Frys.com Open, Round 3
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By PGATOUR.COM Staff
ROUND 3 IN THE BOOKS (7:23 p.m.) -- Troy Matteson will carry a three-shot lead into the final round at Grayhawk as he guns for his second career title on the PGA TOUR. Eight players are within four shots of the lead, but only one of them -- Ryan Moore -- has ever won on the PGA TOUR.
SIMPSON, CLARK, STROUD ALL THREE BACK (7:11 p.m.) -- Webb Simpson tied his career low on the PGA TOUR with a 64 that paced him among a trio that sit three shots behind Troy Matteson.
Simpson is gunning for his fifth top-10 of the year in his rookie season on TOUR. Simpson, a q-school graduate, ranks first on TOUR in putting from 10 to 15 feet.
Here is a look at Simpson's card:
FOWLER MAKES SECOND DOUBLE BOGEY OF DAY (7:06 p.m.) -- Rickie Fowler's up-and-down day continued on the par-4 17th, where he blew his approach well right of the green and had to take a drop.
Fowler's make a six on the hole -- his second double bogey of the day -- to drop him four shots off the lead.
MATTESON: MY FIRST 61 (6:55 p.m.) -- Some post-round comments from Troy Matteson, who is assured the 54-hole lead after his second 61 in a row:
"It's just been unbelievable. I've not even shot a 61 prior to this week," Matteson said. "To shoot two of them, I don't even know what to say. You know, just making a lot of birdies out there and hitting a lot of good shots and keeping my ball in play.
Matteson said he heard the roar from Nicholas Thompson's double eagle on No. 11 when he was standing on the tee.
"We're standing on the tee box waiting for them to play," Matteson said. "He hits it, and the next thing I know, you know, you can't really see it from that far away, but everyone just went crazy at the green. Of course you can see the green from the tee box, so we figured he made a double eagle.
"To make a double eagle once in your lifetime is incredible, but to make one of those and then make a hole-in-one within three holes has got to be some kind of unrealistic odds. He needs to go straight back to Vegas and put some money down."
CLARK THREE SHOTS BACK (6:50 p.m.) -- Tim Clark was labeled as a pre-tournament favorite, for good reason -- he's a Scottsdale resident -- and he been steady at Grayhawk this week.
Clark followed up his Friday 64 with a 65 on Saturday. He leads the field in driving accuracy (88 percent) and is second in putts per round (26.7) and putts per greens in regulation (1.550).
FOWLER FIGHTS BACK (6:30 p.m.) -- We pretty much wrote Rickie Fowler off after he went out in 1-over 36, but Fowler has birdied four of the last five holes to get back within two shots of Troy Matteson.
MATTESON FIRST ON TOUR TO RECORD TWO 61s in 2009 (6:04 p.m.) -- He never really threatened 59, but Troy Matteson's second consecutive 61 was the eighth score of 61 or better this year on the PGA TOUR:
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NEW RECORD FROM MATTESON (5:57 p.m.) -- It's been a crazy day at Grayhawk. Three aces. A double eagle. And now, a new scoring record from Troy Matteson.
Matteson holed a 10-foot birdie putt on the final hole Saturday for his second 61 in a row, giving him a two-day total of 122, bettering the PGA TOUR consecutive round scoring record of 124, set by Mark Calcavecchia at the 2001 Phoenix Open and matched earlier this year by Pat Perez in the first two rounds of the The 50th Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer.
Matteson's scorecard:
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| All-time lowest back-to-back rounds on the PGA TOUR: | ||||||||||||||||||||
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ANOTHER NEWLY-MINTED PRO (5:35 p.m.) -- A lot of the talk this week has centered around Rickie Fowler -- for good reason -- but Jamie Lovemark is 4 under on the day and just three shots back.
Lovemark slipped his senior season at the University of Southern California to turn pro in July. Since then, he's managed to get sponsor exemptions into only four tournaments. When he made the cut this week at Grayhawk, it marked his sixth career made cut on TOUR.
GARRIGUS IN WITH A SECOND STRAIGHT 65 (5:30 p.m.) -- Some of the early starters are beginning to hit the clubhouse at Grayhawk, including Robert Garrigus, who is 122nd on the money list. His 65 moves him solidly into the top 25 and puts him in position to secure his card for 2010.
Garrigus is first on the TOUR in driving distance, but he has always hovered around the money bubble during his four years on TOUR.
FOWLER FALLING BACK (5:12 p.m.) -- Unless he stages a rally, It is starting to look like Rickie Fowler's first win on the PGA TOUR will have to wait.
