The Live Report: Round 3 of the CA Championship

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Rory McIlroy is in contention at the CA Championship at Doral after shooting a 6-under 66 on Friday.

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PGATOUR.COM's The Live Report is on the scene at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship and we'll provide updates all day long for each round, so check back often. (All timestamps are Eastern Time.) FOLLOW: Live @ | Shot Tracker | Live Scoring | PGA TOUR Network | Facebook | Twitter PUERTO RICO OPEN PRESENTED BY BANCO POPULAR: Live scoring | Complete coverage ELSEWHERE: Nationwide Tour | Champions Tour

MICKELSON, WATNEY SHARE LEAD (6:05 p.m.): Nick Watney shot his second straight 67 today and because of it he shares the lead at 14 under with Phil Mickelson going into tomorrow's final round.

Both players have already won this season -- Watney at the Buick Invitational, Mickelson at the Northern Trust Open.

Watney's victory at Torrey Pines came partly as a result of a mini-collapse by John Rollins, partly because of birdies on each of his final two holes. Watney didn't lead that tournament until the final birdie dropped, completing a round of 68 that erased a five-shot deficit at the start of the day.

Mickelson's victory this year also involved a mini-collapse...of his own. Mickelson watched a four-shot lead turn into a two-shot deficit at Riviera before birdies on two of his last three holes won him the tournament.

As for tomorrow's final round, it should come down to putting. Both players are long off the tee and good with their irons, so whoever can get the ball rolling well should have the advantage. -- Brian Wacker

MORE ON TIGER (5:50 p.m.): Tiger Woods moved up the leaderboard with a 4-under 68 today, his lowest round of the week here at Doral, and he was certainly pleased with it. Here are some excerpts from his interview with the media afterward:

Q. If you can assess what you're getting out of the week, you seem like you're on the rise.

TIGER WOODS: "I'm getting better each day, the feel of playing in the game again at this level is coming back. Unfortunately I'm just not making putts. As I said earlier over there, six lipouts the first few days and seven lipouts today for birdie; that's a lot of lipouts for birdie, so it's pretty frustrating."

Q. That aside, are you happy with the way things are progressing, even though you would rather be in a better position on the board?

TIGER WOODS: "As I said, it's not that far off, because if I make those putts or half those putts go in, I'm pretty close to the lead. Ball-striking-wise, very happy with how things are progressing. Unfortunately I'm just not getting it done on the greens."

Q. Is it the stroke?

TIGER WOODS: "It's not the stroke. I feel like I'm rolling the ball on my lines at the right speeds. I hit a couple of putts today that were too hard but other than that, my speed has been good. It's just they are either hanging on the high side or just drifting across the front edge of the hole. And you know, it's just that close to being some pretty good scores."

Those answers sound a lot like another guy who was close a few weeks ago and the same guy, Phil Mickelson, who is in the lead going into tomorrow's final round. -- Brian Wacker

MICKELSON, WATNEY PUTTING ON A SHOW (5:25 p.m.): Phil Mickelson and Nick Watney are starting to pull away from the field some here at Doral, where Mickelson leads Watney by a stroke and Watney is four shots clear of the nearest competitor.

That could make for an interesting driving range tomorrow morning. Butch Harmon works with both players and earlier in the week Watney put in a practice putting session with the swing guru. -- Brian Wacker

MICKELSON EXTENDS LEAD (5:10 p.m.): The lead has oscillated all day here at Doral, but Phil Mickelson seems to have finally taken command with three straight birdies. He almost made a fourth straight, except his putt on No. 15 just lipped out.

It's clear that his iron play and short game are dialed in with each of the last three birdies all coming from 10 feet or closer. No wonder Mickelson leads the field in birdies this week. -- Brian Wacker

PERRY FALTERS (4:50 p.m.): Kenny Perry just dropped down the leaderboard a couple of strokes after an unfortunate double bogey on the par-3 13th. Perry overcooked his tee shot on the hole, but rather than landing in the left rough, his ball hit a rake, causing it to shoot back across the green.

