Amanda Balionis and the SiriusXM crew breaks down the final round at TPC Four Seasons.
Jason Dufner shot 69 on Saturday at TPC Four Seasons Resort and takes a one-shot lead to the final round.
By Fred Albers, PGATOUR.COM Correspondent
IRVING, Texas — Jason Dufner leads the field in greens hit in regulation, with 44 of 54 hit, and is second in fairways, hitting 31 of 42. Ballstriking is the reason Dufner leads the HP Byron Nelson Championship, inconsistent putting is why he does not lead by more. He has had rounds of 32, 26 and 32 putts, ranking 59th in the field. For the year, Dufner is 117th on the PGA TOUR in Strokes Gained-Putting. If he would improve his putting just a little in the final round, you would expect his ballstriking to take him to victory.
Green speed: Ryan Palmer walked off the course a very frustrated golfer, and that’s understandable. He took 33 putts to shoot 72. The wind blew hard enough where it affected the line of putts and Palmer struggled with speed the entire day, as several putts were left in the heart of the hole but just short of the cup. The low point came on the 10th hole when he missed from 20 inches. To his credit, Palmer birdied the very next hole and, despite the balky putter, is still in contention.
Veterans: What a wonderful mixture on the leaderboard for the final round. There is definitely a veteran presence with players like J.J. Henry in contention, along with Vijay Singh. On a day when players struggled to make putts from three feet away, Singh finessed his way through 18 holes with just 27 putts. That veteran experience that will be needed in the final round, where patience will be required in windy conditions.
Encore: On Friday, Phil Mickelson hit one of the shots of the year when he sliced a 127-yard 5-wood onto the ninth green. He tried the mirror image of that shot on Saturday, hooking a wedge 20 yards around trees from the left side. Unfortunately, this time Mickelson made bogey instead of birdie.
Game plan: After hitting into the water at the 18th on Thursday, Jason Day vowed he would never hit driver there again. He stuck to that game plan in the third round, hitting iron off the tee and yet the hole still bit him when he three-putted for bogey from 8 feet. Day is one shot off the lead but is 3 over par on the 18th hole.
Bunched field: With players going off both 1 and 10 and in threesomes, there was just a two-hour spread in tee times during the third round. Usually, early tee times get some players on the course before the winds begin but that wasn’t the case on Saturday. Everyone played in heavy winds and few low scores were posted. That’s the reason there are 20 players within five shots of the lead going into the final round.
Fred Albers is a course reporter for SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio and inside the ropes this week at the HP Byron Nelson Championship. For more information on SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio, click here.
IRVING, Texas – Saturday’s third round of the HP Byron Nelson Championship is complete at the TPC Four Seasons Resort. Here’s how the third round played out, along with a quick recap. Feel free to join the discussion.
MORE HP BYRON NELSON: Round 3 scores | Shot Tracker | Projected FedExCup points
QUICK RECAP: ROUND 3
IRVING, Texas — Jason Dufner started the day with a one-shot lead and managed to keep it despite a constant revolving door at the top of the leaderboard throughout Saturday’s third round of the HP Byron Nelson Championship.
Nine different players either held or shared the lead at one point, but it was Dufner who survived at the top. He’ll now enter the final round with a chance to win his second tournament in his last three starts.
Dufner shot a 1-under 69 in tough scoring conditions to finish 54 holes at 8 under. That gives him a one-shot lead over J.J. Henry, Dicky Pride and 2010 champ Jason Day.
Dufner, who won the Zurich Classic of New Orleans last month, has been superb from tee to green through the first three days. He ranks first in the field in greens in regulation and second in fairways hit.
Henry and Day shot 3-under 67s while Pride, seeking his first PGA TOUR win in 18 years, shot a 69 to remain in the hunt.
Vijay Singh, looking to end a four-year victory drought, shot a 4-under 6 to move into fifth place at 6 under.
PGA TOUR rookie Jonas Blixt and past Rookie of the Year Marc Leishman are another shot back at 5 under.
