Tucson Open Third Round:
Great Day, Great Scores

By Scott Behmer, Southern Arizona Bureau Chief

Tucson, Az - Saturday on the PGA Tour is known as moving day. This Saturday it took a score of 67 or better to make up any serious ground against the field which averaged an unprecedented 2-under par. Stephen Ames, Ted Purdy, Jonathan Kaye, and Jean Van de Velde all went low, but Tom Scherrer's 68 was still enough to maintain a one-stroke lead.

The Leader: Scherrer went 46 holes this week before he bogied. But after his 5 on #11 he quickly rebounded with a birdie on #12 and finished the day with five birdies and a 4-under round. The ability to bounce back from the first sign of adversity shows that Tom is indeed mentally prepared. After the second round last week Tom was in contention and said that he was already thinking about winning the tournament. This week he's viewing the rounds as a step-by-step process and isn't jumping the gun. But the real test comes on Sunday when he goes for his first Tour victory.

• Preview: Touchstone Energy Tucson Open • Archived coverage of the Tucson Open • Past articles by Scott Behmer

The Pretenders: The only two players within 12 strokes of the lead who didn't shoot under-par were second round second placers Tom Byrum and Mike Springer. Tom endured a difficult Saturday that was capped off by rolling his second shot on #18 next to the greenside bleachers and making bogey. Springer's day was going along fine at 3-under until he hit #11.

His first drive flew into the rightside houses. Then on his approach from the fairway he missed the green and the ball rolled down the hill. He chipped up to within 10-feet and three-putted for a snowman. I asked a youngster along the fairway who he wanted to win. Well, he turned out to be Springer's nephew, who summed Mike's chances up perfectly: "I want Uncle Mike to win, but...."

Quote of the Day: When asked what it would take to become a first-time winner of Tour, Jonathan Kaye answered that he needed to, "keep hitting it good, not make mistakes, be patient, and play good." I'd say that's the recipe for success.

The Conditions: The main cause of low scores on moving day was the rain and cool weather earlier in the week. Saturday couldn't have been nicer. With temperatures near 70 and hardly ever any wind, the players could take dead-aim at the pins.

Parting Shot: As the week has progressed, Jean Van de Velde has become one of the fan favorites. But Jean hasn't seriously contended for a tournament since his infamous loss at the British Open. I look for Jean to pull it out on Sunday with a Justin Leonard-esque putt to beat Wildcat-hero Ted Purdy.