As Perry addressed the ball in the rough, settling his wedge in behind it, the ball moved. That meant that Perry had to replace it to its original position and take a one-stroke penalty. He pitched onto the green, but missed the 15-foot bogey putt before tapping in. As a result, Perry dropped from second into a tie for 12th, five shots back of the lead, -- Brian Wacker

A sip of Maginnes

INTERNATIONAL FLAIR (4:38 p.m.): The four International names looming behind Phil Mickelson and Nick Watney are from four different points on the globe. Alvaro Quiros is from Spain, Rory Mcllroy is from Northern Ireland, Jeev Milkha Singh is from India and Soren Kjeldsen is from somewhere that doesn't pronounce the letter J. Lest you think this is an anomaly. Sure, there are tons of international players that you have never heard of that can play. But there may be something else going on this week as well. Earlier this week we had a full moon. Yesterday was Friday the 13th. And tomorrow is the Ides of March. Et tu Alvaro. -- John Maginnes

WATNEY MAKES BOGEY (4:17 p.m.): Nick Watney's bogeyless streak just ended at 47 holes when he slid his par putt by on No. 11. That dropped him into a tie for the lead with Phil Mickelson at 14 under. Watney had been the only player this week without a bogey on his card. -- Brian Wacker

INSIDE THE NUMBERS (4:05 p.m.): Nick Watney might have just missed his first putt from inside 7 feet all week, resulting in a par on the par-5 10th, but his putter is the reason he's got the lead right now. Watney is averaging just 1.625 putts -- better than a half-stroke lower than the current field average -- and he's hit 80 percent of his greens in regulation. -- Brian Wacker

NO. 1 ON A POSSIBLE FUTURE NO. 1 (3:43 p.m.): Count Tiger Woods among those impressed by Rory McIlroy.

The 19-year-old from Northern Ireland was tied for third at 11 under when Woods finished his round. One of the European writers asked the best player in the world if he could see a future No. 1 in McIlroy.

"There's no doubt," Woods said. "The guy's a talent. Hopefully while I'm not around, or while I'm around.

"Certainly he has the talent. We can all see it: The way he hits the golf ball, the way he putts, the way he can chip, get up-and-down. He has the composure. He has all of the components to be the best player in the world, there's no doubt.

"It's just a matter of time and experience, and then basically gaining that experience in big events, that takes time, and I mean, geez, he's only 19. Just give him some time, and I'm sure he'll be there." -- Helen Ross

QUIROS ON FIRE (3:25 p.m.): Alvaro Quiros has quite a streak going, having not made a bogey since his 15th hole (No. 6) on Thursday. That's a streak of 30 holes without a bogey for the Spaniard.

Though many U.S. fans might not be familiar with Quiros, he is no stranger to success. Quiros won the Qatar Masters and had two other top-15 finishes on the European Tour earlier this year and he's drawn high praise from his fellow tour members -- almost as much as Rory McIlroy has, in fact.

And with good reason. Since making a double bogey on No. 6 on Thursday, Quiros has rattled off 11 birdies and not a single number over par. Among that was a stretch of five straight birdies during yesterday's round. Today, he's already made thee birdies through the front nine and that has him keeping pace with the leaders. That's what happens when you rank second in distance off the tee, third in putts per round and T5 in birdies made here at Doral. -- Brian Wacker

A sip of Maginnes

MADNESS ON THE MIND (3:05 p.m.): After shooting 69 on Saturday, Stewart Cink let his caddy, Frank Williams go. No, he didn't fire him. He allowed him to leave a little early to go catch the end of the first semi-final game between Florida State and North Carolina in the ACC Tournament. Following that game, Williams' beloved Duke Blue Devils are pitted against Maryland. As Williams was headed to the parking lot, I gave him an update on the Carolina score and he smiled when he saw the Heels were behind to the Noles in the second half. That smile evaporated when I explained to him that for some reason ESPN's coverage was blacked out down here in South Florida. We quickly realized that he could probably head to a sports bar with a satellite dish and catch the coverage. "You have to do what you have to do," he replied. "The boys need me." And he is right, Duke struggled against Boston College last night. They need all the help they can get...Go Devils. -- John Maginnes

WATNEY CONTINUES TO WOW (2:45 p.m.): Nick Watney, a two-time winner on the PGA TOUR and already a winner in 2009 at the Buick Invitational, is making just his second start in a World Golf Championships event this week. Based on his play at Doral, it looks like this could be the first of many to come.

Watney, who hasn't missed a cut this year and is playing for the first time since the Northern Trust Open three weeks ago, just grabbed a share of the lead at 14 under thanks to his third straight birdie. He's now birdied three of his first four holes and continues to show that when he putts well, he can play with anybody.

