Tied for second, Leonard pleased with state of game

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Justin Leonard has been almost perfect in hitting greens this week.

KAPALUA, Hawaii -- Justin Leonard did his share of scoreboard watching on Saturday, but those giant scrolling LED boards that dot the hills and valleys of the Plantation Course never seemed to display the leader's total whenever the Texan stole a glance.

Inside the Numbers

Leonard thru 54 Holes

Category Total Rank Eagles 0 N/A Birdies 17 T4 Pars 34 T12 Bogeys 2 T31 Double Bogeys 1 T10 Other 0 N/A Driving Accuracy 77.8% T6 Driving Distance 272.2 yds. 22 Greens in Regulation 92.6% 1 Putts per Round 31.0 T17 Putts per GIR 1.780 16 Sand Saves 0 N/A

Until he got to the 18th green, that is. That's when Leonard saw Geoff Ogilvy locked in at 19 under -- a distant six strokes ahead of him and the other 31 players competing in the Mercedes-Benz Championship.

"So it was a bit deflating, to say the least," Leonard said. "Hat's off to him. He's obviously playing great. But I'm just going to go out and try and continue getting the rust off, like I have the last couple of days, and try and end the week on a good note."

The marathon man wasn't exactly running in place, either. Leonard had just matched Ogilvy's bogey-free 65 on a sun-kissed day that was tailor-made for scoring. The average for the field was 69.15 and only one player, Ryuji Imada, failed to break par 73.

"I played solid," Leonard acknowledged. "Probably as well as I did yesterday, but I feel like I made a few more putts. You know, with the wind switching around a little bit, the golf course played completely different.

"I don't remember what year it was, but four or five years ago, the wind blew like this all week, but a lot harder. So I had that experience to kind of draw upon and just played well and gave myself a lot of chances."

Leonard, who is playing in his 10th Mercedes-Benz Championship, is tied with D.J. Trahan at 13 under. The two will join Ogilvy in Sunday's final group at 9 a.m. here on Maui after provisions were made for an early start due to approaching wind and rain.

Saturday's round was Leonard's lowest since he shot an 8-under 64 in the second round of the 2008 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic where he went on to finish second to Trahan. He had the lead on Sunday there, though, while he'll be the hunter on Sunday.

The Kona winds that replaced the trades on Saturday certainly made the pros ponder their club selection on several holes. Take No. 1, for example. Leonard said he hit either a 7- or 8-iron on Friday but needed a 3-iron on Saturday.

At the same time, though, the switch to more southwesterly breezes might have made the Plantation Course a little more generous. Leonard took advantage of the par 5s, two-putting at Nos. 5 and 9 and staking a wedge to 5 feet at No. 18. His other birdie putts came from 15, 5, 7 and 6 feet.

"There's probably a few more opportunities," Leonard said. "The holes that are normally into the wind where you're hitting a driver and trying to keep a 6-, 7- or 8-iron down -- now you're hitting sand wedge into those holes.

"I feel like the par 5s played a little bit easier. Especially when it's a pretty calm wind like it was today."

Leonard has four top-10 finishes in nine previous starts at the Mercedes-Benz Championship -- including eighths in his last two starts in 2006 and '08. He feels comfortable at Kapalua, as a result, and the changing winds are no problem for the Texan.

"I feel like I'm a good wind player," Leonard said. "I hit the ball fairly low, and I'm creative. Balancing balls into greens, it kind of reminds me of my junior golf days. You don't do it a whole lot here, but there are some shots where you have to.

"I'm also pretty fresh. Usually a little rusty, but I come over here and enjoy the weather, and always hope that the rust comes off fairly quickly, and it has a few times."

Fresh, indeed. Leonard has only played once since the Valero Texas Open last fall and most recently could be found on the Colorado ski slopes. He was philosophical about that opening 74 but improved seven strokes in the second round before Saturday's 65.

"The first day, I probably got out of it what I should have, shooting 1 over and not having much feel, and my distance control wasn't very good, which is very important to play well on this golf course," Leonard said.

"But you know, I kind of got all that taken care of, and I've played pretty nicely the last couple of days."