Villegas’ final round 68 gave him a five shot win over Anthony Kim.  He started the day with a three shot edge but, Vijay Singh pushed early, trimming that lead to two shots with a 45-foot birdie on the fifth hole.  Villegas responded with three straight birdies from the eighth to 10th holes, extending his lead to six shots.  Even bogeys on the 11th, 12th and 15th holes could not slow down Villegas as he hammered home the win with that final birdie.

Kim rebounded from a third round 73 with 67 in the final round to move into sole possession of second place.  Justin Rose took third place with 64 in the final round, moving up 20 spots on the leaderboard.  Singh tied with Paul Casey for fourth place at six-under par, seven shots behind Villegas.  Fredrik Jacobson and Michael Connell tied for sixth place with Charlie Wi taking seventh.  Rounding out the top 10 were Lee Westwood, Brendon de Jonge and Chris Tidland, who tied for ninth place at two-under par.

Villegas started to pull away quickly with four birdies in the first nine holes.  The back nine was not as smooth as the Colombian made bogeys on the 10th, 12th and 14th holes with birdies at the 11th and 16th holes.  Another solid round on Sunday will have Villegas raising his first trophy of the year.

But, Singh and Green still have fighting chances.  Singh shot 69 to keep pace with Villegas, while Green carded a 67 to move into a tie with Singh.  George McNeill and Matt Every are five shots back at six-under par.  Anthony Kim, who shared the lead with Villegas at the start of the day, shot 73 to fall into a tie for eighth place.  Kim finished with three straight bogeys, totaling four on the day.  He also had a double-bogey on the sixth hole and three birdies.  Michael Connell is tied with Kim at five-under par.  J. B. Holmes was the big mover of the day, climbing 21 spots to tie for eighth place at four-under par.  He is in eighth place with Graeme McDowell.  Paul Casey is tied for 10th with Chris Tidland, Charlie Wi, Sam Saunders and Fredrik Jacobson.

Villegas started on the 10th hole and played the first nine one-under par after birdies on the 11th and 14th holes with a bogey on the 15th.  After pars on the first and second holes, Villegas dropped four straight birdies before carding a final bogey on the seventh hole.

Kim, also starting on the 10th hole, made three birdies in the first four holes.  After the turn, he made birdies on the third, fourth, seventh and eighth holes with a bogey on the sixth hole.

Vijay Singh is in third place at seven-under par, one shot behind Villegas and Kim.  Jerry Kelly is in fourth with Mike Weir, Graeme McDowell, Nathan Green, Chez Reavie and Matt Every a shot behind him in fifth place.  Alex Cejka and Michael Connell are tied for 10th place at four-under par.

Moving Day

It is great for the PGA TOUR to have Villegas and Kim atop the leaderboard.  Both are key figures in the PGA TOUR’s future.  But, will they stay there?

Singh will be tough to keep at bay as the veteran looks for his first title since winning the 2008 FedEx Cup.  Mike Weir and Paul Casey are both in the mix as well.  Casey is at three-under par, five shots back, heading into the weekend.  Four names to watch are at even-par – Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy, J. B. Holmes and Bubba Watson.  Westwood and McIlroy were favorites coming into the week so it would be no surprise to see them climb the leaderboard on moving day.  But, Holmes and Watson have the power to take over the PGA National course as long as the short game comes together.  The dark horse this weekend could be Trevor Immelman.  After opening with 73, Immelman shot 68 in the second round and is one-over par.

Both Green and Connell were bogey-free in their opening rounds.  Green made five birdies while Connell dropped three birdies and carded an eagle on the par-5 third hole.  The pair lead Camilo Villegas, Oliver Wilson and Alexandre Rocha, who are tied at four-under par.  Villegas continues to play well for the third straight week.

Vijay Singh is back in contention with a first round 67.  The Great Fijian is tied for sixth place with Bubba Watson and D. J. Trahan.  Ten players are tied for ninth place at two-under par, including Anthony Kim and Jonathan Byrd.  Also in that group are Grame McDowell, Alex Cejka, George McNeill, Ted Purdy, Alex Prugh, Scott Piercy, Tom Gillis and Henrik Bjornstad.

