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Emergency 9 Here are nine tidbits from Round 3 of the Valero Texas Open that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. The AT&T Oaks Course in San Antonio has been the host since 2010 and plays 7,435 yards to a par-72. Final Paring The experience factor falls squarely in the lap of Zach Johnson in the final round as he’s won in the state of Texas on four previous occasions (twice at La Cantera and Colonial). He backed up his career-best round of 65 at The AT&T Oaks course with his T-second-best round of 68 to share the last tee time with Andrew Landry on 13 under par. Johnson finished strongly as he played his final 14 holes 5 under par. … Landry played in the final group at the CareerBuilder Challenge in January and fired a 68 before losing in a playoff to Jon Rahm. The Texan shouldn’t be out of his depth and the underdog role should suit him well. He didn’t square a bogey in Round 3 and only had one in Round 2 so he’s on point. Trey, Bien Trey Mullinax set the course record with 62 in Round 3 that included seven birdies, two eagles and only one bogey. He’s only posted two top-10 finishes in 40 previous events but his T8 at Valspar was just two starts ago. Playing out of the 126-150 category he’s been under plenty of pressure already this season. He’s 14 under the last two rounds and is leading the field in SG: putting. Walker, Texas Ranger Jimmy Walker was pleased after the round that he finally racked up some birdies, seven of them, as he fights to find four-round form dealing with the effects of Lyme disease. The 2015 champion will be the fan favorite tomorrow and gets to sleep in his own bed tonight just four shots behind. His worst final round in four previous tries is 70 so I’d expect him to be in the mix late tomorrow. He is T2 with 17 birdies. Keen on Joaquin Former world No. 1 amateur Joaquin Niemann has improved each round in his first start as a professional. After opening with 72 he went two lower in Round 2 before posting an excellent 67 in Round 3 to sit T11. His round tomorrow is huge because a top-10 finish will save him a sponsor’s exemption down the road. Gamers should have him on their radar and his 67 today should have added plenty of more eyeballs. Been There, Done That 2013 champ Martin Laird saw his co-course record fall today but sitting at T5, four-shots back has his focus elsewhere. After ripping off nine birdies in Round 2 he only posted two (and an eagle) in Round 3. I’m more interested in the 17 holes he played without a bogey after stubbing his toe on No. 1. … Chris Kirk, who has also won at Colonial, backed up his bogey-free 66 with a 68 in Round 3. He’s hit three more greens each day since opening with just nine in Round 1 so it’s not surprising he’s only squared one bogey in the last 36 holes. Moving Day A bogey-free 65 that included an eagle saw Sean O’Hair jump 20 spots into the conversation at T5. O’Hair finished T2 at Colonial last year and constantly plays well at Bay Hill, a course that has an interesting correlation this week. He’s only squared four bogeys and a double this week. He’ll play on Sunday with Walker and next week as they are paired in New Orleans … Defending champ Kevin Chappell continues his weekend mastery at this event as his 67 moved him up 28 spots to T20. His closed with 68 the last two years to finish T4 or better. I’m riding him until my spurs fall off as it looks like his back is behaving again. Moving Day: Wrong Way 54-hole co-leader Ryan Moore posted 70 today and dropped to fourth alone, reinforcing how “gettable” The AT&T Oaks Course was today after the threat of storms and rain never materialized. Of the six nines he’s played this week his only bogeys were on his outward round Saturday. In two previous Sunday rounds here he’s posted 68 and 72 and will be looking to pick up his first win since the John Deere Classic in 2016. Knocking Again I see you creeping again, Beau Hossler. His 69 in Round 3 moved him to T11 and six shots back. He closed with a 67 in Houston (P2) followed by a 68 at Harbour Town (T16) last week to continue his excellent second season. He’s T7 GIR for the week after hitting 16 of 18 in Round 3. Study Hall With 80 players making the 36-hole cut, MDF took place after Round 3. If Xander Schauffele or Bill Haas were in your lineup, among others, please be aware and adjust! … Round 3 played the easiest of the week at 70.925, down from 72.052 in Round 2. There were eight, bogey-free rounds, two more than Round 2. … 2016 champ Charley Hoffman finally posted a round in the red (71), ending a streak of five rounds above par. It’s a case of too-little-too-late for gamers in any format, sadly. … The mystery that is Si Woo Kim continues to baffle most players as he also sits T59, tied with Hoffman, entering the final round.

