Third-round notebook – Frys.com Open
* On the heels of his second-round, 6-under 64, Scottsdale resident Tim Clark fired a bogey-free, 5-under 65 on Saturday to get to 13-under, three strokes off Troy Matteson’s lead.* Dating back to 1998 when he first set foot on PGA Tour soil, Tim Clark failed to win in 194 starts. He does, however, have seven runner-up finishes, the most recent being a playoff loss to Steve Stricker earlier this year at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.
* Looking to secure 2009 rookie-of-the-year honors, Webb Simpson made a step in the right direction in round three with a 6-under 64. The highlight of his round was a holed pitching wedge from 128 yards for an eagle-two at the par-4 14th.
* Simpson, a former Wake Forest stand-out, is amidst a solid rookie year by virtue of finishing T7 at the 2008 PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament. He claimed top-10s in his first two starts of the season, finished eighth at The Barclays in the first of four PGA Tour Playoffs events and most recently finished in the top10 (T7) at the Turning Stone Resort Championship
* A total of three aces were recorded in the third-round on Saturday:
Nicholas Thompson 13th hole 199 yards (7-iron)
Chad Campbell 16th hole 199 yards (6-iron)
Ted Purdy 16th hole 199 yards (5-iron)
* With his ace at the 16th coming before Chad Campbell’s, Ted Purdy won a new Mercedes-Benz E350 Sedan.
* The last hole-in-one at Frys.com Open belongs to Vaughn Taylor who aced the par-3 13th in round two last year.
* The record number of hole-in-ones in a single round this year remains four, which all came on the par-3 15thhole in round two of the RBC Canadian Open. There were three aces carded in round three of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, including one by Troy Matteson, making this the third time at least three aces have been carded in a single round. A total of eight aces were carded at the RBC Canadian Open in the end of July.
* Two holes prior to Nicholas Thompson’s elusive ace at 13, he achieved an even rarer feat. At the par-5 11thhole, he holed his second shot with a 3-wood from 261 yards for a double eagle. He played the 3-hole stretch in 5-under.
* In his first trip to Grayhawk Golf Club, Georgia Tech alum Troy Matteson took advantage of perfect playing conditions at Grayhawk Golf Club Saturday and fired a second consecutive 9-under 61 to take a 3-stroke lead after the third round of the 2009 Frys.com Open.
* Troy Matteson’s 122 total after rounds two and three sets the all-time PGA Tour record of consecutive rounds, previously held by Steve Stricker’s 123 from rounds three and four earlier this year at the 50th Bob Hope Classic.
* Troy Matteson’s lone PGA Tour victory came in Las Vegas at the 2006 Frys.com Open which is now named the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.
* Although he has amassed five top-25 finishes in 29 starts this year, he remains in search of his first top-10 of the season.
* Troy Matteson has previously held at least a share of the third-round lead twice previously. Of those two prior 54-hole leads, he managed to parlay the 2006 Frys.com Open into victory, while finishing T2 at the FUNAI Classic at the Walt Disney World resort later that same year.
* The third-round leader/co-leader has gone on to win 23 of 42 stroke-play events this season, most recently Matt Kuchar at the Turning Stone Resort Championship. The third-round leader/co-leader has failed to advance to the winner’s circle in the first two playings of the Frys.com Open.
* 20 year-old Rickie Fowler followed a 6-under 64 Friday with a 1-under 69 in round three to claim a share of fifth place at 12-under, four strokes off Troy Matteson’s lead.
* Scoring Averages at the par-70 Grayhawk Golf Club:
Front 9 Back 9 Total Cumulative
Thursday 35.045 34.273 69.318
Friday 34.649 34.519 69.168 69.243
Saturday 34.714 33.558 68.273 69.024
There were 10 bogey-free rounds in the third-round Saturday.
The par-4 seventh played the toughest on Saturday, with a 4.260 average. The par-5 11th hole was the easiest, at 4.468.
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