It seems the buzz surrounds the European players this week.  The top – ranked – players in the field this week are Lee Westwood, Paul Casey, Rory McIlroy and Padraig Harrington.  Others favored in the first Florida event of the PGA TOUR season are Robert Allenby, Sergio Garcia and Camillo Villegas.

So, where are the American’s?

The biggest buzz around an American golfer goes to Rickie Fowler.  The rookie finished second last week and seems to have found a groove after a couple of missed cuts in the first two months of the season.  Matt Kuchar has played well through seven events this year.  Kuchar has a third place finish (SBS Championship) and a second (Bob Hope Classic) – can he notch his first victory of 2010 this week?

Yes, no Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson.  But, the Honda Classic brings on thoughts of Spring and the Masters.  The Masters is still a few weeks away and the Honda Classic – at least with first time major winners – can provide some insight into who will top a major this year.  Last year, Yang’s win sparked a season that saw him topple Woods at the PGA Championship for his first major title.  In the past, Harrington claimed victory at the Honda Classic before stringing together three major titles.  And, Todd Hamilton took home the Honda and British Open championships in the same season.  Will this be Garcia’s time?  Or, Allenby?  What about a guy like Tim Clark – who is still looking for his first PGA TOUR win?

Miyazato shot 69 in three of the four rounds to hole off Kerr, who shot 68 in the final round.  Defending champion Jiyai Shin, Suzann Pettersen, Yani Tseng and Song-Hee Kim tied for third place.  In-Kyung Kim and second-year star Vicky Hurst tied for seventh at six-under par, four shots behind Miyazato.  Angela Stanford, Juli Inkster, Jee Young Lee, Sakura Yokomine, Na Yeon Choi and Hee Young Park tied for ninth place.

A Global Tour – LPGA announces new event

On Monday, the LPGA announced a new event – Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia.  The event will be played October 22-24th at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club.  Following a tough 2009 season that saw a couple of mainstay events say farwell, the LPGA adds another event to complement the Sybase Match Play Championship and Kia Classic announced earlier this year.  The match play event will be held in May of this year in New Jersey with the Kia Classic, presented by J Golf, being held March 25-28th in California.

The new events are great news for the LPGA.  It seems that the Tour is really stretching itself into a true global brand.  Extending the base to Asia will not only benefit many of the Tour’s top stars but, it will help the LPGA stay strong.

Mahan was a star of the Ryder Cup victory two years ago.  But, last season was a struggle as Mahan had only six top 10s in 25 events.  His best finish was runner-up at the AT&T National.  Mahan was also on the winning Presidents Cup team at the end of the 2009 season.  So far, 2010 has not been easy for Mahan with his best finish coming at the Farmers Insurance Open, a tie for 27th.  His victory last week – with 65s on the weekend – should give Mahan the fuel to be a force on the PGA TOUR this season.  And, with Tiger Woods out, the PGA TOUR needs more guys like Mahan to step into the leadership role.

Another rising star that had a coming out party in the desert was Rickie Fowler.  The highly touted rookie finished second to Mahan for his second top 5 finish of the season.  And though Fowler has three missed cuts, he very much could be the future of the PGA TOUR.  Fowler made a splash on TOUR in the Fall Series, where he almost earned full exempt status in only three events.  He earned his way on TOUR through qualifying school for the 2010 season.

With Woods out, the PGA TOUR needs to help guys like Mahan and Fowler shine.  The PGA TOUR needs them and Anthony Kim, Brandt Snedeker and Camilo Villegas to take the game into the future.  Villegas has only played twice in 2010 but he finished third at the Accenture Match Play Championship and tied for eighth at the Phoenix Open.  Snedeker has played well this year and probably would have earned his third top 10 had he not shot 78 in the final round last week.  Kim has played better each week this year, finishing 24th last week.

These are the guys the PGA needs to promote more so that they can become household names with fans as Woods, Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els are.  Woods is gone – for now – and Mickelson and Els are sliding down the back nine of their very respected careers.  For the TOUR to survive, it needs more of the Mahan’s, Kim’s and Villegas’ of the golfing world.

