Third-round notebook – Valero Texas Open
* Rory Sabbatini grabbed the 54-hole lead with his third-round 63. Sabbatini, a four-time PGA TOUR winner, is at 14-under par 196, one stroke better than Zach Johnson. The 63 is one shot off Sabbatini’s career-best of 62, which he shot in the final round of the 2006 Sony Open in Hawaii (8-under) and the third round of the 2007 Crowne Plaza Invitational (8-under). Sabbatini had also posted 63 three times previously in his career, including the opening round of the 2003 Valero Texas Open. * Defending champion Justin Leonard birdied the final hole for a 6-under-par 64. When Leonard started the day, he was tied for 68th place. When he finished play at 11:50 a.m., he was at 7-under 203 and tied for 5th place. At the end of the day, Leonard’s total found him tied for 19th.
* Veteran Bob Tway made a run up the leaderboard with a 6-under 64 as well. Tway, who tied for second here in 2003, finished his round with a bogey at the par-4, 18th hole and is at 8-under 202. Tway is making his 16th start in this event and has made the cut in his last nine starts here.
* New Zealand rookie Tim Wilkinson moved into contention with a 7-under 63, one stroke off his season/career best – an 8-under 62 in the third round of the 2008 Sony Open in Hawaii. Wilkinson is tied for third after 54 holes, three back of leader Rory Sabbatini. Wilkinson entered the week No. 112 on the money list, making 13 of 25 cuts with a pair of top-10 finishes – T6 at the Puerto Rico Open presented by Banco Popular and 3rd at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Wilkinson is at 11-under 199, which matches his low 54-hole total in 2008 (Sony Open in Hawaii). For the week, the lefty from Palmerston North is 1-under on par-3s, 8-under on par-4s and 2-under on par’5s.
* Former Masters champion (2007) Zach Johnson moved to the top of the leaderboard with his 8-under 62 today. Johnson is making his first start on TOUR since The Barclays (Aug. 21-24), where he missed the cut. Johnson was nearly perfect Saturday, hitting 13 of 14 fairways and 17 of 18 greens. Johnson has only one top-10 finish in 21 starts this year, a T9 at the World Golf Championship-CA Championship back in March. He comes into the event No. 125 on the money list. His lead held up most of the afternoon, until Rory Sabbatini birdied the final hole to finish at 14-under par.
* This is also Zach Johnson’s first career start in this tournament. Johnson is at 13-under 197, which matches the lowest 54-hole total of his career (2007, THE TOUR Championship). His 62 is the second-lowest score of his career, bettered only by a 10-under-par 60 in round three of THE TOUR Championship last year.
* Zach Johnson is alone in second place heading into the final day. This is the closest he has been to the 54-hole lead this year. His previous best came at the Masters Tournament, where he was tied for 7th after three rounds.
* A couple of notes about Zach Johnson and Rory Sabbatini, who will make up the final pairing on Sunday:
* When Johnson won the 2007 Masters Tournament, Sabbatini tied for second place.
* When Johnson won the 2007 AT&T Classic, Sabbatini won the following week at the Crowne Plaza Invitational.
* Jeff Overton bogeyed the par-3, 17th hole to bring his bogey-free streak to a halt after 41 holes. Overton’s last previous bogey came on the second hole (his back nine) during the first round. He played the final seven holes Thursday, all 18 holes Friday and the first 16 holes Saturday without a bogey.
Return to Tournament Notebook archives