CA Championship: Third-round notebook

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DORAL, Fla. -- This is the first time there has been a tie for the third-round lead in the history of the World Golf Championships-CA Championship, as Phil Mickelson and Nick Watney are tied at 200 (-16) through 54 holes. The 16-under total through three rounds matches the lowest since the tournament moved to Doral Resort & Spa in 2007 (Geoff Ogilvy, 2008) and is just three shots off the tournament's 54-hole record, held by Tiger Woods at 19-under (2002, 2006).

• The 54-hole leader has gone on to win this event seven of the previous nine times. Those winners were Woods (2007, 2006, 2003, 2002, 1999), Ernie Els (2004) and Geoff Ogilvy (2008).

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Nick Watney played his first 46 holes without a bogey this week.

Inside the Numbers

54-Hole Leaderboard

Player Score T1. Phil Mickelson 200 -16 T1. Nick Watney 200 -16 T3. Jeev M. Singh 204 -12 T3. Camilo Villegas 204 -12 T5. Charley Hoffman 205 -11 T5. Soren Kjeldsen 205 -11 T5. Jim Furyk 205 -11 T5. Alvaro Quiros 205 -11 T5. Kenny Perry 205 -11 T10. Justin Leonard 206 -10 T10. Rod Pampling 206 -10 T10. Rory McIlroy 206 -10

• Mickelson is the third-round leader or co-leader for the 30th time in his career. He has converted 21 of the previous 29 leads to victories (72.4 percent), most recently at the 2009 Northern Trust Open. This is Mickelson's second 54-hole lead at a World Golf Championships event (2008 Bridgestone Invitational; finished tied for fourth). Mickelson is still in search of his first career World Golf Championships Victory.

• This is the second time that Mickelson has held the third-round lead at Doral's Blue course. He led by two shots over Woods at the 2005 Ford Championship at Doral, and finished second.

• Mickelson is attempting to become only the second player to win the CA Championship while leading or sharing the lead after all four rounds (Woods, 2002, 2006). Mickelson was tied for the lead with Retief Goosen, Prayad Marksaeng and Jeev M. Singh after Round 1 at 65 (-7). He took a two-shot lead over Watney after Round 2 at 131 (-13) and is now tied for the lead with Watney after three rounds at 200 (-16).

• Mickelson won the 2009 Northern Trust Open on Feb. 22. A win on Sunday would make this his second win in three starts, his best stretch since winning the 2006 BellSouth Classic and Masters Tournament in back-to-back weeks. Mickelson won the 2005 FBR Open and AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in back-to-back weeks; and he won the Nortel Open and Phoenix Open back-to-back, with a week off in between.

• Mickelson has 70 putts through 54 holes (average of 23.33 putts per round). Mickelson's best single putting performance was the 1998 MCI Classic where he averaged 24.75 putts per round. The PGA TOUR record for fewest putts through four rounds is 92 by David Frost at the 2005 MCI Heritage at Harbour Tour Golf Links.

• Mickelson is currently seventh in the FedExCup points race with 603 points, but would move into second place in the standings with a victory. After earning a total of 35 points in his first three starts, Mickelson has made up for it ranking up 588 points with a victory and top-10 in his last two starts.

• Watney went 46 holes without a bogey at the CA Championship before missing the green on No. 11 and failing to get up-and-down (two putts from 11 feet, 6 inches) for his only bogey. The last player to win a tournament with no bogeys over 72 holes was Lee Trevino at the 1974 Greater New Orleans Open.

• Watney won the 2009 Buick Invitational to become the first player in his 20s to win on TOUR this season, and one of seven players from the United States in their 20s with two or more TOUR victories (2007 Zurich Classic of New Orleans), with Dustin Johnson, J.B. Holmes, D.J. Trahan, Sean O'Hair, Anthony Kim and Charles Howell III.

• A win Sunday would make Watney the only 20-something from the United States with three PGA TOUR wins. This is Watney's first CA Championship start.

• Watney has been in the lead after three rounds only once before in his career -- at the 2007 Zurich Classic of New Orleans, which he won. He was five shots down entering the final round of the Buick Invitational, which he won thanks to a 68 (-4) on Sunday.