Villegas was one-over par through nine holes after a birdie on the second hole was erased by bogeys at the fourth and ninth holes.  A birdie on the 10th got Villegas back on track as he added an eagle on the 13th and a final birdie on the 15th hole.  He did finish with a bogey on the 18th hole.

Wilson bogeyed the first hole but finished the front even-par after a birdie on the third hole.  After a birdie on the 10th hole, Wilson finished with four straight birdies from the 15th to 18th holes.

Anthony Kim moved into a tie for third place at 10-under par after a second round 65.  He is tied with Ryan Moore and rookie Rickie Fowler.   Brandt Snedeker, Pat Perez, Tom Lehman, Mathew Goggin, Alvaro Quiros and Chris Couch are tied for sixth place at nine-under par, two shots behind the leaders.

Moving Day

Defending champion Kenny Perry has a lot of ground to make up in order to repeat.  He is tied for 54th at four-under par.  Phil Mickelson is in better position for a big move at six-under par.  He along with Geoff Ogilvy and Brian Gay may make big runs in the third round.  Closer to the top of the leaderboard, Ian Poulter shot 63 in the second round to move up 79 spots to 16th place.  Can he keep the hot hand into the weekend?  Also, Robert Allenby has found his way back into contention with a second round 65 and is tied for 12th place, three shots back.

Stanford was four-under par through 11 holes of the second round but finished with bogeys on the 12th, 14th and 18th holes to fall into a tie with Kim.  Kim carded four birdies and two bogeys on the day to grab her share of the lead.

Suzann Pettersen leads a group of five tied for third place at four-under par.  With Pettersen are Ai Miyazato, Juli Inkster, Sun Young Yoo and Hee-Won Han.  Cristie Kerr and Yani Tseng are tied for eighth place at three-under par.  Defending champion Jiyai Shin is tied for 10th place after opening rounds of 71 have her at two-under par.  Tied with Shin are In-Kyung Kim, Na Yeon Choi, Karrie Webb and Hee Young Park.

Lorena Ochoa, who shared the lead at the start of the day, shot a seven-over par, 79, in the second round with a triple-bogey on the 18th hole.  She also carded four bogeys and 13 pars – zero birdies – in the second round.  She is tied for 39th place.

Villegas kept some of the momentum from his third place finish at the World Golf Championship-Accenture Match Play Championship.  He was bogey-free on the day and carded nine birdies, including one on the most famous par-3 in golf – TPC Scottsdale’s 16th.

Every, who started on the 10th hole, shot 63.  After birdies on the 13th and 15th holes, Every ran off six straight birdies from the 17th to the fourth hole.  He is two shots ahead of five players tied at six-under par, including Justin Rose and rookie Rickie Fowler.  Also at six-under are Mark Wilson, Ryuji Imada and Pat Perez.  Geoff Ogilvy is tied for eighth place with 10 other players, including Zach Johnson, Brandt Snedeker and Ryan Moore.  Y. E. Yang, Mathew Goggin, Tom Lehman, Joe Durant, Kevin Stadler, Carl Pettersson and Sam Saunders are also at five-under par.

Defending champion Kenny Perry shot 68 in the first round and is tied for 29th place at three-under par.  With Perry are Phil Mickelson, Hunter Mahan and Matt Kuchar to name a few.

Ochoa, Kerr, Stanford and Park hold a one shot advantage over another group of four players at three-under par.  Shooting 69 in the first round were last week’s winner Ai Miyazato, Christina Kim, Song-Hee Kim and Sophie Gustafson.  Suzann Pettersen finished the first round at two-under par and is tied for ninth place with Kristy McPherson, Juli Inkster, Karrie Webb, Song Young Yoo and In-Kyung Kim.

Defending champion Jiyai Shin is in 15th place after a first round 71, one-under par, has her three shots off the pace.

After a bogey on the second hole, Miyazato was flawless carding eight birdies and an eagle over the final 16 holes to top Pettersen by one shot.

