The Daily Wrap-up, Round 3: The Honda Classic
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (AP) -- Y.E. Yang heard the question in English, then listened to his translator say it to him again.
Which would be more important, he was asked: A two-year PGA TOUR exemption, or the $990,000 that goes to the winner of The Honda Classic?
Yang tilted his eyes toward the ceiling, thought for a moment, then gave his reply.
"Both would be nice," he said.
He's 18 holes away from each.
Yang shot even-par 70 and finished 7 under on Saturday, good enough for a one-shot lead over Jeff Klauk (67) and Jeff Overton (70, with a triple bogey on No. 11, going twice in the water, followed by two birdies in his last three holes) entering The Honda Classic's final round.
"I kept fighting," Overton said. "And now I've got a chance to win."
Best known for beating Tiger Woods at the 2006 HSBC Champions in Shanghai, Yang bogeyed the third hole, birdied the 15th and made nothing but pars the rest of the way, a slow-and-steady approach that worked. A victory Sunday would accomplish his primary goal for this season, getting out of a return trip to q-school.
"I felt good," Yang said. "I just didn't make the putts I needed to."
On a topsy-turvy day at The Honda Classic, six different players had at least a share of the lead at some point, but the guy who started the third round in front found a way to finish there, too.
Charlie Wi (65), Brett Quigley (67) and John Rollins (68) all finished two shots off Yang's pace, at 5 under.
"If you would have said, take 65 on the first tee, I would have said, 'See ya later,'" Wi said. "So, you know, I gave myself a chance."
Ben Crane briefly got into the lead with an ace on the 162-yard fifth hole, then chipped in on the next hole for birdie to get to 7 under. He then made two double bogeys in the next five holes, finishing three shots back.
And there's Mark Calcavecchia, who will start Sunday tied for seventh and in position to pull off something statistically bizarre.
• To read the remainder of this story, click here.
| Top 5 notables at The Honda Classic | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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KING OF HONDA CLASSIC BACK IN CONTENTION
By Craig Dolch, PGATOUR.COM Contributor
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- Even before he shot up the leaderboard with Saturday's 5-under 65, Mark Calcavecchia owned The Honda Classic in ways too numerous to mention.
Nobody else in the field has more wins in this tournament (two), top-10 finishes (six) or appearances (23) than the 48-year-old Calcavecchia. Nor does anyone have such a colorful history in the event whose one constant in nomadically moving around the South Florida landscape the last 20 years was Calc showing up every year.
Where does one start to tell the story of the King of The Honda Classic?
Chronologically, it started at the 1974 Jackie Gleason Inverrary Classic, the first PGA TOUR event he ever saw in person. The then-13-year-old spent his time outside the yellow ropes watching Jack Nicklaus and Lee Trevino, plotting his future.
"By the second day of watching those guys, I said, 'Yeah, this is what I'm gonna do,' " he said.
• To read the remainder of this story, click here.
| Saturday's Best |
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The par-4 14th at PGA National was easiest with a Saturday scoring average of 3.823.
The par-3 17th at PGA National was toughest with a Saturday scoring average of 3.278.
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Ben Crane aced the par-3 fifth then chipped in for birdie on the next hole. 
Mark Calcavecchia had six birdies en route to the day's lowest score, a 5-under 65 that left him just three off the lead. | QUOTE OF THE DAY | ||
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INSIDE THE ROPES WITH THE PGA TOUR NETWORK
PGA TOUR Network correspondent Michael Collins offers these observations from Saturday's action. Listen to PGA TOUR Live coverage on XM 146/SIRIUS 209 or right here at PGATOUR.COM.
It was the golf course that won Round 3 at The Honda Classic with only two rounds of 65, one round of 66, and a leader who shot even par and still finds himself in front by a shot.
Y. E. Yang's english may not be that good, but the way he can get and stay out of trouble is impressive. Hitting greens, even if it means having a birdie putt of over 50 feet, is the most important thing on this course and with 31 putts for his third round, Yang stayed mostly out of trouble. Having played the Bear Trap (Nos. 15-17) at 1 under so far this week is why he finds himself atop the leaderboard, and if he can get through that stretch Sunday like he did Saturday (birdie, par, par) he'll likely be holding the trophy about 6 p.m.
Thank goodness they put a note in the locker room telling the guys to set their clocks forward tonight. I won't name names but at least five guys came out from the locker room mumbling about, "Did you know daylight saving time was tonight?" to their caddies.
I spent the day following the final group of Yang and Will MacKenzie. The highlight of my round? Having the beautiful Ally MacKenzie (Will's wife) ride in my cart all day. Even though Will had a tough day on the course (2 over), he's not out of it at 4 under for the week. That won't change his fatherly duties, however, with Maverick, the couple's 8-month-old boy. Will is responsible for bath and bedtime every night, even when they're on the road and looking to win a tournament. And Will loves the duty.
| What the top finishers said... | ||||||||||||||||
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| Live Essentials | ||||
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THIRD-ROUND NOTEBOOK: THE HONDA CLASSIC
By Dave Senko, PGA TOUR Staff
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- Third-round leader Y.E. Yang is bidding to become just the second South Korean-born player to capture a PGA TOUR event. The only other player is seven-time winner K.J. Choi. He and Choi are the only South Korean players to win on the European Tour.
• Before Saturday, Yang's best standing after 54 holes was a tie for fifth at the 2008 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro Am. He eventually finished tied for ninth, his best showing on the PGA TOUR.
• Surprisingly, Yang has made just nine birdies through 54 holes, but most importantly, he has just two bogeys on his card and just one in his last 42 holes. He has hit 26 of 42 fairways (61.9% ), has hit 39 of 54 greens in regulation (72.2%), is averaging 28.7 putts per round, and is averaging 302.8 yards per drive.
• Just one of the top six players on the leaderboard has won a PGA TOUR event: John Rollins (currently one of three players tied for fourth). None of the top three players owns a PGA TOUR victory. Amng the top three players, Yang's best finish is a tie for ninth at the 2008 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro Am, Jeff Klauk's is a tie for 11th at the 2009 Buick Invitational, and Jeff Overton's is a tie for second at the 2007 Wyndham Championship.
• To read the remainder of this story, click here.
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