Twenty-six layers are within six shots of Dufner, including defending champ Keegan Bradley (4 under), last week’s PLAYERS champ Matt Kuchar (3 under), three-time major winner Padraig Harrington (3 under) and recent Hall of Fame inductee Phil Mickelson (2 under).
LIVE UPDATES: ROUND 3 (all times ET)
6:01 p.m. – Jason Dufner, the 36-hole leader, has kept his one-shot lead after 1-under 69 on Saturday. He leads at 8 under, one shot ahead of J.J. Henry, Jason Day and Dicky Pride.
5:49 p.m. – Dicky Pride’s 1-under 69 on Saturday leaves him at 7 under and gives him a chance to win for the first time on the PGA TOUR in 18 years. The last time Pride has opened a PGA TOUR event with three rounds in the 60s was at the 2008 Viking Classic when he finished tied for eighth.
5:38 p.m. – Take out the par-5 16th, and the other three holes in the closing four-hole stretch at TPC Four Seasons Resort have been brutal on Saturday. With the final groups now on that stretch of holes, the field has made just 13 cumulative birdies on the 15th, 17th and 18th holes while suffering 60 bogeys, seven doubles and one other.
5:28 p.m. – A solid round for 2010 HP Byron Nelson champ Jason Day ended on a sour note, as he three-putted from 8 feet for his only bogey on the day. Day’s second-putt from 3 feet horseshoed the edge of the cup and spun out. The 3-under 67 leaves Day at 7 under. J.J. Henry is also at 7 under after a 67.
5:16 p.m. – Matt Kuchar, the solo leader an hour ago, is sliding down the leaderboard. He suffered a double bogey at the par-4 14th and a bogey at the 15th and is now at 5 under, three shots off the lead.
5:11 p.m. – Good nugget from SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio: Nine different players have held or shared the lead in the third round.
4:59 p.m. – Although he made two putts from outside 30 feet on the back nine and needed just 27 putts, Vijay Singh said he was more pleased with his ball-striking during Saturday’s 4-under 66. “I think I hit the ball a lot better than I putted,” he said. Asked about the three-putt at 18, Singh said, “I waited a long time to putt that. Kinda lost my momentum.”
4:45 p.m. – Jason Dufner, the 36-hole leader, is back in the lead after a birdie at the 18th. He’s now at 8 under.
4:35 p.m. – After a lengthy wait to putt, Vijay Singh three-putted at the 18th for bogey. Still, his 4-under 66 puts him at 6 under going into the final round and firmly in the hunt to end his four-year victory drought on TOUR.
4:10 p.m. – Matt Kuchar bounced back from a bogey at the 12th by nearly making a hole-in-one at the par-3 13th. Instead, he settled for a kick-in birdie from four inches and is now the solo leader at 8 under.
4:02 p.m. – Vijay Singh is 6 under for the tournament after rolling in an eagle putt from 38 feet at the par-5 16th. It’s the second made putt from outside 30 feet in the last four holes for Singh, who won here in 2003.
3:56 p.m. – For the fourth time this year, Ryan Palmer has missed a putt inside 3 feet. His latest miss came at the par-4 10th and cost him a bogey. Palmer entered this week ranked tied for 105th in putting from that distance. Palmer is now 5 under for the tournament.
3:54 p.m. – Rookie Jonas Blixt stumbled down the stretch with bogeys on the 16th and 17th holes, but his 3-under 67 still puts him in contention going into Sunday’s final round. Blixt, who tied for 13th and tied for 9th in his last two starts coming into this week, is 5 under through three rounds, currently three shots off the lead.
3:48 p.m. – PLAYERS champ Matt Kuchar has moved into a tie for the lead with Dicky Pride at 8 under. Kuchar is 2 under for his round and is coming off a birdie at the par-4 11th.
3:44 p.m. – Phil Mickelson after his 1-under 69 that leaves him at 2 under for the tournament: “It was a day where I had a lot of opportunities to get right back in the mix and made four or five mistakes there, sloppy bogeys. But I made some good birdies today and had some good things happen.”
3:38 p.m. – Keegan Bradley just made it more much difficult to defend his title here. He triple-bogeyed the par-4 11th, finding the water with his tee shot, then three-putting from 45 feet. He’s now 1 over for his round and 4 under for the tournament.
