The Live Report, Rd. 3: Mercedes-Benz Champ.

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Anthony Kim, left, and Ernie Els were paired together for Saturday's third round.

The Mercedes-Benz Championship is the first event of the 2009 PGA TOUR season. PGATOUR.COM is on the scene at Kapalua. We'll provide updates all day long, so check back often. (All timestamps listed for Eastern Time.)

D.J.'S DAY (10:45 p.m.): Steady golf on what he called a "stale day" kept D.J. Trahan from keeping pace with his playing partner, Geoff Ogilvy, the man who also happens to be running away from the field at the Mercedes-Benz Championship.

Trahan started the day in second, one stroke behind the Aussie, but shot 70 on a day when the scoring average was 69.15 and ended up six strokes back. So count the Clemson grad among the players hoping for difficult conditions on Sunday.

"I think if the weather is as bad as they say it's going to be tomorrow, it's pretty difficult for anybody to get comfortable," Trahan said. "That opens the door for maybe someone, if they go out and shoot a great round, to have a chance to possibly catch him. Obviously with foul weather, sometimes that can stall a guy out.

"But Geoff's playing so solidly, it's hard to say. It's going to be difficult to catch him." -- Helen Ross

ZACH JOHNSON'S 9-UNDER 64 (10:20 p.m.): Want to know how well Zach Johnson played Saturday?

So well that he could call a three-putt for par a "mishap." On a day as ripe for scoring as the pineapples grown nearby, Johnson fired the low round of the tournament, a 9-under 64, to vault from a tie for 24th into a tie at 9 under.

Johnson, who had closed his second round with an eagle, made another on the first par 5 Saturday with 39-footer. He putted for two other eagles on Saturday and his birdie putts came from 15, 3, 6, 23, 9, 3 and 6 feet.

"I just managed my game really well today," Johnson said. "I hit a lot of greens ... and gave myself a lot of opportunities. You could always say woulda, coulda, shoulda done better. But at the same time I made a few putts." -- Helen Ross

HOW LOW CAN OGILVY GO? (10:15 p.m.): The tournament record is 31-under-par by Ernie Els in 2003. Unless something really crazy happens tomorrow that record is probably intact, but with the way Geoff Ogilvy is playing the better question might be how much will he win by.

Here's a quick look at the largest margins of victory in the 32-year history of the Mercedes-Benz Championship -- Brian Wacker

LEONARD GOES LOW (9:50 p.m.): Geoff Ogivly might be running away with this tournament the way Ernie Els did in 2003, but Justin Leonard just put up an 8-under 65 of his own that was about as perect as you could ask for.

He made four birdies on each side -- including three in a row at one point on each side -- and hit it close all day long with only two of his birdies coming from any kind of length. Leonard rolled in a 25-footer on No. 9 and a 16-footer on No. 7.

Three times, including each of the last two times he's played here, Leonard has finished in a tie for eighth. His only finish better than that at Kapalua was a T5 in 1999, the first year Kapalua played host to the Mercedes-Benz Championship. -- Brian Wacker

Choi

CHOI MAKES A CHARGE (9:30 p.m.): After combining for eight birdies through the first two rounds, K.J. Choi posted nine of them on Saturday, a day in which he also took his fewest putts of the week at 27.

At one point, Choi birdied 7 of 8 holes between Nos. 9 and 15 en route to finishing the day at 7-under 66.

For the tournament, Choi, who will defend at next week's Sony Open over on Honolulu, is 11 under after opening with a pair of 71s. -- Brian Wacker

ELS SLIDING (9:00 p.m.): So much for history being any indication of how Ernie Els would play today. The Big Easy is one of only two players over par today on a day when there are three players, at least at the moment, 7-under on the afternoon.

Els opened with a 1-over 37 on the front -- by comparison Zach Johnson shot 30 on the first nine -- and through the first four holes on the back is even par. Els' putting average today is a nightmarish 2.083, compared to the field average of 1.720. -- Brian Wacker

KIM CLIMBING LEADERBOARD (8:25 p.m.): Not to be undone by his good friend, Camilo Villegas, Anthony Kim is also climbing the leaderboard Saturday. He's made three straight birdies -- rolling in putts of 14 and 5 feet, then two-putting the par-5 fifth from 35.