Pettersen held the lead for most of the day, though.  She made birdies on the fifth and seventh holes to get to 20-under par but, she dropped a shot after a bogey on the ninth hole.  Miyazato chipped away at the lead with birdies on the third, sixth and ninth holes, with her eagle coming on the seventh hole.  Miyazato finished the front nine at 16-under par, three shots behind Pettersen.

Both players birdied the 10th hole but, Miyazato erased the deficit with birdies on the 11th, 13th and 15th holes as Pettersen made pars.  Then, Pettersen bogeyed the 16th hole to fall back a shot.  Miyazato chipped in for birdie on the final hole for the win.

Yani Tseng finished with a final round 69 to finish in third place at 15-under par, six shots behind Miyazato.  Cristie Kerr and Karrie Webb tied for fourth place.  Laura Davies shot 65 in the final round to move into a tie for sixth place with Maria Hjorth, Momoko Ueda and Song-Hee Kim.  Amy Yang finished in 10th place.

Defending champion Lorena Ochoa tied for 18th place at six-under par.

Poulter had a two hole lead after the first nine holes thanks to wins on the seventh and eighth holes.  He would finish the first 18 with that same advantage as he and Casey both won three holes on the back nine.  To start the second 18, Poulter won the first two hole to gain a four hole lead.  Poulter answered Casey wins on the third and sixth holes with wins of his own on the fourth and seventh holes.  Casey finally caught a break with wins on the ninth and 10th holes but could not get another hole back.  Poulter put the match away with wins on the 15th and 16th holes.

Casey got into the final match after beating Camilo Villegas Sunday morning.  Their semifinal match was postponed due to darkness after five sudden death holes.  On the 24th hole of the match, Villegas hooked his tee shot and could not recover as Casey made par for the win.

Villegas went on to play Sergio Garcia in the 18-hole consolation match.  Villegas took the early lead with a par on the first hole, to Garcia’s double-bogey.  After five halves, Villegas won four of the next five holes and eventually won 5&4.

Pettersen, who won this event in 2007, has not made a bogey in the 54 holes played this week.  She shot 68 in the third round, following a 64 that catapulted her to the top spot after two rounds.

Song-Hee Kim is in second place at 13-under par.  She holds a one-shot edge over Ai Miyazato, Yani Tseng and Momoko Ueda, who are tied for third place.  Cristie Kerr is tied for sixth place with Maria Hjorth and Hee Young Park at 11-under par.  Amy Yang is in ninth place with Karrie Webb, In-Kyung Kim, Catriona Matthew and M. J. Hur tied for 10th.

Defending champion Lorena Ochoa is in 14th place at six-under par, 12 shots behind Pettersen.

Paula Creamer was forced to withdraw after the first round, re-injuring her right thumb.

Poulter first defeated Thongchai Jaidee in the morning match after late birdies on the 15th and 17th hole gave Poulter a 1up victory.  Then, Poulter faced Sergio Garcia, who beat Owen Wilson in his morning match 4&3.  Garcia proved no match for Poulter as the Englishman took nine of the 12 holes played to win 7&6.

Casey and Villegas will continue their match Sunday morning after Villegas missed a short par putt to win on the 23rd hole of the match.  Villegas went up early with wins on the first and third hole.  Casey came back to take a 1up lead with three holes to play but, Villegas squared the math with a par on the final hole.  After four pars in extra holes, both players made bogey on the last hole before the match was called due to darkness.

In the morning matches, Casey defeated Stewart Cink 5&4.  Villegas played Retief Goosen, beating the veteran 4&3.

After three days of upsets eliminated much of the top seeds, Casey, a two seed in the Snead Division, stands as the highest seed remaining in the tournament.  He will face a tough match play opponent in Cink, who has finished second and third in this event the last two years.  Casey cruised to a 5&4 win over Brian Gay, who was playing in the Match Play Championship for the first time.  Cink defeated Charl Schwartzel with a birdie on the 19th hole.