On the week, Watney is second in putts per round and so far today he's taken just four through four holes. Fortunately for Watney, he's also played with Mickelson a half-dozen times before so he shouldn't be too overwhelmed by the moment. -- Brian Wacker and T.J. Auclair

TIGER UPDATE (2:35 p.m.): It took nine holes, but Tiger Woods finally got his round going with a birdie on the ninth that was followed by three more on the back nine. He's got two holes left to play today -- and just hit it into a fairway bunker on No. 17 -- but if he can stay at 5 under for the day, that will put him at 8 under for the tournament and not entirely out of contention. A lot, of course, will depend on what leader Phil Mickelson and others near the top of the leaderboard do. -- Brian Wacker

MORE ON PHIL (2:25 p.m.): Phil Mickelson birdied the first hole to move to 14 under and into a two-stroke advantage. But he must have almost felt like he gave one back on No. 2 -- even though he managed a par there. Lefty hit his drive on the 376-yard par 4, which was playing downwind, over the green and 47 yards right of the putting surface. His vaunted short game failed him -- for one of the few times this week -- and he was unable to get his second shot on the green, He then had his caddy, Bone Mackay, pull the pin for his third, but the ball stopped 6 feet short and Mickelson had a testy putt for his par. -- Helen Ross

LEADERS ON THE COURSE (2:10 p.m.): Phil Mickelson is on the course and it didn't take long for him to make his first birdie of the day. For the first time all week, Mickelson birdied the par-5 first hole here at Doral. It's surprising because it's, by far, been the easiest hole on the course all week.

After going just off the back of the green on his approach, Mickelson chipped up and sank the putt to get to 14 under.

Kenny Perry, meanwhile, is doing his best to keep up with birdies on each of his first two holes to get to 12 under and in a tie for second with Nick Watney. -- Brian Wacker

OGILVY MOVING UP (1:42 p.m.): The defending champion admittedly dug himself a hole with that opening 73. But Geoff Ogilvy has quietly been climbing the leaderboard since -- shooting 3 under in the second round and playing his first 13 holes in 4 under on Saturday.

Ogilvy gained momentum as he made the turn -- rolling in birdie putts of 11, 24 and 5 feet beginning on the seventh hole. He was just beside the green in two at the par-5 12th and chipped 22 feet by the hole, but made the putt coming back to move to 6 under for the tournament. -- Helen Ross

CHARLEY IN CHARGE (1:30 p.m.): Add Charley Hoffman's name to the list of contenders here at Doral.

Hoffman, who has two top 10s this season, including a playoff loss at the FBR Open, began his day with an eagle on the par-5 first after hitting it to 2 feet and has since added a pair of birdies. A bogey on the par-4 sixth dropped him back to 9 under for the week, but there are still plenty of birdies out there as we're finding out with all the low scores being shot. -- Brian Wacker

INSIDE THE NUMBERS (1:15 p.m.): With Phil Mickelson set to tee off in about a half-hour, here's a look at some statistics that do a particularly good job of explaining, at least in part, why Mickelson is in the lead. Perhaps most important among them are his scrambling and his proximity to the hole -- each of which is either best in the field or near best. -- Brian Wacker

TIGER UPDATE (1:00 p.m.): Tiger Woods began the day 10 strokes back of leader Phil Mickelson and so far hasn't been able to make up much ground. After birdieing the par-5 opening hole -- by far the easiest hole on the course -- Woods ran off seven straight pars before closing out the front nine with his second birdie of the day for a 34.

Pars aren't going to get it done for Woods, who hasn't been able to hit it tight on his approaches today, or when he has, has simply not converted. Already, Woods has missed birdie putts from 11, 8 and 15 feet on holes 2, 5 and 6, respectively. -- Brian Wacker

WHAT A BACK NINE START (12:52 p.m.): In case you were wondering, the back nine at Doral's Blue Monster isn't made up of just par 3s. Soren Hansen of Denmark is just making it look that way.

Hansen, who plays most of his golf on the European Tour but is starting to play more in the U.S. after last year's Ryder Cup appearance, is blistering the back nine with six consecutive 3s after opening with a 1-under 35 on the front nine.

At 7 under for the day, Hansen is now 8 under for the tournament and five behind the leaders who have yet to tee off.

Hansen made eagle on Nos. 10 and 12 -- both par 5s -- birdied Nos. 11 and 14, which are both par 4s, and parred the par-3 13th and 15th. -- T.J. Auclair

APPLES ANGLING FOR TOP 10 (12:39 p.m.): Stuart Appleby is the only player who has competed in all 32 World Golf Championships.

He's never advanced past the third round of the Accenture Match Play Championship, but he does have five top 10s in the global series' stroke-play events, including a tie for second at last year's Bridgestone Invitational.