That streak put Kim briefly into sole possession of second place at 10 under. He's been overtaken, though, by Davis Love III, who rolled in a 12-footer for eagle at the ninth hole, and tied by Kenny Perry, who made birdie at the same par 5.

Who says youth rules? Perry is 48, Love is 44 and Kim is 23. -- Helen Ross

CAMILO CHARGE (8:00 p.m.): Camilo Villegas didn't exactly get off to the start he wanted when he double bogeyed the first hole. He more than compensated for that gaffe, though, with a string of six straight birdies that has him 10 under through the tournament through 12 holes.

Villegas started the streak when he two-putted the par-5 fifth hole from 35 feet for birdie. The rest of his birdie putts came from 12, 23, 11, 3, 16 and 9 feet. He had a legitimate chance at another birdie on the par-3 11th, but that 15-footer refused to fall.

Villegas won the final two events in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. He did not play in any of the Fall Series events, so the young Colombian, who turned 27 on Wednesday, is bidding for his third TOUR win in as many starts. -- Helen Ross

Here's a peek at Villegas' card below. Follow his round live by clicking here.

ELS, KIM UPDATE (7:50 P.M.): For the first 36 holes Ernie Els was paired with the oldest man in the field. He and Kenny Perry share a similar laid back style but don't be fooled. Both men are fiery competitors. On moving day, Ernie is paired with the Kenny's golf opposite. Anthony Kim is the youngest and probably the most exuberant player in the field this week. These two players teeing it up in the penultimate group are both trying to reel in the unflappable Geoff Ogilvy.

Kim has made an early move with three birdies in a row on Nos. 4-6 to get into double digits at 10-under par. Ernie hasn't started his Saturday rally yet with just a birdie and a bogey on his card through 6. -- John Maginnes

ZACH ATTACK UPDATE (7:38 p.m.): Looks like the course record might be safe after all. Zach Johnson just three-putted the par-5 15th -- a hole which has yielded more than its share of birdies and eagles this week.

There's still the 663-yard, par-5 18th, which has given up an eagle to shortish hitter Trevor Immelman, but it looks like the opportunity to tie the record has passed Johnson by.

Still, a pretty strong round for Johnson, who hadn't even made a birdie on the front until today (see below for more). -- Brian Wacker

JOHNSON CHASING COURSE RECORD (7:25 p.m.): Zach Johnson has a realistic shot at tying the course record -- a 62 shot by K.J. Choi in third round of the 2003 tournament.

After opening with a 30 on the front nine -- the low score for the week on the front -- Johnson added two more birdies on the back (at Nos. 12 and 14) and at the moment is playing the very birdie-able 15th. The 18th should also give him another shot at birdie.

Click here to follow his round shot by shot.

In case you were wondering, Choi went on to finish in a tie for second in 2003. -- Brian Wacker

SUNDAY TIMES MOVED UP (7:00 P.M.): Due to the threat of inclement weather, tee times for the final round of the Mercedes-Benz Championship have been moved up. Players will be sent off Nos. 1 and 10 in threesomes beginning at 8 a.m. Hawaii time. -- Helen Ross

JOHNSON CONTINUES TO GO LOW (6:25 p.m.): Zach Johnson is continuing his tear, playing the front nine in 6-under 30 -- the low score of the week for the front side at Kapalua.

Conversely, Parker McLachlin owns the high score of the week with a 40 on the front on Thursday.

Anyway, here's a closer look at Johnson's card through the first nine holes. Follow his round live by clicking here. -- Brian Wacker

GLAMOUR PAIRING (6:05 p.m.): Ernie Els and Anthony Kim are a few minutes from teeing off in what promises to be the best pairing of the day. They'll begin the day within two strokes of each other -- Els at 9 under, Kim at 7 under -- but the advantage has to go to Els given his track record at Kapalua.

It's Els' first time back since 2005, but as you can see below the Big Easy finds comfort in Kapalua. -- Brian Wacker

AUSSIES IN THE ALOHA STATE (5:47 p.m.): Here's a closer look at players from Australia have fared at the Mercedes-Benz Championship since it moved to the Plantation Course at Kapalua back in 1999. -- Lauren Deason

ZACH ATTACK (5:25 p.m.): Zach Johnson, here courtesy of his win at the Valero Texas Open last year, hadn't made a birdie on the front nine all week -- until today.

