The Live Report, Round 3: The 50th Bob Hope Classic

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Pat Perez plays Silver Rock in the today's round; will he be able to keep the magic flame burning for the third day?

The 50th Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer is the first tournament of the West Coast swing this season. PGATOUR.COM's The Live Report will provide updates all day long for each of the five rounds, so check back often. (All timestamps listed for Eastern Time.)
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HOW LOW IS LOW (7:05 p.m.): How good is Pat Perez's start of 25-under 191? Well, here's a look at the best 54-hole starts in PGA TOUR history. Keep in mind none of these came on a par 72 course. -- Brian Wacker

CHECKING IN ON THE CHAMP (6:15 p.m.): Defending champion D.J. Trahan shot himself back into the tournament with his second 65 of the week, coming today at the Nicklaus Course.

Trahan's round was blemish-free with seven birdies and no bogeys. As a result, he moved up six spots on the leaderboard to T12.

The last -- and only -- player to successfully defend here was Johnny Miller in 1975-76. -- Brian Wacker

STRICKER'S BEST (5:45 p.m.): After opening with a back-nine 30, Steve Stricker closed out his round with a front-side 31 for an 11-under 61 -- the lowest score of his PGA TOUR career.

Stricker's previous best score was a 62 (twice), most recently at the 2003 Phoenix Open. In the final round of last year's World Golf Championships-CA Championship, he shot a 63. He also fired a final-round 64 at last year's Mercedes-Benz Championship before losing in a four-hole playof to Daniel Chopra.

Stricker, of course, is coming off one of his best years on TOUR. He was a captain's pick for the U.S. Ryder Cup team, finished 14th in the FedExCup standings and won more than $2.4 million. -- Brian Wacker

Here's a look at Stricker's card from Friday:

ANOTHER AMATEUR ACE (5:25 p.m.): Actor Michael Pena became the fourth amateur this week to record an ace.

Pena just jarred it from 122 yards on the par-3 seventh at Silver Rock for the second hole-in-one of the day on that hole. Mikloas Kohary had the other one about an hour-and-a-half ago. -- Brian Wacker

HOW LOW CAN THEY GO? (4:55 p.m.): There is no question that the scoring at the top of the leaderboard is stuff that we have never seen before. But things are pretty impressive in the middle of the pack as well. Any minute, the cut line will move to 11-under-par and we still have another full day of golf.

It very well could take as many as 14 or 15 under par just to stick around on Sunday. Can you imagine shooting 69,69,68,69 and not getting a pay check? -- John Maginnes

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER (4:45 p.m.): After registering just one top-three finish between 1999 and 2005, it appears Steve Stricker is going the Vijay Singh route, saving his best golf for last.

The soon-to-be 42-year-old Wisconsin native has a combined six top threes over the last three years -- including a win at the 2007 Barclays -- and is tearing it up this week.

Stricker opened with a back-nine 30 today on the Palmer Course and has added three more birdies through six holes on the front side to get to 9 under for the day and 21 under for the tournament. So far, he's made just one bogey this week, at the par-4 15th on Silver Rock yesterday. -- Brian Wacker

BIRDIE BARRAGE CONTINUES (4:20 p.m.): It's no surprise that birdies continue to be par for the course here -- the current leader, Briny Baird, just moved to 22 under. So it seems appropriate to look at some related records that could be in jeopardy this week. -- Brian Wacker

ANOTHER ACE (4:00 p.m.): Miklos Kohary just made the third hole-in-one of the week by an amateur. Andrew Goldfarb and Gary Levine accounted for the others earlier this week.

It was especially meaningful for Kohary, whose 94-year-old father passed away last night in Hungary.

On the pro side, Briny Baird had a hole-in-one yesterday on the par-3 seventh hole at the Nicklaus Course. Baird, who remains in contention today, used a 9-iron to ace the 146-yard hole. The last player to make an ace in a tournament and then go on to win that event was Jim Furyk at the 2007 Canadian Open. -- Brian Wacker

BERGANIO BACK? (3:45 p.m.): Seven years ago, David Berganio Jr. had his best chance to win but ultimately came up short -- ironically at this same event -- when he rinsed his approach shot on the first extra hole of a playoff against Phil Mickelson.

Beganio birdied the final hole of regulation that day to finish at 30-under and force a playoff, but ever since it's been a slippery, downhill slope for the former two-time U.S. Amateur Public Links champ. A bulging disk derailed his 2003 season and a myriad of back injuries followed just about every year after that.