The Aussie is angling for another, too, after playing his first 10 holes at Doral in 5 under today. He two-putted for birdies at Nos. 1 and 10, then added putts of 15, 5 and 2 feet for the others that moved him to 7 under for the tournament -- one stroke out of the top 10. -- Helen Ross

A sip of Maginnes

PHIL'S ROUTINE (12:25 p.m.): Often times when Phil Mickelson is playing late on the weekend he will make an appearance early at the driving range. It is common for him to come out as many as three hours prior to his start time and put in a full practice session. He will then retreat indoors to cool down and perhaps grab lunch. The sequence continues about 45 minutes before his tee time with a light warm up and a little short-game work. This all culminates with a few putts before heading to the first tee. We saw this routine under the watchful eye of Butch Harmon on Saturday at the Northern Trust Open before a dramatic 62. The next day, he picked up career win No. 35. Perhaps feeling like things are firing on all cylinders, Mickelson did not make an early appearance at the driving range today. With a 1:50 p.m. tee time, the left-hander has yet to show up on the range. You can't really blame him -- the buffet in the player's lounge this week is second to none on TOUR. -- John Maginnes

EARLY MOVERS (12:15 p.m.): The leaders don't tee off for almost two hours, but there are plenty of players putting up some low numbers today.

D.J. Trahan is already in the clubhouse with a 6-under 66, while Hunter Mahan is 5 under through his first 16 holes. Also at 5 under today is Aussie Mark Brown, who is through 14 holes. Ditto for Justin Rose, who has climbed 30 spots from T51 thanks to birdies on four of his first five holes. He's since added two more -- after a bogey on No. 6 -- and is 5 under through 10 holes.

Soren Hansen, meanwhile, has climbed into the top 15 from outside the top 50, thanks to a round of 6 under that has a pair of eagles on the scorecard. After reaching the par-5 10th and par-5 12th holes in two, Hansen sank both putts. He's also made three birdies and probably has one or two more out there on the back nine.

All these low numbers could bode well for Mickelson, though how low he's able to go might depend on how much the wind kicks up in the afternoon. -- Brian Wacker

BADDELEY DISQUALIFIED (11:54 a.m.): Aaron Baddeley was disqualified earlier today for signing an incorrect scorecard after the second round.

The Australian hit his tee shot into the hazard on No. 3 today and called for a rules official to determine if he could move a stone that was under his foot during his stance. The rules official informed Baddeley that he could not intentionally move the stone. When Baddeley reached the ninth hole today, he realized that during the second round he had hit his tee shot into the same hazard and had moved a stone that was under his foot while in his stance.

Baddeley called for a rules official again and was asked if he intentionally moved the stone, or if it happened incidentally as he took his stance. Baddeley determined that it was intentional so he called the penalty on himself (violation of Rule 13.4c).

Since the penalty occurred during the second round, Baddeley had therefore signed an incorrect scorecard and has now been disqualified.

"Disappointing, but I had to do the right thing," said Baddeley, who shot 75-69 through the first two rounds. "You have to be honest with yourself. I've got to be able to go to sleep at night and wake up in the morning and look at myself in the mirror." -- Chris Reimer

PHIL'S SHORT GAME (11:44 a.m.): Phil Mickelson always had arguably the PGA TOUR's best short game. This season, it's just taken a while to show.

Through two rounds here, Mickelson has gone 14 of 16 when scrambling from around the greens, leaving himself a field-leading average par putt of just over 3 feet -- that's over 3 feet closer than the field. Out of the sand, he's gone 6 of 8, averaging 5 feet, 5 inches to the pin.

Perhaps most important, however, are these two facts: Mickelson has converted more than 128 feet of putts this week and he's chipped in four times -- three of those for birdies. -- Brian Wacker

Mickelson hole outs this week

Round Hole Distance Result 1 4 50 feet, 2 inches Par 1 17 25 feet, 4 inches Birdie 1 18 36 feet, 3 inches Birdie 2 7 33 feet, 1 inch Birdie

Groups We're Watching

Tee time Players   10:55 am ET Tiger Woods, Ryuji Imada What will Woods do on Moving Day? He's already 10 behind Mickelson, and must get the putter going. 1:10 pm ET Dustin Johnson, Jim Furyk Furyk hasn't won since 2007, but he's off to a fine start at Doral. If the course gets tougher, watch out. 1:50 pm ET Phil Mickelson, Nick Watney Mickelson is trying to win a World Golf Championship for the first time in his storied career.

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