Fowler is 3 over since his eagle on the third hole, and he now sits four shots back.
THREE ACES TODAY (5 p.m.) -- Thompson's ace on No. 11 was the third hole-in-one of the day. Ted Purdy and Chad Campbell each aced the 211-yard par-3 16th. Purdy used a 5-iron and Campbell used a 6-iron.
• To replay Thompson's double eagle-par-ace stretch with Shot Tracker, click here.
NEW LEADER (4:50 p.m.) -- Rookie Bill Lunde has the lead at 13 under after recording his 17th birdie of the week, his leads the field.
Lunde has picked a pretty good spot to get his game together -- he's 124th on the money list and will likely secure a 2010 card with a top-10 finish.
TWILIGHT ZONE FOR THOMPSON (4:25 p.m.) -- We've having a hard time believing this happened, but according to ShotLink, Nicholas Thompson has just pulled off one of the more amazing feats in PGA TOUR history.
Thompson made a double-eagle on the par-5 11th when he holed out with a 3-wood from 261 yards out, and the shot got him to 3 under on the day and 9 under for the tournament.
Thompson then parred the 12th before heading to the 199-yard par-3 13th. Against all odds, Thompson holed his tee shot with a 7-iron for an ace to get him to 11 under, two shots off the lead. Three holes, five under ... and a story for the ages.
There will certainly be more on this story, so stay tuned.
Thompson's albatross was the fourth double eagle on TOUR in 2009:
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• For a complete list of aces, eagles, double eagles and more, check our 2009 Superlatives page.
NEW LEADER (3:57 p.m.) -- Rickie Fowler double bogeyed the par-3 fifth hole after hooking his tee shot way left, giving the lead back to Troy Matteson, who is 5 under after 10 holes. Matteson, who shot 61 on Friday, is now 14 under for his last 28 holes.
Fowler is still one shot back, but eight players are within two shots of the lead.
By all indications, look for the final 72-score to be right around the 18 under mark like it was in 2008.
FOWLER TAKES THE OUTRIGHT LEAD (3:45 p.m.) -- It didn't take long for Rickie Fowler to grab the lead for the first time on the PGA TOUR.
Fowler bombed a 300-yard drive on the par-5 fourth and hit his approach shot to 15 feet, which he drained for eagle. It is already Fowler's third eagle of the week.
In his last seven rounds on TOUR, Fowler has racked up five eagles. Notable players who also have five eagles this year: Padraig Harrington, Vijay Singh and Fred Couples.
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| Bubba Watson leads the TOUR in eagles in 2009: | |||||||||||||||||||||
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TOUGH YEAR CONTINUES FOR WAGNER (3:30 p.m) -- Johnson Wagner appeared on the verge of stardom after his breakthrough win in the 2008 Shell Houston Open, but the North Carolina resident does not have a top-10 finish in a full-field event since then.
Wagner has two double bogeys today and sits last among the players who made the cut. At 2 over, he's the only player in black figures at Grayhawk.
It's difficult to pinpoint the cause behind Wagner's struggles. He ranks around the median in most PGA TOUR categories, and the only glaring weakness is short-iron play (he's 126th in approaches from 125-150 yards and 167th in approaches from 150-175 yards.
AMES SURGES EARLY, GIVES SHOT BACK (3:11 p.m.) -- Stephen Ames teed off on the front side and has birdied three of the first four holes after birdie putts of 21, 19 and seven feet.
As we were typing this, Ames bogeyed the par-3 fifth hole after bunkering his tee shot. He had birdied the hole in each of the first two rounds.
Still, Ames is only a shot back as he chases his fourth career PGA TOUR win and his first since the 2007 Children's Miracle Network Classic presented by Wal-Mart.
• To track Ames with Shot Tracker in the third round, click here.
THE NEW RAGE ON THE PGA TOUR: DRIVEABLE PAR-4s (2:45 p.m.) -- Grayhawk's Raptor Course is pretty long for a par-70 course -- it features two par-4s that measure around 500 yards -- but it also has a driveable par-4 on the back nine.
The 332-yard par-4 is easily reachable for today's big hitters, with only a couple of big greenside sand traps in play. Rickie Fowler eagled the hole in Round 1 when he hit a driver to within eight feet, and Troy Matteson also made a deuce there in the second round when he hit his tee shot to two feet.
The hole has given up five eagles this week, but none so far today. Interesting stat: None of the players who have opted to use an iron off the tee have made birdie today.