• Kenny Perry, a 13-time PGA TOUR winner, is one of five players in the field who could pass Ogilvy to take the No. 1 position on the FedExCup standing with a victory. Perry, who won earlier this year at the FBR Open, is looking for his second career top-10 finish in a World Golf Championships event in 18 attempts.

• Perry has never finished in the top 10 at the CA Championship. His best finish on this golf course is a tie for fifth at the 2003 Ford Championship at Doral, giving him one top-10 finish in 21 starts at Doral Golf Resort & Spa.

• Perry was assessed a one-stroke penalty during the third round. On the par-3 13th, Perry's tee shot went over the green and into the greenside rough. He grounded his club behind the ball, causing the ball to move (one-stroke penalty). Perry then failed to get up and down, resulting in a double bogey.

• In his first stroke-play event since missing more than eight months following knee surgery, Tiger Woods shot his best round of the week on Saturday, a 68 (-4) to move from a tie for 35th to a tie for 19th. This is his worst standing heading into the final round of a PGA TOUR event since being T33 after three rounds at the 2007 Memorial Tournament.

• Woods' previous worst position heading into the final round of either of the stroke-play World Golf Championships events was a tie for eighth at the 2004 CA Championship.

• Soren Hansen shot a 29 (-7) on the back nine Saturday to tie the nine-hole PGA TOUR record at Doral Golf Resort & Spa's Blue Course set by Tom Kite in 1974 and 1979 (both also in the third rounds). Hansen's 29, however, was lowest score ever recorded on the back nine.

• Jim Furyk carded a 69 (-3) on Saturday to move into a tie for fifth. Furyk is looking for his first World Golf Championships win and first victory since the 2007 Canadian Open. Furyk's best finish of the 2008 season came here at the CA Championship, where he shot 68 on Sunday and finished tied for second behind Ogilvy.

• Johnny McDermott was 19 years, 10 months and 14 days when he won the 1911 U.S. Open. Rory McIlroy would be 19 years, 10 months and 12 days if he were to win Sunday, which would make him the youngest player ever to win a PGA TOUR event.

• Since 2000, no player has won a World Golf Championships event in his first start at that event. Watney and Alvaro Quiros have the best shot at breaking that streak tomorrow.

• The 16th hole measures to approximately 372 yards depending on the location of the tees. However, several players choose to cut the corner of the dogleg left in an attempt to drive a green that is slightly more than 300 yards away from the front of the tee box. In 2008, 53 players attempted to drive the green out of 313 opportunities. None of the 53 players ended up landing their drive on the green. So far this week, 20 players have tried, but none has succeeded in finding the green.

• The par-4 18th hole again played most difficult on Saturday, after playing to 4.456 average. Through 54 holes, the scoring average on the 18th hole is 4.487 and there have only been five birdies.

• In 2009, the hardest hole on the PGA TOUR so far has been the 462-yard, par-4 seventh hole at the South Course at Torrey Pines with an average of 4.402.

• So far this week, the Blue Monster is playing to a stroke average of 70.64. Last year the average score was 71.04, and in 2007 it was 72.99.

• Birdies for the Brave activities this week are highlighted by the "Patriots Outpost," a military hospitality chalet sponsored by Lockheed Martin located adjacent to the scoring area. The Patriots Outpost provides complimentary access to active duty and retired military members from all five branches and their families from Tuesday through Sunday. Several players spent time interacting with military personnel in the Patriots Outpost today, including Dudley Hart, Boo Weekley, Steve Stricker, Davis Love III, Anthony Kim, Charley Hoffman and Pat Perez.

• Aaron Baddeley was disqualified Saturday for signing an incorrect scorecard after the second round. In the third round, Baddeley hit his tee shot into the hazard on No. 3. He 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 No. 9, 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 in his stance. He called a rules official again, and Baddeley was asked if he intentionally moved the stone or if it happened incidentally as he took his stance. Baddeley determined that it was intentional, therefore calling a penalty on himself (violation of Rule 13.4c). Since the penalty occurred during the second round, Baddeley had signed an incorrect scorecard yesterday and is therefore disqualified.