WGC-Cadillac Championship 2015: Leaderboard Highlights, Reaction from Saturday

The big developing story at the 2015 WGC-Cadillac Championship through three rounds is J.B. Holmes finally putting some distance between himself and the rest of the field after giving them a chance to catch him on Friday and early Saturday. 

Holmes, who is looking for his first PGA Tour win since the Wells Fargo Championship last May, began to figure things out late in the third round to pad his lead. He fired a two-under 70 on Saturday to build a five-stroke lead heading into the final round at Doral. 

With all the confidence in the world heading into the final round, Holmes didn't sound like he was going to get too far ahead of himself, via WGC-Cadillac Championship on Twitter:

Here's how the leaderboard stands after the third round:

One possible reason for the mediocre scores on Saturday, per Jason Sobel of The Golf Channel, is the rainy weather conditions overnight that also provided the opportunity for a joke:

The biggest winners on Saturday, besides Holmes, were Dustin Johnson and Bill Haas. In fact, Haas had the best round of the day with a seven-under 65. One reason for the low score is putting like this on the 11th hole, via PGA Tour:

Haas has had an inconsistent start to this season, making five cuts in seven PGA Tour events, with his one top-10 finish being a victory at the Humana Challenge in January. However, his performance in the third round on Saturday sets him up nicely to break that streak. 

In fact, per Rex Hoggard of The Golf Channel, Haas' 65 ranks as the second-best round of the entire tournament:

The only bad part is Haas entered the third round at three over par, so his fantastic Saturday only moved him into a tie for fifth place. He's going to need a lot of help on Sunday to win, but at least he is positioned for a top-five finish. 

Johnson shot a three-under 69 that put him in a tie for second place. The 30-year-old also provided one of the highlights from Saturday with a hole-in-one on the par-three fourth hole, via PGA Tour: 

As impressive as an ace is, Johnson's buzz was destroyed a little when Holmes also got a hole-in-one on No. 4 a few minutes later. It's fitting that those are the top two contenders at this tournament, as Sobel noted on Twitter that one of them can join an exclusive club with a win on Sunday:

Holmes' late surge, which included four consecutive birdies from No. 14 through No. 17 before a bogey on the final hole, gave him enough breathing room with a five-stroke lead to play a conservative round on Sunday and still cruise to victory. 

After the second round, in which he looked pedestrian with a one-over 73, Holmes maintained a sense of calm, based on his comments to reporters, that assuredly helped him on Saturday, via ESPN:

"

There's a difference between easy and hitting two perfect shots and the ball going in the water. That's a joke. I hit a 6-iron straight up in the air, it landed 3 feet off the left of the green and 5 feet on it and it goes in the water on the right side of the green. That's not hard. That's stupid. That's unfair.

"

Holmes appeared like he was going to give the field a chance to catch him early on Saturday, but that final run set him up to win his first event in nearly one year. 

Moving down the leaderboard, one player who generated headlines on Friday was Rory McIlroy. It wasn't in the way he wanted, as the star threw his 3-iron into a lake bordering the eighth hole.

On the bright side, Matt Newman of Golf.com provided the video of McIlroy's club being rescued from the water by a scuba diver on Saturday:

Things got back to normal in the third round, but he's still not playing up to his full potential. McIlroy fired an even-par 72 and remains at one under par in a tie for 12th heading into the final round. This is progress after he missed the cut at The Honda Classic, but the best has clearly yet to come for the 25-year-old in 2015. 

Barring any clubs getting thrown on Sunday, all eyes are going to be fixed on Holmes. He's got a chance to win this tournament by going wire to wire. There's not a lot of heat on him at the moment, as Johnson and Bubba Watson are five shots behind. 

Holmes can take the ceremonial victory lap in the final round at Doral. He can't waste any shots, since Haas proved that low scores are still out there, but given how the third round ended, it's unlikely anyone can make up a five-stroke difference.