The next highest ranked player in the field is Ian Poulter.  The third ranked player in the Jones Division defeated Jeev Milkha Singh 5&4.  Poulter will face off against Thongchai Jaidee, who beat Ryo Ishikawa by the same 5&4 margin. The winner of the Poulter-Jaidee match will face the winner of Garcia versus Owen Wilson.  Garcia beat Tim Clark 2&1 to get into the weekend.  Wilson, the 10th seed, finished off Luke Donald in 20 holes for his third upset of the week.  Wilson has beat #7 Miguel Angel Jimenez and #2 Rory McIlory to get to the Elight Eight.

One of the more interesting matches on Saturday will be veteran Retief Goosen against Camilo Villegas.  Goosen, the #5 seed, defeated Nick Watney 1up, while Villegas beat Ben Crane 3&2.  The winner of this match will play the winner of the Casey-Cink match.

The Tiger Woods Apology

In other news, Tiger Woods made his first statement about the events that transpired after his November car crash.  His apology was uncomfortable to watch but seemed very sincere.  It is not easy seeing an icon in that type of situation.  Truth of the matter is that Woods is not coming back to golf in the near future so, players, fans and the media have to move on and start celebrating what is on the course…the current stars and young players that will carry the PGA TOUR and game of golf into the future.  For more on Woods, visit the following:

• The Golf Girl: When Tiger Talks – The Long-Awaited Apology
• Armchair Golf Blog: Tiger Woods: “I Have Let You Down” (video)
• Wei Under Par

Top seed Lee Westwood was beat by Nick Watney 2&1 in the second round.  After Westwood pulled even after holing a bunker shot on the 13th hole for eagle but, Watney rebounded with birdies on the 14th and 15th holes.  Martin Kaymer lost to Tim Clark 3&2…maybe it is his new yellow Srixon ball?  Clark moves on to face Garcia in what will be the third round match to see.  Jim Furyk lost to Charl Schwartzel, who made consecutive birdies on the 15th and 16th holes to win the match 3&2.

Tiger Woods will steal some headlines with his statement Friday but, the third round matches have their appeal, adding a little bit of everything – the favored veterans, future stars and the unknown.  It is what makes match play so interesting – a hole-by-hole match where anything can happen.  So, even without Woods in the field, the Accenture Match Play Championship will bring intrigue into the weekend.

Player Bracket

Watney moves on to play Retief Goosen, who beat Ernie Els in 20 holes.  Ben Crane, who had a free round yesterday when Henrik Stenson conceded on the first hole, beat Y. E. Yang 3&2.  Crane will play Camilo Villegas, who defeated defending champion Ogilvy 2&1.

Jones Bracket

Ryo Ishikawa beat Ross McGowan 1up.  Ishikawa will face Thongchai Jaidee, who proved too much for Robert Karlsson.  Jaidee made birdied five of seven holes from the sixth to 12th holes to take a six-up lead that could not be overcome.  Jeev Milkha Singh moves on to play Poulter.  Singh beat Matt Kuchar 1up, while Poulter beat Adam Scott 2&1.

Hogan Bracket

With Clark and Garcia highlighting this bracket, Owen Wilson and Luke Donald will play on the other side.  Wilson beat Rory McIlory in 20 holes, whild Donald handled Robert Allenby 6&5 in the second round.

Snead Bracket

With Furyk out, Schwartzel will face Cink in the next round.  Cink beat fellow American Sean O’Hair 1up in the second round.  Casey, who beat Mike Weir 5&4, will face Brian Gay.  Gay, the 14th seed, beat Zach Johnson 2up.

Pettersen was bogey-free in the first round.  After a birdie on the first hole, she made eight straight pars.  She started the back nine with a birdie and finished the day off with birdies on the 15th and 17th holes, adding an eagle on the final hole.  Hur made four birdies in the first eight holes before carding her only bogey on the ninth.  After a birdie on the 10th hole, Hur made consecutive birdies at the 14th and 15th holes.

Ai Miyazato is tied for third place with Song-Hee Kim and Hee Young Park at five-under par.  Five players are tied for sixth place at four-under, including veterans Yani Tseng and Cristie Kerr.  Also in that group are Stacy Lewis, Brittany Lincicome and Angela Stanford.

