Daily Wrap-up, Rd., 3: Mercedes-Benz Champ.

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Geoff Ogilvy made eight birdies and no bogeys en route to an 8-under 65 Saturday at Kapalua.

KAPALUA, Hawaii (AP) -- Geoff Ogilvy ran off three straight birdies on the back nine and shot an 8-under 65 on Saturday to make the rest of the winners-only field at the Mercedes-Benz Championship feel as though they were playing for second.

RELATED LINKS

Leaderboard: Round 3 scores
Round 4 Tee Times
Scorecard: Geoff Ogilvy
The Live Report: Rd. 3
Player interviews
Notes: Tidbits from the course

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PGA TOUR Today
Love reaches No. 9 in two
Kim tied for fourth
Leonard fires 8-under 65

The wind switched directions, making Kapalua play entirely different. What didn't change was the guy atop the leaderboard.

Leading by one shot to start the third round, Ogilvy played bogey-free for the second time in three rounds and wound up with a six-shot lead over Justin Leonard and D.J. Trahan as he tries to win the U.S. PGA Tour's season-opening event.

Leonard made eight birdies over his final 14 holes on his way to a 65, the kind of round that he thought would give him a chance to win. But he never had a good look at the leaderboard until he walked onto the 18th green and saw that Ogilvy was at 19 under.

"It was a little deflating, to say the least," Leonard said.

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LEONARD PLEASED WITH STATE OF HIS GAME
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Corresondents

KAPALUA, Hawaii -- Justin Leonard did his share of scoreboard watching on Saturday, but those giant scrolling LED boards that dot the hills and valleys of the Plantation Course never seemed to display the leader's total whenever the Texan stole a glance.

Until he got to the 18th green, that is. That's when Leonard saw Geoff Ogilvy locked in at 19 under -- a distant six strokes ahead of him and the other 31 players competing in the Mercedes-Benz Championship.

"So it was a bit deflating, to say the least," Leonard said. "Hat's off to him. He's obviously playing great. But I'm just going to go out and try and continue getting the rust off, like I have the last couple of days, and try and end the week on a good note."

To read the remainder of this story, click here.

SHOT OF THE DAY ROUND OF THE DAY Davis Love III made a stellar approach on the par-5, 9th hole, setting up an eagle putt during the third round of the 2009 Mercedes Benz Championship. Watch his shot. Aussie Geoff Ogilvy continued his near-perfect play with an eight-birdie, no-bogey effort en route to an 8-under 65 to extend his lead at the Mercedes-Benz Championship. Check out his scorecard

Saturday's Best

EASIEST HOLE TOUGHEST HOLE The par-5, 5th was the easiest with a Saturday scoring average of 4.364. EAGLES: 2 BIRDIES: 20 PARS: 9 BOGEYS: 1 OTHERS: 1 The par-3, 8th was toughest with a Saturday scoring average of 3.303. EAGLES: 0 BIRDIES: 4 PARS: 18 BOGEYS: 8 OTHERS: 3

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"If I made a couple of putts today, it's a totally different ballgame. I missed some putts on the first seven holes on the back nine. If I make those, it's a different story." -- Anthony Kim on his third-round 68.

INSIDE THE ROPES WITH THE PGA TOUR NETWORK
PGA TOUR Network correspondent Fred Albers offers these observations from Saturday's action. Listen to PGA TOUR Live coverage on XM 146/SIRIUS 209 or right here at PGATOUR.com.

KAPALUA, Hawaii -- Geoff Ogilvy's last victory was at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship and his play at the Mercedes Championship is tied to that south Florida tournament. Both Doral and Kapalua's Plantation course have the same strain of Bermuda grass on the greens. Apparently Ogilvy likes the putting surfaces at both courses.

Anthony Kim sported a large gem encrusted belt buckle with his initials "AK" outlined but the bling was bogus. The gems were not real but of the rhinestone variety. Everything else about Kim is the real deal however, his 5 under 68 has him 12 under par and tied for 5th.

Kenny Perry was not walking or talking to his fellow competitor Davis Love III and it was an thoughtful gesture on Perry's part. The Kentuckian has the flu, is on antibiotics and told Love he would not be shaking hands in fear of passing germs. Love called he gesture, "true friendship."

What the top finishers said...

Player Finish Score Comment Geoff Ogilvy 1st 19 under "I've never actually been this far in front before, but I've been this far behind a lot of times (laughter). I've had a lot of deflated looks up at 18. That's the way it goes. " Justin Leonard T2 13 under "I think coming over here and playing in the wind, I feel like I'm a good wind player. I hit the ball fairly low, and I'm creative. Balancing balls into greens, it kind of reminds me of my junior golf days. You don't do it a whole lot here, but there are some shots where you have to." D.J. Trahan T2 13 under "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. That opens the door for maybe someone, if they go out and shoot a great round, to have a chance to possibly catch him."

Read full interview transcripts

Geoff Ogilvy Justin Leonard D.J. Trahan Full archive

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MERCEDES-BENZ CHAMPIONSHIP NOTEBOOK: THIRD ROUND
By Doug Milne, PGA TOUR Staff

KAPALUA, Hawaii -- Due to the threat of inclement weather, the final round of the Mercedes-Benz Championship will begin Sunday at 8:00 a.m. local time in threesomes off tees one and 10.

• The only other instance in which tee times were moved up at Kapalua due to weather was the second round of the 1999 Mercedes-Benz Championship, a round noted for David Duval's 10-under 63. Duval won that year by a record nine strokes.

• Geoff Ogilvy continued his massive attack toward the winner's circle in Round 3 with an 8-under 65 to take a six-stroke lead over Justin Leonard and D.J. Trahan heading into Sunday's final round. His lead is just one stroke shy of Duval's 54-hole record. In 1999, Duval led by seven after Saturday's third round.

To read the remainder of this story, click here.

KODAK CHALLENGE: The first-of-its-kind competition for PGA TOUR players, The Kodak Challenge celebrates beautiful holes and memorable moments on the PGA TOUR. The Kodak Challenge offers $1 million to the winner There will be one designated Kodak Challenge Hole at 24 different PGA TOUR tournaments in 2008, with this week's featured hole the 663-yard 18th hole.

Players, who must play at least 18 of the holes during the season to be eligible, will count their lowest score relative to par on the Kodak Challenge Hole made during an official competition round. The player, with the lowest cumulative score in relation to par at the end of the challenge, wins.

For more on the Kodak Challenge, click here.

This week's Kodak Challenge hole

HOLE: The par-5, 560-yard 8th at Doral Golf Resort and Spa LAST YEAR: The 16th played to a stroke average of 4.652, with players recording 3 eagles, 129 birdies, 158 pars, 20 bogeys and 3 double bogeys DESCRIPTION: On this par 5, the lake is very much in play for longer hitters. Numerous palm trees beyond the bunker on the right punish any bailout to that side. Many players go for the green in two, but to do so requires a long, accurate drive usually into the winter wind from the southwest.(Click here for Doral Golf Resort tour)