3:22 p.m. — Chip-in birdies on both ends of the back nine. Phil Mickelson holes out from behind the 18th green to reach the clubhouse at 2 under after Saturday’s 69. On No. 10, after missing the green left, Matt Kuchar chips in from the rough to reach 7 under, one back of leader Dicky Pride.
3:02 p.m. – Boo Weekley has played 12 holes and has hit every green in regulation on Saturday. Yet he’s 2 over on his round. How so? Three three-putts. Weekley is 1 under for the tournament.
3 p.m. – Vijay Singh has quietly moved up the leaderboard and is now 3 under for his round and 5 under for the tournament. Singh is looking for his first top-10 of the season and first win since 2008.
2:55 p.m. – 2010 HP Byron Nelson champ Jason Day has made the turn at 2 under for his round and 6 under for the tournament. Through three rounds, Day has been bogey-free on the front nine at TPC Four Seasons Resort. He’s a cumulative 8 under on the front nine this week.
2:44 p.m. – Phil Mickelson update: After a bogey at the par-4 14th, Mickelson bounced back with a birdie at the par-5 16th and is now 2 under for the tournament.
2:25 p.m. — Defending champion Keegan Bradley two-putted the par-5 7th for birdie to pull out of a five-way tie for the lead with Jonas Blixt, Marc Leishman, Dicky Pride and Jason Dufner at TPC Four Seasons. Now 8 under, the two-time TOUR winner is faring quite well in his first title defense.
2:04 p.m. – Andres Gonzales has 13 birdies this week, which currently ties him with Keegan Bradley for most in the field. Of those 13 for Gonzales, 11 have been on the front nine at TPC Four Seasons Resort. Thanks to his four birdies on the front side Saturday, Gonzales – playing in his first PGA TOUR event of the season — is now 5 under for the tournament, just two shots off the lead.
1:50 p.m. – Jonas Blixt has holed out from 82 yards for eagle at the par-4 11th. That moves him into a tie for the lead at 7 under with Matt Kuchar and Dicky Pride. It’s the second eagle at the drivable 11th this week. Marc Leishman had an eagle on that hole in the opening round.
1:46 p.m. – Bob Estes, starting his round off the 10th tee, just made the turn in 30. If he can match that on the front side, he’ll set a course record and tie a tournament record.
1:43 p.m. – Matt Kuchar has assumed the solo lead at 7 under after a birdie at the fourth.
1:42 p.m. – Chad Campbell has suffered a couple of early bogeys in the final group. He found a greenside bunker at the second and found the water with his tee shot at the third. He’s now 4 under.
1:33 p.m. – Phil Mickelson has bounced back from his bogey at the ninth with birdies at the 10th and 11th holes. He’s now at 2 under for the tournament.
1:31 p.m. – Dicky Pride has joined Jason Dufner atop the leaderboard at 7 under. Pride birdied the par-4 third with a putt of 27 feet, 9 inches.
1:05 p.m. – Phil Mickelson suffered his second bogey of the day, this one at the par-4 ninth when a poor drive left of the fairway prevented him for reaching the green in two. He’s now 1 over on his round and even par for the tournament.
12:59 p.m. – Defending champion Keegan Bradley is off to a quick start, having birdied the par-3 second to move to 6 under, just one stroke off the pace. Bradley shot 72-68 on the weekend here last year to make a playoff, where he beat Ryan Palmer on the first extra hole. He’s hoping for similar weekend magic this year. “There’s something about the course that produces good numbers for me,” he told SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio prior to teeing off Saturday. Click here to watch full pre-round interview
12:47 p.m. – PGA TOUR rookie Jonas Blixt has birdied three of his first six holes to move to 5 under for the tournament, just two strokes off the lead. Blixt drained a 60-foot birdie putt on the opening hole, and added a 12-footer at the fifth. At the par-4 sixth, he hit his approach to within 6 feet.
