Round 3, Arnold Palmer Invitational

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Mar. 28, 2009
By PGATOUR.COM staff

The first groups are ready to tee off in today's third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard. Here's how it sets up:

Groups We're Watching

Tee time	Players
10:41 am ET No. 1		Chad Campbell, J.B. Holmes These two country boys have been sort of quiet so far this season. Can one of them climb into contention on Moving Day? Track 'em
12:29 pm ET No. 1		Charles Howell III, Scott Verplank "Charlie 3-Sticks" is in the middle of the pack with the flat stick this week, but leads the field in greens in regulation. Track 'em
1:23 pm ET No. 1		Lee Janzen, Nick Watney Janzen is again playing like a two-major champion. If he can cut out the back-nine bogeys, he can be right there. Track 'em

EXPERT PREVIEW: PGA TOUR Network on-site correspondent Mark Carnevale previews Saturday's second round:

I'm not surprised that someone holds a three-shot lead going into the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, but I am a little surprised that the lead is 8 under par. The Bay Hill Club and Lodge course doesn't seem to be playing that easy, but Sean O'Hair certainly made it seem that way on Friday.

Saturday's forecast

Partly Cloudy
Temp: 89 high/70 low
The skies will be mostly cloudy, with the winds blowing in at 15-25 mph and bringing the potential for scattered storms in the late afternoon and early evening.

Let us not forget Sean played in the final group on Sunday last year and might have learned a few things from defending champion Tiger Woods, who was in the final group with him. The young man from Pennsylvania, who has two PGA TOUR wins, will need to remember that lesson going into the weekend.

As far as last year's champion, Tiger showed me Friday that he is pretty close to being back all the way. What impressed me the most as I followed him in Round 2 was that he struggled with his iron play, only hitting 9 of 18 greens in regulation.

The key is, despite his struggles, Tiger got the most of his round, held it together and shot a 1-under 69. That shows me he is back. Look for him to challenge, even being five shots back heading into the third round.

A big shout-out to both Jason Gore and Lee Janzen. Jason, who held the 18-hole lead, shot even par and remains at 5 under, three back. Lee shot a 1-over 71 and is six back. Both had opportunities to falter, but showed some moxie and are in contention.

Oh and by the way, go back and read yesterday's Starter -- someone I know predicted the cut could probably move to 5 over, and that is exactly what happened. Vijay Singh made his 17th consecutive cut at Bay Hill. He has never missed one. Vijay shot a 70 in Round 2, and stands at 4 over par headed into the third round.

Do not expect many low scores in Round 3. If there are any, more than likely they will be shot by the early starters, who'll take on the course when the conditions will be more favorable.

Stat of the day

Vijay Singh is now a perfect 17 for 17 in made cuts at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Singh has finished inside the top 10 a total of seven times at the event, including a win in 2007 and runner-up finishes in 1993, 1994 and 2005. He has finished inside the top 10 in each of the last four years here.

NOTEWORTHY NUGGETS:
• Halfway leader Sean O'Hair has previously held at least a share of the 36-hole lead just once. At the 2005 EDS Byron Nelson Championship, he began the weekend tied for first with Brett Wetterich before ultimately finishing second.

• The 36-hole leader/co-leader of the Arnold Palmer Invitational has previously gone on to win 16 of 43 times, most recently Kenny Perry in 2005 and Tiger Woods in 2000, 2002 and 2003.

• Vaughn Taylor used a 6-iron from 191 yards to ace the par-3 seventh hole for his third career PGA TOUR hole-in-one. Also Friday, Webb Simpson used a 5-iron from 220 yards at the par-3 17th hole to claim the second ace of the day. It was the first ace of his professional career.

• The scoring average at the par-70 Bay Hill Club & Lodge remains high this week. The average on Thursday was 72.118, while on Friday it edged down to 72.093.

Thus far at Bay Hill

Round	Leader	Low round (par 70)	Key links
	Jason Gore (-5)	65: Jason Gore	Daily Wrap-Up \| Live Report Helen Ross column \| Notebook
	Sean O'Hair (-8)	65: Sean O'Hair, Robert Allenby	Daily Wrap-Up \| Live Report Helen Ross column \| Notebook

The Film Room

	PGA TOUR Today Win McMurry updates action from the second round of the 2009 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard and previews what to watch for in the third round. Watch it
	Shot of the day Webb Simpson aces the par-3 17th hole during the second round of the 2009 Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard. Watch it
	Tiger in the hunt Tiger Woods focuses on his second round score of 69 that left him at 3-under and within reach of leader Sean O'Hair. Watch it