The LPGA’s top golfer – Lorena Ochoa – is tied for 11th place with five other players, including Paula Creamer.  Michelle Wie is at even-par after the first round.

Steve Stricker, the number two ranked golfer in the world, was defeated in 19 holes by Ross McGowan, the lowest seeded player in the field.  Padraig Harrington was the other top seed to lose in the first round.  Jeev Milkha Singh beat the Irishman with a birdie on the 17th hole to go up 3 holes with one to play.  Henrik Stenson had to concede his match to Ben Crane after one hole due to flu-like symptoms.

Anthony Kim joined the upset parade losing to number 10 seed Matt Kuchar.  Kuchar never trailed in the match and moved on to the second round with a birdie on the 16th hole.  Adam Scott seemed to be back in old form as the Austrailian upset reigning Masters champion Angel Cabrera 3&2.  U. S. Open champion Lucas Glover didn’t fare too well either as he was ousted by 11 seed Anders Hansen.  Number three seed Kenny Perry continued his string of first round exits as he lost to Brian Gay 2&1.

Ian Poulter escaped from Justin Leonard with a birdie on the 19th hole.  Other notables moving onto the next round include Robert Allenby, Luke Donald,  Ernie Els and Stewart Cink.

Ochoa will face a tough crowd as the tournament will field 60 of the game’s best players, including Jiyai Shin, Paula Creamer and Suzann Pettersen, who won here in 2007.  Also in the field this week are veterans Cristie Kerr, In-Kyung Kim, Ai Miyazato and Morgan Pressel.  Looking to get their sophomore seasons off to a good start are Michelle Wie, Vicky Hurst and Stacy Lewis.

The LPGA is celebrating 60 years this season.  The tour has grown from 13 women looking to build a professional tour in America to an international tour that features players from 29 nations vying for more than $40 million in prize money.  It is also the 30th anniversary for the Duramed FUTURES Tour, the LPGA’s developmental tour that has alumni like Ochoa.

Ochoa enters the season holding the top ranking for the last 148 weeks.  Jiyai Shin, last season’s Louise Suggs Rookie of the Year winner, is ranked number two.  Suzann Pettersen starts the year ranked third with second-year player Anna Nordqvist behind her in fourth.  Cristie Kerr rounds out the top five.  Filling out the top 10 are Yani Tseng, Paula Creamer, Ai Miyazato, Angela Stanford and Michelle Wie.

This season is a transition year.  The LPGA had a rough 2009 as they lost a few mainstay tournaments and ousted Commissioner Carolyn Bivens.  The 2010 season brings optimism with new Commissioner Michael Whan and a new outlook.  The LPGA has its fans and the players show up week in and week out to deliver their best for those fans.  This year veterans like Ochoa, Kerr and Pettersen will be challenged by the next generation like Shin, Nordqvist and Wie.  Also, the 2010 season is one of redemption for players like Paula Creamer, who spent much of last season playing injured.

The match play format is an interesting one and should be played a few more times throughout the season.  It adds a twist to the normal stroke play in that everyone has a chance.  The first rounds are 18-hole matches with the player winning the most holes moving on to the next round.  The final match is 36 holes.

Ogilvy has won this event twice and is a tough match play competitor.  Stewart Cink is another player to watch this week.  Cink, the reigning British Open champion, has played well in this event with finishes  of second and third in the last two years.  Paul Casey lost in last year’s final to Ogilvy and should be a lock for the final brackets as the week rolls on.

Final Four Bracket Predictions

Jones Division – Ian Poulter defeating Ryo Ishikawa

Hogan Division – Robert Allenby defeating Sergio Garcia

Player Division – Geoff Ogilvy defeating Lee Westwood

Snead Division – Stewart Cink defeating Zach Johnson

Who to follow

Sergio Garcia is this week’s dark horse as the Spaniard is coming off an injury to his right hand suffered in November at the Dubai World Championship.  But, Garcia played last week at Pebble Beach, finishing 52nd after a final round 77.