12:35 p.m. – Pat Perez’s scoring average before the cut ranks as the 23rd lowest this year on the PGA TOUR. But his scoring average in the third round ranks 56th, and his final-round scoring average ranks 54th. Having just teed off for Saturday’s third round, Perez finds himself just one stroke off the lead. But he knows he’ll need to improve his weekend performance if he wants to win his second career TOUR event. "I haven’t done much on the weekend yet," Perez said. "I’ve got to change that." Follow the group of Matt Kuchar, Pat Perez and Dicky Pride by clicking here
12:29 p.m. – Notables update: Ernie Els is 1 under on his round through eight holes, having just rolled in a 16-foot birdie putt at the par-4 eighth; Phil Mickelson is even on his round through seven holes; Padraig Harrington and Vijay Singh are also even early in their rounds.
12:22 p.m. – Texas native Bob Estes has made the most noise thus far on Saturday. He’s 4 under through his first four holes. Starting his round on the 10th tee, Estes eagled the par-4 11th by holing out from 80 yards, then rolled in a couple of birdie putts on the next hole. He’s now at 3 under for the tournament.
12:15 p.m. – Tournament leader Jason Dufner is playing with two native Texans in Ryan Palmer and Chad Campbell who live in the nearby suburb of Colleyville. Although the hometown support will be strong for the Texans, Dufner expects to have his share of fans on Saturday, thanks to his elevated play dating back to last year’s PGA Championship and continuing with his win last month in New Orleans. “I like the fact that people know and respect my golf game and want to root for me,” Dufner said. “… I feel like I’ve got a lot of people rooting for me right now.”
Noon – With tee times adjusted because 79 players made the cut, the final group of 36-hole leader Jason Dufner and Chad Campbell and Ryan Palmer will tee off in just 45 minutes. Phil Mickelson, who started the third round six shots off the lead, is already on the course and is even through five holes. He birdied the par-3 second after his tee shot landed inside five feet, but he gave back the stroke at the par-3 fifth when he found a greenside bunker. Mickelson, by the way, ranks fifth on the PGA TOUR this season in Round 3 scoring average.
By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM
IRVING, Texas — The last time Vijay Singh found himself in the top five on the leaderboard after the third round, he never got the chance to play another shot. That was at The Barclays last year, an event that was shortened to 54 holes because of the threat of Hurricane Irene.
Singh settled for a tie for third that week.
Now he enters the final round of the HP Byron Nelson Championship in solo fifth, thanks to Saturday’s 4-under 66. The only weather issues he’ll have to worry about on Sunday are the tricky cross-winds at the TPC Four Seasons Resort course that will challenge the patience of all those in contention.
"I haven’t been in this position for a while," said Singh, whose last win came in 2008 when he claimed the FedExCup. "I’ve been looking forward to this position. I’ve worked really hard. I haven’t stopped working."
At age 49, Singh’s opportunities to win another TOUR event would seem to be closing. After battling some injury problems, Singh had five top-10 finishes last year but he failed to produce a top-10 result this season.
The 66 on Saturday, though, is a sign of progress. It’s his lowest round on the weekend this year, and at just two strokes off the lead held by Jason Dufner, Singh is certainly within striking distance.
"My game has been coming around," Singh said, ‘but there wasn’t any signs of scoring. This is the first day where I kind of went out there and scored well."
It helps to drain a couple of lengthy putts, such as the 31-footer he had at the 13th hole for birdie and the 38-footer for eagle at the 16th. He also started the day by rolling in an 11-footer for birdie.
But after making eagle-birdie at 16 and 17, he three-putted the final green as he waited on playing partner Gary Woodland to extract himself from trouble.
"I waited a long time to putt that," Singh said, "so lost my momentum there."
Singh was more fired up about his ball-striking than his putting. He’s hit 76 percent of his greens in regulation and ranks fourth in the field in proximity to the hole.
"I think I hit the ball a lot better than I putted today," Singh said.
And now he’s one good round away from his 35th win on TOUR, and his 23rd since he turned 40.
Phil Mickelson chipped in for birdie to end Saturday's third round.
