The Honda Classic: Round 3 notebook

text size

Weather: Sunny with a high temperature of 69 degrees. Winds from the NE at 10-20 mph.

• Camilo Villegas, a 28-year-old native of Medellin, Colombia, carded a third-round 67 (six birdies, three bogeys) to move to 11-under 199. Villegas holds a three-stroke lead over Australia's Nathan Green and Fiji's Vijay Singh, the winner of the 1999 Honda Classic, after three rounds. Villegas' three-stroke cushion is the largest after play on Saturday at this event since Todd Hamilton enjoyed a four-stroke advantage after 54 holes of the 2004 tournament. It has been a whirlwind week for Villegas, who followed up a T8 finish at last week's Waste Management Phoenix Open -- one of two top-10 finishes in as many starts in 2010 (3rd at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship) -- with a quick trip to his home country to help kick off this week's Pacific Rubiales Bogota Open on the Nationwide Tour.

RELATED

Round 3 Wrap-up
The Live Report
Leaderboard: Scores
Saunders surprises
Kodak Challenge update
Video: Highlights
Round 4 Tee Times

• In the previous 37 Honda Classics, third-round leaders/co-leaders have gone on to win 19 times, including four of the last six years. In tournament history, only one winner has come from outside the top 10 on the Saturday leaderboard to win. In 2005, Padraig Harrington was T21 after three rounds, seven strokes off the lead, and carded a final-round 63 to eventually win in a playoff over Geoff Ogilvy and Singh.

• Prior to today, Villegas has only been a 54-hole leader once, at the 2008 BMW Championship (one stroke over Jim Furyk), and went on to win that event by two strokes over fellow Florida Gator Dudley Hart.

• So far this year on the PGA TOUR, three of eight stroke-play tournaments have been won by third-round leaders -- Ryan Palmer (Sony Open in Hawaii), Steve Stricker (Northern Trust Open), Dustin Johnson (AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am).

• Villegas' three-stroke lead at the Honda Classic is the second-biggest 54-hole margin of the year. Earlier this season at the Northern Trust Open, Stricker enjoyed a six-stroke advantage after three rounds and went on to win at Riviera Country Club by two strokes.

• Villegas' three-round total of 11-under-par 199 is the lowest for a leader in the four years the event has been held at the Champion course at PGA National and the lowest to par since Ogilvy and Brett Wetterich were tied for the 54-hole lead at Mirasol with a 12-under 204 total.

• Villegas will try to end a victory drought tomorrow. He's gone 23 PGA TOUR events since his last victory at the 2008 TOUR Championship in Atlanta or one year, five months, seven days.

• Villegas' lowest career 54-hole totals on the PGA TOUR:

• International players from four different countries have won four of the last five Honda Classics and Colombia's Villegas, Australia's Green and Fiji's Singh all have a good opportunity to make it five internationals in six years. Mark Wilson (2007) is the only American to claim The Honda Classic durng this stretch. A total of 16 different countries are represented this week in The Honda Classic.

• A total of 500 FedExCup points will be awarded to the champion at the conclusion of the Honda Classic. Villegas, the current leader, is currently in 24th place in the 2010 FedExCup race and could move as high as third in the standings with a victory. A win would put Villegas within 20 points of leader Johnson and just seven points back of Stricker.

• Villegas is making his fifth career start at The Honda Classic this week, with a runner-up finish in 2007 his best outing. This is his 111th career start on the PGA TOUR, with two wins (2008 BMW Championship, 2008 THE TOUR Championship), three runner-up finishes and six third-place finishes.

• Final-round scoring averages for the top three players:

• Sam Saunders, grandson of Arnold Palmer, posted a third consecutive round of 1-under 69 (T10) and will play on Sunday in a PGA TOUR event for the first time in his brief professional career. In his previous four career starts on TOUR, his best finish is a tie for 70th earlier this year at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, but the field at that event was reduced to the top 60 and ties after 54 holes. Saunders also missed cuts at both the 2010 Bob Hope Classic and Waste Management Phoenix Open as well as a missed cut at the 2006 Bay Hill Invitational when he was still an amateur.

• When reached via phone after the round, here's what Palmer had to say about Saunders' play this week.

• (Talk about seeing your grandson in 10th place this week)

"He is really starting to come into his own. He has a lot of things he has to pick up on. I won't be specific. He has some shots he does not play as well as he should. That's a little experience and confidence. I'm very pleased and proud of what he has done this week. It isn't anything but what I would expect."

• (Sam spoke about how he kind of resisted listening to you before he changed his mind this year and now says you are his only coach.)

"He was a young man. I'm only trying to tell him things I learned from my father. Sam is beginning to pick up on things. There isn't anything he can't do. He can do whatever he dedicates himself to on the golf course. He has a mind of his own and he's going to use it. Certainly, it's frustrating sometimes when you know and you've been there and done it and it's not taking hold as it should. He's starting to do that. I see shots watching him today where he's very close to breaking through. Part of that is getting a little confidence in himself. I'm very confident in him."

• (Will you come down Sunday to watch him?)

"No, I'm not and there are several reasons for that. I'd love to come and watch Sam, but I don't want to cause a distraction and I have things I need to do with my tournament before coming up and playing at Seminole on Monday. He has all my support in the world. I think if he has a good day tomorrow, that will please me very much. If he stays within himself, I think he will do well."

• (How much pressure do you think he feels from being your grandson?)

"The most important thing is to be himself. Be tough and play tough, but be nice. He has accomplished that. He has to also learn to be tough on the golf course. I think he'll make his own mind about how to deal things. All I want to do is give him whatever influence I can to help him do the right things. He'll do it on his own. If I can give him a lift, that would be great."

• Bogey-free rounds:

First -- Green (65), Michael Connell (65), Oliver Wilson (66)

Second -- Mike Weir (64), Stephen Ames (64), Rocco Mediate (65), Steve Flesch (66), Jason Bohn (67), Alex Cejka (68)

Third -- Charlie Wi (68)

• Scoring averages:

• The most difficult hole after three rounds in No. 6 with an average score of 4.398 (+.398), while No. 3 is the easiest at 4.485 (-.515).

• Through 54 holes, Villegas leads the field with 17 birdies, one more than Anthony Kim. Green has made just two bogeys, the fewest by any player in the field. J.B. Holmes is the only player in the field this week with two eagles through 54 holes.

• Chris Tidland and Paul Casey both opened The Honda Classic with 3-over 73s (T72), but both have made significant moves up the leaderboard in Rounds 2 and 3. Tidland has posted a pair of 67s on Friday and Saturday and is now tied for 10th through 54 holes. Casey shot 64 on Friday, matching the current course record, and his even-par 70 today also puts him in a tie for 10th.