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HONOLULU – Patton Kizzire says he’s lobbying the PGA TOUR to plant palm trees at more of its venues. With his two career wins coming at the Mayakoba Golf Classic and the Sony Open in Hawaii over the 2017-18 season, it’s not hard to see why. Both have an obvious tropical feel and most players in the field at both find themselves in a relaxed state of mind. You might think any other correlations might not be something to highlight. But last season, Matt Kuchar won at Mayakoba and then… you guessed it… at Sony. Coincidence? Maybe. Probably even. But surely, Brendon Todd doesn’t mind the omen having grabbed his Mayakoba trophy a few months ago. RELATED:  What you need to know for Sony Open in Hawaii | Power Rankings “It’s exciting for sure,â€� said Todd, who sits second in the FedExCup after two wins in the fall. “I would love to pick up another win this year. I’ll take as many as I can get. I spotted the TOUR a few years of bad play so I’m ready to get mine while I’ve got it.â€� Kuchar, the defending champion at Sony this week, remembered realizing the fact after his win 12 months ago. Just like Kizzire it would be his last win of the season. “I didn’t really put two and two together until after I won Sony… and I said to Patton, I was a little disappointed you didn’t win anything else,â€� Kuchar who has nine career TOUR wins, recalled with a grin. “I was hoping to continue following in his shoes. Now I have yet to have Brendon Todd come up to me and be disappointed that I didn’t win any more than the Mayakoba and Sony… but he might be.â€� Kizzire added with a laugh that it was a cool stat, but one that has now run its course. “It would be very interesting if Brendon won this year but obviously I’m pulling for myself this week. He’s been winning enough lately,â€� Kizzire said. “And this is a very different course this year with the heavy winds and the rain it will be a tough challenge. A lot of creativity and patience will be the key this week.â€� Coincidence or not, surely there is something more to this we need to explore. Let’s jump into some stats, although we must keep in mind that in Mayakoba ShotLink is not used extensively like most events. So we don’t get a direct comparison to Waialae Country Club where we do have access to more numbers.  But we do know that when Kizzire saluted in both tournaments, the focal point was his putting. He had just 107 total putts in Mexico and the same again in Hawaii. In Hawaii, this correlated to being third in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting and was T2 for putts per round, while in Mexico his 107 putts was T5 in relation to the field. What about Kuchar? His 111 total putts when he won at Mayakoba was T21 in the field. His 112 putts at Sony was T13 in the field, but he finished third in Strokes Gained: Putting that week. “Both golf courses are ball placement venues and put a premium on putting,â€� Kizzire confirms. “You have to put it in the fairway and place it well and make your putts. It’s not just for bombers, it is precision and strategy.â€� Funnily enough Kizzire hit just 35 of 56 fairways in Mexico when he won, which was T52 in the field and at Sony he found just 29 of 56 fairways. Clearly, he made it up on the greens. Kuchar, however ranked third in driving accuracy in his Mexico win and fourth in Hawaii. So in theory Kizzire is right. “You need to be awfully accurate off the tee as there can be lots of trouble to be found if you miss fairways on both courses,â€� Kuchar says. “That’s the best correlation. They are relatively flat and tight courses. I like the courses that provide options. They can be played so many different ways. “It is much more position oriented, and it’s not just grab driver and hit it. There are so many courses that we play you just know every non par-3 is grab the driver and smash it. The two we talked about there are a lot of different options.â€� Then there is the confidence factor. Once a player has a win under their belt in any season, the shackles are lifted pressure wise to some degree. “You get a little break and then you come to Hawaii feeling good,â€� Kizzire says. “You play in Maui which gets you get accustomed to the time change plus you are playing some golf in the winds in the lead up… so it can just create a perfect storm for success.â€� That sounds good to Todd. Of course, he has already won twice having picked up the Bermuda Championship prior to his win at Mayakoba. Bermuda is also a tropical venue. For the record, Todd ranked 13th in total putts while winning in Mexico with 109 for the week. He currently ranks 87th for the season in Strokes Gained: Putting. “I’m still confident from the fall. Still striking it nicely and the weeks where I chip and putt well are the weeks where I contend so I’m continuing a focus on those areas,â€� Todd said from the practice putting green where he was getting extra work done. “Playing last week in the wind has helped me in practice rounds so far as I am feeling like I’m in tune with how far things are going and how cross winds are playing. “This course is playing soft like Mayakoba was but it is blowing a lot harder here than it was there so I will have to play well.â€� If he does win this week you can be sure the field in next seasons Mayakoba Golf Classic might get a bit of a boost this time around.

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PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — Luke List made birdie from the bunker on the final hole Saturday for a 4-under 66 and a one-shot lead in The Honda Classic as he goes after his first PGA TOUR victory. Right behind was Justin Thomas, the PGA TOUR Player of the Year. Still in the mix was Tiger Woods. List bounced back from his only bogey of the round on the par-3 17th hole to move past Thomas and Webb Simpson with his birdie on the par-5 18th. He was at 7-under 203. This is the second time he’s had a share of the 54-hole lead. Thomas birdied three of his last five holes for a 65 and will play in the final group. Woods had a 69 and was seven shots behind in a tie for 11th.

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