Round 3 Notes – Shell Houston Open
The leaderboard has a definite Texas flavor to it. Of the top four players on the leaderboard, three have ties to the Lone Star state. Third-round leader Johnson Wagner was born in Amarillo, while runner-up Chad Campbell was born in Andrews and currently resides in Colleyville. Bob Estes, who shares third place with Charley Hoffman, was born in Graham and now calls Austin home. In addition, K.J. Choi (resides in The Woodlands), Bart Bryant (born in Gatesville), and Fred Couples (attended U. of Houston) are among seven players tied at T10.This is the first time in his brief PGA TOUR career (44th career start) that Johnson Wagner has led or been tied for the lead heading into the final round. In his Nationwide Tour career, Johnson was twice a co-leader going into the final round. He finished T11 at the 2005 Chattanooga Classic and T2 at the 2005 ING New Zealand PGA Championship. His best PGA TOUR career finish was a second-place effort at the 2007 Viking Classic where he finished one stroke behind Chad Campbell.
Defending champion Adam Scott withdrew prior to the start of Saturday’s third round due to illness. Scott, who opened with a course-record 9-under-par 63 on Thursday, had not been feeling well the previous few days and made the decision after visiting with on-site medical personnel on Saturday morning.
A total of 36 players completed their second rounds on Saturday morning after darkness suspended play on Friday night. The second round was completed at 9:34 a.m. A total of 73 players made the cut at even-par 144.
Chad Campbell, who trails third-round leader Johnson Wagner by one stroke, has moved up 79 places after his opening-round 73 on Thursday. Campbell has posted back-to-back rounds of 65-64 in the last two days. His 36-hole total of 15-under-par 129 is the best showing for 36 holes in relation to par.
The winner of Sunday’s Shell Houston Open crown will receive 4,500 points in the FedExCup race. Tiger Woods currently leads with 14,775 points followed by Phil Mickelson (8,838), Vijay Singh (7,807), K.J. Choi (7,189) and Stewart Cink (6,151).
Third-round leaders/co-leaders have enjoyed pretty good success in this event. In the previous 60 tournaments, the third-round leader/co-leader has won the event 30 times, including five of the last six years. The lone exception came a year ago when Adam Scott came from three strokes back on Sunday to win the event by three strokes over Stuart Appleby and 54-hole leader Bubba Watson.
So far in 2008, seven of the previous 14 third-round leaders/co-leaders have gone on to victory. The most recent was Geoff Ogilvy at the WGC-CA Championship.
A bid to the 2008 Masters Tournament awaits the winner of this tournament should that player not be previously eligible. Among the top-10 players, only Geoff Ogilvy, Steve Stricker, Fred Couples, K.J. Choi and Aaron Baddeley have already secured spots in the Augusta field.
Fred Couples, the 2003 champion, tied the tournament nine-hole scoring record when he shot a 7-under-par 29 on his second nine (he started at No. 10). Couples’ 29 matched the record set by Gary Koch in 1978 and later matched by Curtis Strange (1980) and Mike Sullivan (1986). His scorecard for his 29 included just one par, six birdies, an eagle and a bogey. He finished with a 5-under-par 67 after shooting a 2-over-par on his first nine holes. Couples effort matched the low nine-hole score on the PGA TOUR this year.
Speaking of Couples, he made the cut for the 15th straight time in this event, the longest streak among active players at this tournament. Jimmy Demaret holds the record with 17 straight. Couples was T49 in his most recent appearance in the Shell Houston Open in 2004.
K.J. Choi and Ben Crane both continue to climb the leaderboard. The pair were each T99 after opening-round 2-over-par 74s and will begin Sunday’s final round T10.
Brett Quigley could be in line for his best finish of the 2008 season. Quigley has made just one cut in six previous starts this year with his best effort a T12 at The Honda Classic.
A pair of Australian natives -- Geoff Ogilvy (5th) and Aaron Baddeley (T10) -- remain in the top 10 going into Sunday’s final round, keeping alive the possibility of the tournament having its seventh different Australian winner.
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