This year’s Match Play Championship will feature 23 players under the age of 30, the most ever for this event.  Led by rising stars Rory McIlroy and Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa, the future of golf is here.  McIlroy played well in last year’s tournament, losing to Ogilvy in the quarterfinals.  Also, Italy’s Molinari brothers are in the field this week.  The pair teamed up to win the Omega Mission Hills World Cup and both play on the European Tour.  The Molinari’s are in the same bracket and could face each other if they win their first three matches.

It would be nice to see some of the young American stars to make a run this year and show some of the fight they show during the Ryder Cup and President Cup matches.  Anthony Kim and Hunter Mahan are the two that stand out.  Both were integral in the Ryder Cup victory two years ago and struggled last season.  The PGA TOUR would get a boost if both these players regained their prominence as rising stars.

Notable missing players this year are Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson.  Woods is still on indefinite leave from golf and Mickelson opted to stay home with his wife, following last year’s cancer diagnosis.

Johnson was trailing Paul Goydos with five holes to play.  Goydos, who shared the lead at the start of the round, took the top spot after a birdie on the 13th hole.  But, Goydos found trouble on the next hole, carding a 9 at the par-5, 14th, to fall out of contention.  Johnson, after a bogey on the 12th, made another bogey on the 17th hole to fall into a tie with Duval and Holmes.  Johnson’s second shot to the final green found a bunker and a nice out led to a 3-foot birdie for the win.

Duval put himself in position with a final round69, coming very close to his first win in nine years.  He made six birdies to three bogeys on Sunday.  Holmes continues his solid play with a final round 71, finishing with three birdies and two pars.   It is his second straight week near the top of the leaderboard, following a tie for third place at last week’s Northern Trust Open.

Steve Marino finished in fourth placea t 13-under par, three shots behind Johnson.  Goydos fell into a tie for fifth place with J. P. Hayes and Josh Teater.  Phil Mickelson logged his first top 10 finish of the season tying for eighth place with Tom Gillis at 11-under par.  Six players tied for 10th place at 10-under, including Tim Clark.  With Clark were D. J. Trahan, Matt Jones, Alex Cejka, Bryce Molder and Blake Adams.

Johnson, who played Spyglass Hill Golf Club in the third round, got off to a fast start with an eagle on the first hole.  He added birdies on the third, fourth, sixth and seventh holes.  After a bogey on the 10th hole, Johnson made another eagle on the 11th hole.  He made two more birdies on the day at the 14th and 17th holes but closed out the round with a bogey at the 18th hole.

Goydos was bogey-free in his third round at Pebble Beach.  He made an eagle on the second hole and carded six birdies, three on each side, to keep pace with Johnson.

All players will play the Pebble Beach course in the final round.

J. B. Holmes, Bryce Molder and Matt Jones are tied for third place at 14-under par, four shots behind Johnson and Goydos.  Alex Cejka is in sixth place with David Duval, J. P. Hayes and Steve Marino tied for seventh.  K. J. Choi, D. J. Trahan and Tom Pernice, Jr. are tied for 10th place at 11-under par.

The six leaders are one shot better than David Duval, who shot 68 in the second round for sole posession of seventh place.  Padraig Harrington is tied for eighth place with D. J. Trahan and Alex Prugh at eight-under par.

Moving Day

With 41 players within five shots of the lead, the third round – moving day – should be exciting.  It seems wide open for anyone to make a move.  From the back, Nick Watney and Jim Furyk have some work to do at five-under par.  Tim Clark may be the dark horse at six-under par.  The South African is still in search of his first PGA TOUR win and with a second round 68 could put himself in position tomorrow to make a run on Sunday.

Vijay Singh slid back 15 spots after a second round 71 but is still dangerous.  Phil Mickelson shot 67 in the second round to move up 31 spots into a tie for 11th place, three shots off the lead.  Tied with Mickelson are Steve Marino and Luke Donald, who both are players that can pull out a victory here.  And, it would be nice to see Harrington raise a trophy this week after a tough rebuilding year last season. The sentimental choice is Duval, as many would like to see the former champion back in the winner’s circle.

Who will break the tie?

Dustin Johnson seems very comfortable in his title defense and may be tough to beat.  J. B. Holmes is playing well in 2010 and may steal the trophy from Johnson.