POINTS ON THE MOVE (2:15 p.m) -- No rookie has won on the PGA TOUR this year, but one of the ones that came the closest was one Darren Andrew Points, better known as D.A., who finished solo third in the HP Byron Nelson Championship.
Points is already 4 under on his round today and sits only three shots off the leaders, who have just teed off at Grayhawk.
Last week's Miccosukee Championship on the Nationwide Tour was a stark reminder of Points' road to the PGA TOUR. Points jarred his approach shot on the 72nd hole of the 2008 Miccosukee Championship to make a playoff with Matt Bettencourt, which he won to gain a PGA TOUR card for 2009.
So far, Points' road on the PGA TOUR has been smooth. He's quickly established himself as a straight hitter (he's 40th in driving accuracy) who hits his mid-irons as well as anyone on TOUR.
Look for Points to continue to improve in 2010. Because he's already locked up his card for next year, he will be in the top 125 category, which will enable him to pick and choose more tournaments to fit his game, as well as avoid the fatigue that tends to wear down rookies who must play every time they gain entry into a field.
• To track Points with Shot Tracker in the third round, click here.
OBERHOLSER PLAYING ON THE WEEKEND (1:45 p.m.) -- Arron Oberholser was ranked as high as No. 30 on the Official World Golf Ranking during the 2007 season, but chronic wrist and shoulder injuries have kept him off the course for all but three PGA TOUR events this year. Coming into the Frys.com Open, Oberholser was ranked 615th in the world.
The injuries have limited Oberholser's time on the course, but the 34-year-old still has the form that once made him one of the game's best young players. He made the cut by two shots this week and opened his third round by holing a 19-yard pitch shot on the par-5 11th on Saturday to get to 5 under.
This is the third consecutive year Oberholser has played in this event -- he finished tied for 18th in 2007 and tied for fourth last year. Oberholser continues to make his year-round home in the Scottsdale area as he continues tries to get healthy for the 2010 season.
• To track Oberholser with Shot Tracker in the third round, click here.
TOP 125 UPDATE (1:25 p.m.) -- Most of the players near the top of the leaderboard have already secured their PGA TOUR cards for 2010, but a few notables need big a big weekend to move comfortably into the top 125.
Chris Stroud sits right on the bubble at 125th, and he's just three shots back after 36 holes. Most of his money this year came via his tie for sixth at the rain-shortened AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
Surprisingly, Rocco Mediate finds himself battling for a TOUR card. Rocco, who is four shots back after two rounds, is 151st on the money list. Mediate, however, could opt to use one-time exemption for being in the top 50 on the career money list if he fails to retain his card for 2010.
CRAZY WEEK FOR TROY MATTESON (12:50 p.m.) -- On Friday, we saw the second 61 in Grayhawk history, and it showed the huge scoring swings that are possible on the par-70 track.
In 2008, Kevin Stadler missed the cut by three shots despite shooting a 61 in the second round -- he had opened with an 81. The 61 was good for a new course record, but it didn't earn Stadler a paycheck.
Troy Matteson has had a similar experience this week. The one-time PGA TOUR winner opened with a 72, but he really got rolling on Friday, making seven birdies and an eagle to match the course record. He sits four shots back heading into the third round.
Matteson sits 131st on the money list with three tournaments to go counting this week, but he's reeled off seven cuts in a row and seems a cinch to earn one of the final 125 spots.
SPLIT TEES FOR THE THIRD ROUND (12:33 p.m.) -- The 71 players who made the cut will go off on split tees on holes Nos. 1 and 10 on Saturday. The leaders tee off at 2:15 p.m. ET, so play should end around 6:30 p.m. ET.
BIG DAY FOR FOWLER (12:20 p.m.) -- Rickie Fowler's performance through two rounds this week at Grayhawk has arguably been the story of the Fall Series, and the 20-year-old has a golden opportunity to kiss q-school goodbye with a win this week.
Fowler, in just his first PGA TOUR start as a professional, he tied for seventh last week at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Fowler had a similar week at TPC Summerlin -- he opened with rounds of 67-64 before finishing with rounds of 69-68.
It will be interesting to see if he can go low on the weekend at Grayhawk, because with players like Justin Leonard, Ryan Moore and Tim Clark the mix, a couple of low rounds will be a necessity.
Still, one must wonder how big a lead Fowler would have after 36 holes had he putted better. Fowler has hit 34 of the 36 greens this week -- a stunning ballstriking performance even on a shorter course like Grayhawk -- but he's burned through 61 putts.
• To track Fowler with Shot Tracker in the third round, click here.
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