perhaps just as important is how Mickelson made those birdies -- by hitting his approach shots to 5 feet and in. That's one way to solve any putting woes.

After opening with a pair of 72s, Mickelson is still looking for his first round in the 60s of the 2009 PGA TOUR season. His three consecutive birdies to open today's round, however, marks the first time he's posted three straight birdies in a round this year. -- Brian Wacker

WEATHER UPDATE (1:25 p.m.): Currently, there's not a cloud in the sky above Pebble Beach. Although there is a slight chance of scattered showers later in the day, the weather should not play a major factor in today's third round.

But evidently it's the calm before the storm. A storm system is approaching Northern California and is expected to hit late Saturday night, bringing a steady, moderate rain to Pebble Beach tomorrow, with periods of heavy rain, and strong winds of 20-30 mph that could gust up to 45 mph in the morning.

Should play be affected, there is a chance of a Monday finish, which last happened at this tournament in 2000 when Tiger Woods won.

Of course, it's not unprecedented that the tournament might end after 54 holes. It's happened five times since 1958 when this event went to a 72-hole format. The last time came in 1999 when Payne Stewart won, just seven months before a plane accident would claim his life. -- Mike McAllister

EARLY EAGLE (1:00 p.m.): Tim Herron is off to a strong start in the third round on Pebble Beach. An eagle on the 503-yard, par-5 second gave him an early boost and has moved him into contention. If the weather stays friendly, Herron has a golden opportunity playing this course on moving day. Herron shot 72 at Spyglass Hill on Thursday and 68 at Poppy Hills on Friday. -- PGA TOUR Staff

LET'S CHECK OUT THE LEADERS PRE-ROUND (12:24 P.M.): Retief Goosen has a two-shot lead entering the third round at 12 under. Friday, Goosen sank 16 of 16 putts from within 10 feet. Five of those putts were in the 6-10 foot range. He has 48 perfect rounds from that distance in his career.

Goosen has been one of the best putters per green in regulation this week, averaging 1.50 putts per green in regulation. He has not made birdie or better on a hole he didn't hit in regulation.

JOHNSON PUTTING WELL (12:05 p.m.): Dustin Johnson is in solo second at 10 under and has not had a three-putt this week, bringing his current streak to 47 holes in a row without a three-putt. That streak started on the eighth hole during the final round of last week's Buick Invitational. His longest career streak without a three-putt is 63 consecutive holes.

Two of the reasons he's putted so well? During the first round, he was near the front of the pack with a greens in regulation percentage of 88.89 (on the week, he leads with 86.11 percent), while averaging 31 feet from the hole on his approach shots. He also hasn't left himself any lengthy second putts, averaging 1 foot, 10 inches on his distance from the hole. Johnson also didn't miss a putt from within 6 feet in the first round. For the week, he's averaging one birdie for every three greens in regulation. -- PGA TOUR Staff

Groups We're Watching

Tee time Players   11:30 am ET (8:30 am local) Retief Goosen, Tom Pernice Jr. (Spyglass, No. 10) After a stunning 64 on Friday, Goosen carries a two-shot edge into Spyglass Hill, which is certain to play tough on Saturday. 11:20 am ET (8:20 am local) Dustin Johnson, D.J. Trahan (Poppy Hills, No. 1) It'll be interesting to see how Johnson, a big hitter, handles the tree-lined layout at Poppy Hills. He handled Spyglass just fine on Friday. Noon ET (9:00 am local) Mike Weir, Dean Wilson (Spyglass, No. 10) Weir has never won this event, but he's only four shots back heading into the critical weekend. In 36 holes, Weir only had one bogey.

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