On his sixth consecutive major medical extension this season, Berganio is looking to take advantage early after playing in just his third event since 2004. So far, so good. Bergnio is only 1 under on the day, but for the week he's 18 under and only three shots off the current leader. -- Brian Wacker

AMERICANS CONTINUE TO DOMINATE (3:30 p.m.): As we make our way to the halfway mark at the Bob Hope Classic, it looks like once again an American is going to take the title. For inexplicable reasons this tournament has been dominated by its native sons. Only twice in the last 35 years has a foreign-born player taken the Hope.

Mike Weir and Jesper Parnevik have both won here in the dessert, but they have a long way to go to catch the group of runaway Americans this week. Richard S. Johnson, who is currently five shots back and tied for eighth, is the highest placing foreign-born player at the moment.

PERNICE MAKES FIRST BOGEY (3:17 p.m.): Tom Pernice Jr. just made his first bogey of the tournament after he left his chip from just off the green on No. 14 well short.

Pernice went 50 holes without a bogey. -- Brian Wacker

CLARK CLIMBING LEADERBOARD (2:55 p.m.): It's hard to believe Tim Clark is still looking for his first career PGA TOUR win -- he has six runner-up finishes over the last four years, is a solid ballstriker with a good flat stick and always seems to show up at one point or another on a major leaderboard.

That could change this week, however, if he keeps playing the way he is today. Clark just made the turn in 29 on the Palmer Course, where he had five birdies and an eagle on No. 6 when he chipped in from 22 yards out.

Clark, who is playing in this tournament for the first time since 2006, is coming off a solid week in Hawaii, where he closed out the Sony Open in Hawaii with a sizzling 64. -- Brian Wacker

Here's a look at Clark's card so far. Follow his round live with Shot Tracker by clicking here.

BURNING UP JACK'S TRACK (2:06 P.M.): Charlie Wi woke up this morning with a fire under his Adidas golf shoes. The 37-year-old Korean is playing the Jack Nicklaus Private course today -- and by playing, we mean dominating.

He got off on the right foot with a birdie on the opening hole of the day and then went on a tear across the front nine -- carding three more birdies and an eagle to shoot 6 under through the ninth and leap up the leaderboard from his T49 start.

What will he do on the back? -- Ceri Mobley

RESPECT YOUR ELDERS (1:22 p.m.): Tom Pernice has yet to make a bogey this week -- and he hasn't come close to slipping up in the third round. He birdied four of the first eight holes over at the Bermuda Dunes course.

It's hard to believe that Pernice will be eligible for the Champions Tour later this year. He opened with rounds of 69-63 last week in the Sony Open in Hawaii before fading on the weekend, and he shot 63 in the second round of the Bob Hope Classic on Thursday.

Not bad for a 49-year-old. If he wins, he'll be the eighth oldest champion in TOUR history. -- Ryan Smithson

PRE-TOURNAMENT NOTES:

LUCKY NO. 3 (12:30 p.m): Pat Perez has never won a PGA TOUR event before; he's hoping to make this one his first. It's a good place to start. Perez has played this tournament five times before, and he's recorded some stellar rounds.

However, the only round -- in all five previous attempts at this tournament title -- where Perez has broken par consistently is the third; not a bad stat to take into what could be a decisive round for the tournament leader. With a 61 and a 63 safely under his belt, Perez needs to channel that birdie-making ability yet again, and knowing he's 5-0 in this round can only help. -- Ceri Mobley

Perez tees off at 10:36 a.m. PT -- that's when the birdie watch can begin.

TIME FOR ROUND THREE (10:30 a.m.): After a second round that said "no, Wednesday was not a fluke," Pat Perez starts the third round with a two-shot advantage. Can he maintain his stranglehold on the lead, or can someone else steal it out from under him on day 3 in Palm Springs?

Groups We're Watching

Tee time Player   1:36 pm ET (10:36 am in California) Pat Perez (Silver Rock) He's already 20 under with three rounds to go. Can he shoot 65-65-66 to finish at 40 under? If the wind stays calm, that scenario seems awfully likely. 12:15 pm ET (9:15 am in California) Briny Baird (Silver Rock) This guy's never had a problem with racking up a lot of birdies. At the Bob Hope Classic, he's been shooting fish in a barrel the first two rounds. 11:57 am ET (8:57 am in California) Rich Beem (Nicklaus Course) He lost his PGA TOUR card after the 2008 season, but the Beemer always loves coming to the desert. He hasn't made a bogey this week.

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