Third-round notebook: Crowne Plaza Invitational

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FORT WORTH, Texas -- With a 36-hole cut resulting in 79 players, the PGA TOUR's secondary cut came into play on Saturday, meaning the field would again be cut to the low 70 players and ties following the third round. There are 74 players at even-par or better that will play in Sunday's final round.

• Seven players in this week's Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial rank among the top-10 in the current FedExCup standings. Below is a look at their 54-hole status:

• With his third consecutive round in the 60s (63-64-66), Tim Clark has now posted 12 of his last 14 rounds at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial in the 60s, including eight consecutive.

• With his third-round 8-under-par 62, Steve Marino carded the low round of the day and the low round at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial since a third-round 62 by eventual champion Rory Sabbatini in 2007. Marino played with fellow University of Virginia graduate James Driscoll (T23) on Saturday.

• The 62 for Marino marked his low career round on the TOUR, besting three previous rounds of 64, most recently in the third round at the 2009 Bob Hope Classic.

• Clark (1) and Marino (T2) are widely considered among the best players without a victory on the TOUR. Clark has amassed 34 top-10s in 183 career starts (including six runners-up), while Marino, in just his third year on TOUR, has 12 top-10s in 80 career starts.

• Clark has held three previous 54-hole leads on TOUR, most recently at the 2008 St. Jude Classic, where he posted a 6-over 76 to tie for 18th after holding a two-shot lead over five players entering the final round. The 76 included a triple-bogey 7 on the first hole of the final round.

• The last seven winners at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial have either held the 54-hole lead or been tied for the 54-hole lead. The last come-from-behind winner at Colonial was Sergio Garcia (2001), who made up a five-shot deficit to win in the final round.

• In the 62-year history of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, the 54-hole leader/co-leader has gone on to claim victory 34 times.

• Corey Pavin, who is making his 26th consecutive appearance at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, birdied three out of the last four holes for a 4-under 66, equaling his lowest round of the year. The 1985 and 1996 Colonial champion has now posted that score in three out of his last nine rounds, including the first and third rounds of the Valero Texas Open en route to a T32 finish. The scores for Pavin are his best on TOUR since back-to-back rounds of 64 in closing the 2008 Travelers Championship (T10) and opening the next week's Buick Open (T12).

• After opening the week with a 3-over 73, Rod Pampling is back on track at Colonial Country Club with rounds of 66-67. Pampling, at T44, needs a Sunday charge to notch his fifth consecutive top-12 finish at this event (2008-T2, 2007-T12, 2006-3, 2005-T6).

• Could this be the year for Dallas native and resident Justin Leonard, who has never missed a cut in 16 starts at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial? The former University of Texas standout will enter the final round T6 and just five strokes behind leader Clark. In his previous 15 starts, Leonard has accumulated nine top-25 finishes. He posted a career-low 61 in the final round in 2003 on his way to a runner-up finish, the best of his five top-10 finishes (2nd-2003, T5-2001, T8-1998, T10-1996, T5-1995).

• Danny Lee and Clark lead the field with 19 birdies. Clark holds a 1-stroke-lead over Marino and Day at 17-under-par, while Lee is just 3-under-par through three rounds and sits T53. Along with the 19 birdies, Lee has recorded nine bogeys, two double bogeys and a triple bogey.

• FedExCup points leader Zach Johnson equaled his low round of the year with a bogey-free 64 on Saturday, having posted a 9-under 64 during the third round of the Mercedes-Benz Championship (T6). Johnson enters Sunday's final round seeking his second victory in as many starts and third of the season (Sony Open in Hawaii, Valero Texas Open).

• The 54-hole leader/co-leader has won 16 of 21 (76 percent) stroke-play tournaments thus far this year, with the last being Rory Sabbatini's win at last week's HP Byron Nelson Championship. Last year the figure at the end of the season was just 48 percent (22 of 46).

• The largest come-from-behind victory at the Crowne Plaza Invitational was recorded by Nick Price (7 strokes) in 1994. Phil Mickelson (2000) and Ben Hogan (1952) came from six strokes back for their victories.

• The TOUR has had just four playoffs so far this season, but two of them have occured in the Texas Swing events. Paul Casey claimed the Shell Houston Open over J.B. Holmes with a bogey-5 on the first playoff hole, while Zach Johnson won the Valero Texas Open over James Driscoll with a birdie on the first extra hole.

• Currently 10th, Steve Stricker is the only top-10 player in the FedExCup standings without a victory in 2009. He has five top-10 finishes in 11 starts this year.

• After missing six consecutive cuts, Adam Scott made the cut at the Crowne Plaza Invitational and sits T59 entering the final round.

• Brian Davis' streak of rounds in the 60s was snapped at 10 on Saturday with his 70, but he has now posted 23 consecutive rounds at par or better. Davis has made the most of his fine play as of late, with three consecutive top-5 finishes entering this week's action.