Round 3, Transitions Championship
By PGATOUR.COM staff
The first groups will soon tee off in today's third round of the Transitions Championship. Here's how it sets up:
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EXPERT PREVIEW: PGA TOUR Network on-site correspondent Bob Stevens previews Saturday's third round:
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An example of how this tightly bunched field might get even closer this weekend: Charles Howell III had an early tee time Friday and went from 50th to third by shooting a simple 5-under 66, going from six behind to just one back. Nothing crazy, just a solid round. But it came in the morning, when the field played nearly two shots better than it did in the afternoon, when the weather didn't change that much, just dried out enough to make the greens bounce a little harder and run a little faster.
Guys with early times today could make similar moves, while the afternoon players, the leaders, will face those harder conditions. With only seven shots separating the entire field, players who are only five shots back get a 2 ½-hour head start on the leaders -- the equivalent of the entire front nine.
Stuart Appleby talked about another thing that keeps players from making any kind of sustained run on the Copperhead Course. The back nine layout is such that there are no back-to-back par 4s, meaning that players are taking different clubs out of their bags on every tee. And with three par 3s alternating at 13, 15 and 17, it's tough to get into any kind of swing rhythm. Watch the players on the back nine and you'll see a different comfort level than even just on the front nine.
Just a guess here, but if you're looking for something to separate the probable winner from the field, watch the play on the par 3s. There are five of them, just about every one requiring a different club. The guy who's hitting it close with more different clubs at the par 3s is also probably hitting them closer all around the course.
However, you can throw that theory out the window if a player is driving it into the deep rough. As Jim Furyk found out Friday, that's a killer.
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NOTEWORTHY NUGGETS:
• A total of 74 players made the 36-hole cut at 1-over 143, which is the lowest since 2004, when 73 players made it to the weekend at even-par 142.
• Steve Stricker played his first nine holes this week in 1 over, but has played his last 27 in 7 under. Additionally, his accuracy has dramatically improved from the first round to the second. In Round 1, he hit four shots inside 20 feet. In Round 2, that number nearly tripled to 11.
• Charles Howell III had the best birdie/eagle stretch of Friday by going birdie-eagle-par-birdie-birdie-birdie on holes 18-5 en route to a second-round 67. He'll start the third round just one back of the lead. Friday marks the first time he has posted a sub-par second-round score at the Transitions Championship. His previous best was an even-par 71.
• First-round leader Jim Furyk struggled in Round 2 to a 7-over 78, a 13-shot drop from his first-round 6-under 65. The 13 shots is the largest space between a first and second round of his career. An 11-shot difference was his previous biggest first-to-second round swing. Furyk saved par at the last to make the cut of 1 over on the number.
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