By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM
IRVING, Texas — On Thursday, Phil Mickelson ended his first round with a bogey. On Friday, he suffered a double bogey on his final hole.
Saturday, he could walk off the TPC Four Seasons Resort course with a smile, thanks to a chip-in birdie from 41-1/2 feet at the par-4 18th.
"Fun way to end the day," Mickelson said, who was given a standing ovation as he headed toward the scorer’s table.
Mickelson rallied on the back nine Saturday to fashion a 1-under 69 that leaves him at 2 under for the tournament headed into Sunday’s final round.
That will put him in the top 30 after 54 holes, but Mickelson doesn’t think he’ll be close enough to win his second HP Byron Nelson Championship. His first win here was 16 years ago.
"I think I will be too far back to make a run," Mickelson said, "but you never know. Try to get a hot front nine tomorrow."
Unhappy with his play during his second-round 69, Mickelson didn’t feel his Saturday 69 offered any kind of significant improvement. He hit eight of 14 fairways, his best performance off the tee this week, but just 12 of 18 greens, the worst of his three rounds and made four bogeys. "Sloppy bogeys," he noted.
"It wasn’t that much better today," Mickelson said. "I hit a lot of wild shots today. I was able to make some birdies, though, but made too many mistakes.
"I hit it very well the last two weeks but didn’t score well. Today and yesterday, my ball-striking was poor. I ‘ll see if I can get it turned around for tomorrow."
Vijay Singh eagled the par-5 16th on Saturday by holing a putt from 38 feet.
Ryan Palmer spoke with Fred Albers of SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio prior to Saturday's third round of the HP Byron Nelson Championship.
Amanda Balionis and the SiriusXM crew breaks down the third round at TPC Four Seasons.

By Fred Albers, PGATOUR.COM Correspondent
IRVING, Texas — If you watch Phil Mickelson play 18 holes of golf, you are going to see some sort of unusual shot. It came on the ninth hole in the second round of the HP Byron Nelson Championship on Friday.
Just 128 yards from the green and in the trees on the left, Mickelson needed to hit a big cut. He kept pulling clubs out of his bag until he decided on a 5-wood. The result was brilliant. He used a punch-cut, slicing the ball under and around a group of trees, and running the ball up to the putting surface to within 16 feet of the hole. To top it off, Lefty converted the birdie putt en route to a 1-under 69 and a two-round total of 1 under.
Mickelson can hit that 5-wood 250 yards if needed and now we know he can also hit it from 128. Few players on the PGA TOUR can imagine that shot, let alone pull it off.
Unusual read: Keegan Bradley has an unusual method to line up a putt. He gets behind the ball and then cocks his head to the right. Bradley says he is right-eye dominant and by tilting his head to the right he gets a better read of the green.
It seems to be working. Bradley, who carded a 2-under 68 in the second round and is tied for eighth at 5 under, is 32nd on the PGA TOUR in Strokes-Gained Putting.
Seventh hole: The par-5 seventh hole measures 542 yards and played the easiest on the course. It’s reachable in two shots for just about every player in the field — but Jason Day took it to the extreme. After a booming, 343-yard drive, he hit a 180-yard 7-iron to within 13 feet. Unfortunately, he did not make the eagle putt but when you can hit a 7-iron into a par 5 with your second shot, you can understand why the hole is so easy.
Open qualifier: It is small consolation, but those players who missed the cut can rest up for Monday. The British Open qualifier takes place at nearby Gleneagles Country Club. It’s a 36-hole ordeal that is always draining both physically and mentally.
Caddie change: J.J. Henry has another former TOUR player as a caddie again this week. Fellow Texas Christian alum Pete Jordan is looping for the fellow Horned Frog. Last week, at THE PLAYERS Championship, Henry had former PGA champion Mark Brooks on the bag.
Jordan is carrying the full-size Callaway bag this week, while Brooks opted for a much smaller stand bag. It will be interesting to see who is working for Henry next week in Fort Worth. Apparently, you have to be a former TOUR player to apply for the job.
Fred Albers is a course reporter for SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio and inside the ropes this week at the HP Byron Nelson Championship. For more information on SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio, click here.