Third-round notebook – BMW Championship
* Brandt Snedeker is showing very little fatigue despite having played 13 out of the last 14 weeks on the PGA TOUR, dating to the St. Jude Classic presented by FedEx in mid-June. He posted his third round in the 60s on Saturday (69-69-66) and sits at T2. Snedeker entered the St. Jude Classic ranked No. 176 in the FedExCup standings, fell to No. 183 two weeks later, but has risen all the way to No. 42 in the standings. He is currently projected No. 7 as the third Playoff event enters its final 18 holes.* Brandt Snedeker will be paired with Tiger Woods on Sunday for the first time in his career.
* Tiger Woods recorded a Cog Hill Golf & Country Club record 9-under 62 on Saturday to move into solo possession of the lead with just 18 holes remaining at the BMW Championship, the third event in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. He holds a commanding seven-stroke lead over Brandt Snedeker (66) and Marc Leishman (68).
* Tiger Woods’ 62 ties the BMW Championship record set by Jim Furyk at Bellerive CC in 2008. It breaks the Cog Hill Golf & Country Club record of 63, carded on eight occasions (including Woods in the first round in 2003 and final round in 2007).
* Tiger Woods’ Low 18 on the PGA TOUR
61 Round 1 1999 Byron Nelson (finished T7)
61 Round 2 2000 WGC-NEC Invitational (finished 1st)
61 Round 2 2005 Buick Open (finished T2)
62 Round 3 1999 Buick Invitational (finished 1st)
62 Round 3 1999 WGC-NEC Invitational (finished 1st)
62 Round 3 2009 BMW Championship (TBD)
* As a professional, Tiger Woods has never failed to post an under-par score in the third round at the BMW Championship, with a 2-under 70 in 2000 his worst effort. His third-round scoring average as a professional at the BMW Championship is 66.64 and he is now a collective 137-under-par at the tournament since 1997.
* This marks the 52ndtime in Woods’ TOUR career that he has held at least a share of the 54-hole lead, most recently at the 2009 PGA Championship (finished 2nd). In all, he has won 47 of 51 events when holding the third-round lead/co-lead.
* Three of Tiger Woods’ 54-hole leads have come at the BMW Championship and they have all been substantial. He led by four in 1999, posted a final-round 71 and won by three. In 2003, he led by six strokes before a final-round 69 led to a five-stroke victory. He’ll carry a seven-stroke cushion in Sunday’s final round.
* Tiger Woods’ seven-stroke 54-hole lead is the fifth largest of his career:
Tournament 54-hole Status Final-round Score
2000 U.S. Open 10 over Els 67 (Win)
2000 WGC-NEC Invitational 9 over Mickelson, P. Price, Sutton 67 (Win)
1997 Masters 9 over Rocca 69 (Win)
2008 Buick Invitational 8 over Cink 71 (Win)
2009 BMW Championship 7 over Snedeker, Leishman TBD
* The third-round leader/co-leader has gone on to win 21 of 38 stroke-play events on the PGA TOUR in 2009, most recently by Steve Stricker at the Deutsche Bank Championship.
* Dating to 1970, the third-round leader/co-leader at the BMW Championship has won 20 times in 39 tournaments, including Camilo Villegas in 2008.
* Tiger Woods, winner of the inaugural 2007 FedExCup, is a four-time winner of the BMW Championship (1997, 1999, 2003, 2007) and has eight top-10s in 10 career BMW Championship starts as a professional. A win on Sunday would tie him with Walter Hagen with a tournament-record five wins.
* Marc Leishman (68) birdied four holes in a row (Nos. 3-6) on Saturday for the second time this week (R2, Nos. 15-18). He came close in the first round, with three in a row on Nos. 7-9 en route to a 4-under 67. Leishman is one of two rookies (Webb Simpson) who advanced to the BMW Championship. He entered the week No. 67 and is now projected at No. 16 in the FedExCup standings.
