After the Third Day in Houston

After the third day of golf in Houston, there is a lot of golf remaining to be played.

Bo Van Pelt, the 33-year-old Okie from Oklahoma State, shot 70-67, then got hot in the third round posting 4-under through eight holes to take the lead at 11-under after the third day of varying amounts of play in the Shell Houston Open.

Saturday at the Shell Houston Open was “Move, Wait and Cut Day”, and then play some more. The last golfers teed off for the start of their second round at 9:35 a.m. Saturday, due to rain and wind delays on Thursday. Everyone had to wait to see where the cut would be, then the golfers were repaired in threesomes off both the first and tenth tees. The leaders teed off late in the afternoon and managed to get in only eight holes before darkness came.

There were 79 golfers who made the cut, which came at 1-under 143.  Phil Mickelson shot 77-76 and missed the cut by 11 strokes as he tuned down for Augusta next week. Other notable golfers that missed the cut were defending champion Johnson Wagner, Steve Stricker, AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am champion Dustin Johnson, who was recently charged with DWI, Aaron Baddeley, Vijay Singh, Q-School champion Harrison Frazar, and Spaniard Alvaro Quiros.

Mickelson made it sound like he needed to miss the cut in Houston to win the Masters in Augusta: “I made some big mistakes. It was really good that I played here because I made some mistakes during the first two rounds that you just can't do competitively. I drove two balls in the water off the tee for stroke and distance. Stuff like that I needed to get out of my system here. I'm glad I saw it and did it now as opposed to next week.”

He took solace in the lack of water hazards at Augusta, except for the par-3s and second shot on par-5s. “Fortunately, those drives would have been fine at Augusta, but there's so much water here that it wasn't good. [There are] much wider corridors off the tee [at Augusta] without the penalty of a hazard.”

The current World No. 2 golfer, who has never been No. 1 even for a day, is ready for the Masters which he won in 2004 and 2006. “It doesn't feel like my game is far off. I'm not overly concerned with what the numbers showed. Butch [Harmon his coach] is here, and we had some good work this morning. I've got to forget about the score. That wasn't close to what I was hoping for, but I'm looking forward to next week."

Van Pelt, who turned pro in 1998 and immediately made it to the tour through a T17 finish at Q-School, is yet to win one. Seven of his ten year golfing career has been on the PGA TOUR. The Indiana native won the 2003 Omaha Classic on his last year on the Nationwide Tour.

Freddie Couples heads a contingent of four golfers trailing Van Pelt by one stroke with roughly a round and a half remaining to be played on Sunday to determine the last entrant into next week’s Masters tournament.

Couples has made some swing changes with coach Paul Marchand and is liking the results. The changes were “to shorten my swing up and get some more speed through the ball, and I started to hit it fairly straight. So that's a good a compliment, especially when you're playing in the wind solid.”

“I play well once in a while, and when I pick the right courses, I make it seem like they're ones I know pretty well. In the last—the first time I played here, when I won one on, I played very well and loved the course. Then this week I'm working on my game with Paul and getting better. It's one of those things.”

Couples went to school nearby at the University of Houston and is beloved by the Texan golfing fans. “[I] went to school here. So if I shoot 80, they're screaming for me. If I shoot 7-under, they're yelling. It's a good fit.”

Tied with Couples is Tommy Armour III who like Couples last won on tour in 2003 in the state of Texas. Another similarity is their age—both will turn 50 in October and be eligible for the Champions Tour.

Paul Casey, a 31-year-old Englishman, who unlike most European professional golfers went to college in the States, is in the second place group of four along with Nationwide gold graduate Colt Knost. Casey who played golf at Arizona State University and is now a resident of Scottsdale, Arizona is yet to win on the PGA TOUR. He lost in the finals of the WGC Accenture Match Play to fellow Scottsdale resident Geoff Ogilvy.   

Colt Knost had 11 birdies in his two rounds of 66 and 70. His tee times were advantageous compared to others in the field. “[I] got really lucky. Both rounds were pretty much perfect weather, and the wind is supposed to blow again this afternoon. Just thankful I took advantage of the conditions.”

Knost’s strategy for success was simple. “I'm just attacking when I have a good number in and short irons in my hands. When I have a longer club, not a good yardage, I play it to the middle of the green. I didn't drive it that great. Just the rough didn't seem like it's too much out here. I'm making the putts I'm supposed to, which is the first time all year.”

“If you look back at the way I played last year on the Nationwide Tour, I got off to a slow start as well. I really wasn't that consistent. I was really up and down all year, and I'm trying not to pressure anything. I got off to a really slow start last year and then won like my eighth event of the year last year. Trying to stay patient, and I know it's a long year and all you need is three, four good weeks out here.”

The Shell Houston Open is his eight start this year.

John Senden known as a patient golfer has dealt well with the odd starting times this week. “A lot of stop-and-start golf this week. We had a really windy day the first day, which we got away with, with the draw and yesterday was perfect conditions. We had it right there and playing solid, and today is not a perfect day. It's looking like we may hang on to the lead. But we'll see what happens this afternoon.”

After not playing on Thursday Senden shot 65 and was another 1-under par through 11 holes of golf.  After getting up early to finish off with a 71 in his second round Saturday morning he waited all day to start his third round and was even par through eight holes finishing the day three strokes behind Bo Van Pelt.

“Golf is a funny game. One day you think you're a world beater. The next day it grabs you. You got to be patient and take what you get and keep on believing that you can do it. It's a matter of when your good days and bad days on and around the green, that's when you see yourself at the top and the bottom of the leader board.”

Senden tied for fourth last week at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill after matching Tiger’s 67 on Sunday.

Though Tiger took the week off to prepare for the Masters, the golfer, he shares victories with in five of the last six Majors, did not.

Padraig Harrington shot a 67 in the second round and was 3-under par through 13 holes of his third round when play was suspended due to darkness.

Padraig Harrington, the defending British Open and PGA champion and Masters and U.S. Open “Paddy Slam” hopeful champion, is in a good position for the final two rounds. “Three off the lead is okay, and with 36 holes to go, I think a lot of people will have a chance to win.”

The wind came back to Redstone GC, but not to the extent it did on Thursday, cancelling play. It did however impact putting as Harrington attested to. “Certainly the first five, six holes were easy with no wind. It was nice. The wind got up then, and again you have to make adjustments for the wind and your putts. That's difficult. The greens are at a pace you got crosswind, it's really taking the break off.”

James Nitties shot an even-par 72 after opening with a 65. He was one-over-par for his third round through 12 holes falling out of contention at minus-5.

”Today was disappointing. I left a lot of shots out there. One day I'm going to get the most out of my game and it will be great. Hopefully, that day will be soon.”

After the third day there's a lot of golf to be played Sunday in what is hopefully the final day of the Shell Houston Open. Then, it’s off to Augusta for the Masters.

Andy Reistetter is a freelance golf writer. He follows the PGA TOUR volunteering for the tournaments and working part time for NBC Sports, CBS Sports, and The Golf Channel. He resides in Jacksonville Beach, Florida near the PGA TOUR headquarters and home of The PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach. He enjoys pursuing his passion for the game of golf and everything associated with it. He can be reached through his website www.MrHickoryGolf.net or by e-mailing him to [e-mail]