Change in weather could scramble all-star leaderboard

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Badz/PGA TOUR

Halfway leader Geoff Ogilvy expects Saturday's third round to play very differently from the first two.

KAPALUA, Hawaii -- Two rounds to go. Kona winds on the horizon.

Looks like the Mercedes-Benz Championship could get even more interesting. And that's saying a lot with a leaderboard that includes the likes of Geoff Ogilvy, Ernie Els and Anthony Kim -- to name a few.

Ogilvy, who won the 2006 U.S. Open, is 11 under and owns a one-stroke advantage over D.J. Trahan and a two-shot edge on Els, a three-time major champion. The Aussie's round of 68 Friday included a sizzling 31 on the front side, too.

Inside the Numbers

36-Hole Leaderboard

Player Score 1. Geoff Ogilvy 135 -11 2. D.J. Trahan 136 -10 3. Ernie Els 137 -9 T4. Anthony Kim 139 -7 T4. Sean O'Hair 139 -7 T4. Ryuji Imada 139 -7 T4. Davis Love III 139 -7 T4. Kenny Perry 139 -7 T4. Johnson Wagner 139 -7 T10. Adam Scott 140 -6 T10. Boo Weekley 140 -6

The wind inexplicably changed direction on Ogilvy during the latter stages of second round, though. And if the Kona winds blow in from the south and Sunday's expected rains materialize, the Plantation Course will certainly be at its most challenging.

Take the 17th and 18th holes that cascade down the picturesque and piquant mountain, for example. If the Kona winds arrive with a vengeance, both could play into the wind -- which makes a 508-yard par 4 and 663-yard par 5 an even more daunting task.

"I'm sure a lot of guys have seen it," Ogilvy said. "A lot of guys have been playing this course for a long time. I've never played it like this. I'm sure it will be a bit awkward. Your instinct is every time you go that way, you go downwind, and every time you go into that way, you go into the wind. And that's pretty much the instinct here.

"If it goes the other way, you have to rethink. The clubs off the tees are automatic. You pull your 3-wood off the first, because driver goes too far. It's automatic. If it turns around, you have to start thinking about clubs like that."

Ogilvy, who had a four-stroke lead at the turn, noticed the wind switch on what had been a perfect day for scoring after he hit a 415-yard drive at the 17th hole. His wedge came up short and he made his only bogey of the tournament, then three-putted the 18th hole for a frustrating par that left him "annoyed" but still ahead of the crowd.

"There's plenty to go still," Els said. "As I said, the conditions could be different. The wind could blow, and I see Sunday we might get rain. There's plenty of golf left. I just want to score the way I'm playing. That's my whole deal."

The easy-going South African will need his putter to cooperate, though. He missed a pair of 2-footers on Friday and felt that he let a low round slip away.

"But it's fine," Els said. "It's the first week of the year, and I guess I've just got to be patient."

Trahan earned his way to Kapalua with a come-from-behind victory at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic last year. He trailed Justin Leonard by four shots entering the final round but closed with a 65 to seal the win, so he's hardly panicking right now after Friday's 66 that was the low round of the tournament.

"He's playing great," Trahan said of Ogilvy, "(But it's) one of those things, I was four back last year going into the Hope in the final round, and regardless of how far somebody is ahead, they have to continue to play well if somebody is chasing them. ...

"The only goal I can really take out there, is to just play, and play like I have the first two days, and certainly more like today. I only made two bogeys today and shot 7 under. Obviously if I can do that for two more days, I think I hopefully will have a pretty good chance."

Sean O'Hair is among six players tied with Kim at 7 under, four strokes off the lead. He birdied the 18th hole Saturday for a round of 70, and the two-time PGA TOUR champ is unconcerned about the weather report.

"If it blows or it doesn't, it doesn't matter," O'Hair said. "We are all going to have the same conditions, no matter what. So the guy that's going to play the best is going to win. That's just my goal. ...

"Geoff's playing good, but it's 36 more holes. I don't know what the weather is supposed to be, so I'm just taking it each day and see how we stand going into the back nine on Sunday."