Tune in at 3:00 PM ET on Saturday for third round coverage of the AT&T National. Gino Bottero will be liveblogging for your enjoyment.
Welcome everyone! I'll be live blogging the third round of the AT&T National.
The tournament is being played at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Maryland.
Blue Course | Par: 71 | Yardage 7574
The AT&T National tournament is hosted by Tiger Woods and benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation.
Purse: $6,500,000
Winning Share: $1,170,000
FedExCup Points: 500
Past Winners:
2011: Nick Watney
2010: Justin Rose
2009: Tiger Woods
2008: Anthony Kim
2007: K.J. Choi
Round 1 Recap: Tournament host Tiger Woods carded two birdies and three bogeys in his opening round to post a 1-over 72. Bo Van Pelt had the low round on the day, carding a 4-under 67. That score was good for the 18-hole lead. Vijay Singh, Brendon de Jonge, and Jimmy Walker finished the day one-stroke back at 3-under. Singh was at 4-under par when he reached the 11th tee, only to rip off a string of three consecutive bogeys, but he answered back with birdies on 16 and 18 to close out his round.
Round 2 Recap: Tiger Woods started on the back-9 and was at even-par on the day when he reach the Par 5 16th. He sank a 48 foot eagle putt to get below-par in the tournament. He fell back to even-par with a bogey on the 1st, but answered back with birdies on 5 and 8, ending the day at 2-under par in the tournament after a round of 68. Hunter Mahan was at 1-under after 18 holes but climbed to the top of the leaderboard on Friday with a round of 65, moving him to 7-under par and 2-strokes clear of the field. Mahan shot a 4-under 32 on the front-9, then closed his round with birdies on 16 and 18. Brendon de Jonge, Jimmy Walker, and Robert Garrigus finished the day at 5-under. Walker started on the back and birdied 10 and 15 in a bogey-free round of 69.
An overnight storm which uprooted dozens of trees and flattened tents on the course led to a six-hour delay this morning, pushing today's start time back to 1 PM ET. Winds reached as high as 70 mph overnight. Included in the damage was a 75-foot tree that fell across the 14th fairway. Branches were scattered across more than 300 yards of the 11th fairway. As a result, the tournament has been closed to spectators and volunteers because of safety concerns.
The players are playing in threesomes off of split-tees today as they attempt to get the round in before losing daylight.
There is still plenty of debris outside of the ropes so expect to see some players conversing with rules officials should their ball be impacted by the many branches and debris that line the edges of the fairway.
The leader, Hunter Mahan, will tee off at 3:10 PM ET with Brendon de Jonge and Jimmy Walker.
AT&T National Leaderboard:
1. H. Mahan -7
T2. B. de Jonge -5
T2. J. Walker -5
T2. R. Garrigus -5
Let's pick up play on the 1st hole with tournament host Tiger Woods.
Par 4 1st: Tiger Woods rolls in his short birdie putt to move to 3-under.
The final group has been introduced on the 1st tee. Hunter Mahan is away first.
Par 4 1st: Hunter Mahan kept his tee shot inside the right side of the fairway. Brendon de Jonge started his drive out to the left and tried to shape it back into the fairway but it got caught up in the rough. Jimmy Walker missed well right, over the bunkers and into the rough.
Par 3 2nd: Tiger Woods missed right off the tee and into the sand, He chipped to within a few feet and tapped in for par.
Par 4 1st: Robert Garrigus makes his short birdie putt to move to 6-under. Pat Perez in for birdie as well and that gets him to 5-under.
466 yard Par 4 3rd: Tiger Woods missed just left of the fairway and into the first cut.
Par 4 1st: Hunter Mahan's second shot came up short and to the left of the green, finding the sand. Brendon de Jonge with a good shot to the left-center of the green, leaving him a good look for birdie.
Par 4 1st: Hunter Mahan does as much as he could have done with that little chip from the sand, leaving himself a tap-in for par. Jimmy Walker looked to have a tough two-putt from the far right side of the green but he had it perfectly on line, leaving it just a foot short of the hole. He tapped in for par. Brendon de Jonge's birdie attempt slid left. He tapped in for par.
208 yard Par 3 2nd: Robert Garrigus reached the left-center portion of the green off the tee. He'll have a long look for birdie.
Par 3 4th: Tiger Woods drains a 34-foot birdie putt and that gets him to 4-under.
470 yard Par 4 4th: Tiger Woods missed well left off the tee. He nearly reached a fairway. Unfortunately for him it's not the fairway for the 4th hole.
208 yard Par 3 2nd: Hunter Mahan missed left of the green and into the sand. Brendon de Jonge's ball landed past the hole, then rolled back down the slop of the green, leaving him a good look for par.
Par 4 4th: Tiger Woods in some really thick rough and he elects to lay up into the center of the fairway.
Par 3 2nd: Another solid recovery from the sand for Hunter Mahan. He'll tap in for par. Brendon de Jonge made his birdie putt to get to 6-under.
Par 4 4th: Tiger Woods looks like he'll save his par as he chips to within a few feet on his third shot.
Four one-putts from Tiger Woods to open his round.
466 yard Par 4 3rd: Brendon de Jonge missed left of the fairway and into the rough from the tee. Hunter Mahan kept his tee shot inside the right side of the fairway.
413 yard Par 4 5th: Tiger Woods kept his tee shot in the center of the fairway.
For the first time in probably 10 years, tiger woods made a birdie and there was no roar to follow. Don't know what to think right now.by Ben_Hogenkamp via twitter 6/30/2012 7:04:31 PM
Tiger woods, on the prowl! #movingday #round3 #ATTNationalby Mr_Kooper11 via twitter 6/30/2012 7:04:44 PM
Bizarre to watch the @ATTNational and see no spectators.by kevindeshazo via twitter 6/30/2012 7:06:38 PM
40 downed trees, no gallery, record heat and best staff around getting it done. Thx for the hard work!by Gangstaboob via twitter 6/30/2012 7:07:01 PM
Exactly four people in the stands to watch #attnational leader Hunter Mahan tee off. Three of them in PGA shirts.by lindsapple via twitter 6/30/2012 7:09:48 PM
The best part about today's #ATTNational... no jokesters yelling "get in the hole" after every tee shot. #Tigerby CoryH_KVUE via twitter 6/30/2012 7:18:58 PM
Weird watching the @ATTNational and not see/hearing a gallery. Feel like I need to yell "Get in the hole" when @TigerWoods swings from home.by john_hawkins via twitter 6/30/2012 7:19:03 PM
Great to see @robertgarrigus & @PatPerezGolf having some fun @ATTNational after opening birdies. No gallery applause making for a few laughsby TaylorMadeGolf via twitter 6/30/2012 7:19:10 PM
.@NickFaldo006 enough with the squirrel references! It was funny the first time, not the subsequent 20 times. #ATTNational @CBSSportsby MM_ILoveSports via twitter 6/30/2012 7:19:16 PM
Bizarre watching #ATTNational from Congressional with no spectators in due to bad weather they've had there! Never seen atmosphere like it!by BenStanners via twitter 6/30/2012 7:24:47 PM
Phil should be playing today, there are no cell phone to bother him.by madanmkb via twitter edited by Gino Bottero 6/30/2012 7:25:13 PM
when there's no gallery there's no one to keep your wayward tee shots from going out of bounds. #ATTNational #nofansby MiniTourProblms via twitter 6/30/2012 7:26:56 PM
Hey CBS... All of those guys live in FL. Stop making such a big deal about the temp. #ATTNationalby okyoucanoweme via twitter 6/30/2012 7:38:53 PM