Through five holes, the 2007 Masters champ is 4 under thanks to birdies on Nos. 2 and 4 and an eagle on the par-5 fifth hole.

As a result, Johnson, playing in the Mercedes for just the second time in his career, jumped from T24 to T15 on the leaderboard. -- Brian Wacker

SOPHOMORE STRUGGLES (4:55 p.m.): The front nine continues to be a nightmare for 2008 PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year Andres Romero.

Romero

After posting a pair of front-side 39s the first two days, Romero is struggling again with a pair of bogeys through his first four holes today.

Perhaps the biggest culprit? Ranking second-to-last in greens in regulation this week. True to form, Romero missed both greens on the two holes he bogeyed today.

You can read more about the young Argentine by clicking here. -- Brian Wacker

AUSSIE RULES (4:40 p.m.): Will we be looking at another Australian winning the Mercedes-Benz Championship? If history is any indication, then it's a strong possibility.

Leader Geoff Ogilvy is a good wind player and has gone wire-to-wire before (see: last year at Doral). Not to mention he's Australian, something that , for whatever reason, seems to work well at Kapalua and in this tournament.

Remember, Stuart Appleby won here three straight years from 2004-2006. Adam Scott finished second to Vijay Singh two years ago. And Steve Elkington was victorious in 1995, albeit that was at La Costa in Carlsbad, Calif. -- Brian Wacker

ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE, FOR NOW (4:20 p.m.): Another gorgeous day on Maui greeted the players and fans at the Mercedes-Benz Championship.

Ample sun, gentle breezes and temperatures in the upper 70s, though, will be replaced by rain on Sunday. A cold front is slated to reach Kauai Saturday night and move down the chain of islands Sunday, bringing with it showers and isolated thunderstorms. Some of the rain could be heavy and the winds will pick up considerably, in the 10-20 mph range. -- Helen Ross

HOW OGILVY GOT TO THE LEAD (4:00 p.m.): Leader Geoff Ogilvy doesn't tee off for a couple of hours, but it's pretty easy to understand why he'll be the last player to tee off.

His 67.5 scoring average through the first two rounds is four strokes better than the field average. He also leads in greens in regulation (91.67 percent compared to the field average of 80.66 percent) and is first in scrambling -- although he's missed few greens). It also helps when you make just one bogey. -- Brian Wacker

CUE THE THREE-HOUR ROUND (3:20 p.m. ET): Ryan Palmer, who earned his ticket into the Mercedes-Benz Championship with his victory last fall in the Ginn sur Mer Classic, will play as a single today. Hopefully, he will be able to get into the same rhythm that Daniel Chopra got into on Friday -- Chopra shot a 69 while playing as a single (a day after shooting 78).

Most of Palmer's problems this week have been with his long game. He's hit only 63 percent of the greens -- last in the field -- and that number is especially low considering Kapalua has some of the largest greens on TOUR.

Part of that may be attributable to the fact he had surgery on his right shoulder just five weeks ago -- which is why he withdrew from the pro-am earlier this week, so he could rest the shoulder. -- Ryan Smithson

Groups We're Watching

Tee time Players   5:50 p.m. ET (12:50 p.m. in Hawaii) Davis Love III, Kenny Perry Both men are over 40, both hit it 300 yards, and both of them sit at 7 under, just four back of leader Geoff Ogilvy.   6:10 p.m. ET (1:10 p.m. in Hawaii) Ernie Els, Anthony Kim Watch for these two players to go head-to-head later this year at the Presidents Cup. Els is only two back after breaking 70 the first two rounds. Kim must avoid bogeys: he's made 12 birdies, but his five bogeys have prevented him from making a charge.   6:20 p.m. ET (1:20 p.m. in Hawaii) Geoff Ogilvy, D.J. Trahan Trahan shot the round of the week (66) in Round 2. This big hitter has scored well by dominating Kapalua's par-5s this week. Trahan had 30 putts on Friday. With Kapalua's huge greens, that is not a bad number.

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