* Matt Kuchar birdied five holes in a row on Saturday (Nos. 12-16) on his way to a 5-under 66. Success at Cog Hill Golf & Country Club isn’t foreign to Kuchar, as he prevailed 2&1 over Joel Kribel at Cog Hill to win the 1997 U.S. Amateur Championship. Currently No. 46 in the FedExCup standings, Kuchar is hoping for a big finish on Sunday to earn his first trip to the 30-player field at THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola – mere miles away from the Georgia Tech campus where he starred collegiately.
* Jim Furyk’s amazing track record at the BMW Championship is continuing this week. He’ll enter the final round T8 after a 4-under 67 on Saturday. Not counting 2009, his last 10 starts at the tournament have yielded eight top-7 finishes, including a win in 2005 and T3 finishes in 2000, 2003 and 2008.
* Elmhurst, IL resident Mark Wilson, who plays out of Cog Hill Golf & Country Club, carded an even-par 71 on Saturday after entering the day tied for the lead with Tiger Woods. He is making his eighth appearance at the BMW Championship, with a T25 in 2007 his best outing. He is T6 entering the final round.
* Steve Stricker’s 3-under 68 on Saturday was his first round in the 60s this week. The current FedExCup points leader and 1996 BMW Championship winner now has a TOUR-leading 29 rounds in the 60s in Playoff events.
* Stricker and Camilo Villegas – both at T30 – will need a low round on Sunday to secure another top-10 finish in a Playoff event. They are deadlocked with six each (tops on TOUR in 10 previous events). Stricker is in search of his 11th top-10 finish of the season, second only to Tiger Woods’ 12.
* Kevin Na posted a 6-under 65 to move to T18. Currently No. 23 in the FedExCup standings, Na is in the middle of a career season on the PGA TOUR, having surpassed $2 million in earnings for the first time. He already has 13 top-25 finishes, six more than his previous best of seven (2003, 2004). He also has eight top-10 finishes, five more than his previous best of three (2007, 2008).
* Four players will enter the final round with a chance to record all four rounds in the 60s this week: Tiger Woods (68-67-62), Brandt Snedeker (69-69-66), Marc Leishman (67-69-68) and Padraig Harrington (68-68-69).
* Of the eight players who played their way into the top 70 at last week’s Deutsche Bank Championship, rookie Marc Leishman is in the best position with one round to go, sitting at T2. The entire list includes: Marc Leishman (T2), Bubba Watson (T8), Sergio Garcia (T8), Stephen Ames (T26), Bryce Molder (T37), Jeff Overton (T39), Jason Bohn (T56) and Woody Austin (T61).
* Jim Furyk (T8), Sergio Garcia (T8) and Steve Stricker (T30) have now played in all 43 rounds of the PGA TOUR Playoffs, dating to the competition’s inaugural start in 2007.
* Davis Love III posted a 4-under 67 for a 10-stroke turnaround after struggling to a 6-over 77 on Friday. He’ll need more of the same on Sunday, as he is currently projected No. 52 in the FedExCup standings.
* It hasn’t been a great week so far for this year’s four Major Championship winners: Angel Cabrera (T49), Lucas Glover (T61), Stewart Cink (T42) and Y.E. Yang (67th).
* BMW Championship past winners and their current standing: Robert Allenby (T42), Stephen Ames (T26), Jim Furyk (T8), Jerry Kelly (T53), Steve Stricker (T30), Scott Verplank (T49), Camilo Villegas (T30) and Tiger Woods (1).
* Bogey-free Rounds:
Thursday – Marc Leishman (67), Padraig Harrington (68)
Friday – Zach Johnson (65), Mark Wilson (66)
Saturday – Davis Love III (67), Steve Marino (68)
* Scoring Averages at the newly-renovated (by Rees Jones) par-71 Cog Hill Golf & Country Club:
Front 9 Back 9 Total Cumulative
Thursday 35.739 35.710 71.449 ---
Friday 35.426 35.603 71.029 71.241
Saturday 35.426 35.279 70.706 71.063
* The par-3 sixth hole played the toughest on Saturday, with a 3.279 average. The par-5 15th hole was the easiest at 4.353.
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