Reno-Tahoe Open: Josh Teater's 14-point day moves him into 20th

RENO - Saturday is considered moving day on the PGA Tour, and Josh Teater bolted up the leaderboard at the Reno-Tahoe Open.

Teater, who was only three points off the lead after the first round on Thursday, slumped to a minus-3 which put him in a tie for 55th with 8 points at the midway point.

The 33-year-old Teater, who is fighting to earn a spot in the FedEx playoffs, enjoyed a seven-birdie effort which earned him 14 points and moved him up to 22 points through 54 holes and a tie for 20th place.

"It was a lot more calm today," said Teater, who hit nine of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens en route to what would have been a 65 in stroke play. "The wind was tough (Friday), and I made a couple of bad decisions and I was unable to get up and down to save par.

"Today I made some good decisions, was able to get the ball in close a few times and made some putts."

Teater opened with three straight pars before racking birdies on Nos. 4 and 5.

On No. 4, he hit his approach shot to 10 feet and made the putt. On the par-5 4th, he landed his 180-yard approach shot inside 8 feet and made the putt.

Teater racked up six straight pars before collecting birdies on Nos. 12, 13, 14 and 15. His birdie putts were 8, 2 (2-putt par on the par-5 13th), 3, and 10-feet, respectively.

EAGLE TIME

There were five eagles during Saturday's third round, two coming on the par-4 4th.

Brandon Brown almost drove the green, landing in the bunker. He blasted out from 19 yards away and watched the shot roll into the cup.

Gary Christian got his eagle the more conventional way, making a fairway shot from 106 yards out.

They were the first two eagles of the tournament on that hole.

Miguel Angel Carballo eagled No. 13, while former champ John Rollins recorded an eagle on No. 2. J.J. Killeen eagled No. 9.

Carballo hit a 211-yard approach shot to 15 feet and drained the putt. Killeen holed out from 103 yards on No. 9; and Rollins reached the par-5 second in two and then drained a 16-footer.

SMITH UPDATE

Fallon's Scott Smith had his first negative round of the tournament, chalking up a minus-1 to fall to plus-8 through 54 holes.

Smith had birdies on Nos. 2, 8 and 18, all of which are par-5s. However, he carded seven bogeys. He needed 32 putts, which included three 3-putts on Nos. 1, 13 and 15, two of which led bogeys.

"It was frustrating," he said. "I missed some short putts and hit a few squirrelly tee shots and couldn't come back from it. I made a nice putt on the last one (No. 18)."

Smith had birdie opportunities on Nos. 9, 10, 11 and 12 but did not convert.

TOUGHEST, EASIEST HOLES

The two toughest holes for the third round were on the front side - the 183-yard par-3 and the 491-yard par 4. The seventh played to 3.243, while No. 5 played to a 4.193.

The easiest hole was the 518-yard par-5 13th which played to a 4.586 average. The second-easiest was No. 2, the 584-yard par-5. It played to a 4.729.

The field played to a 70.586 average.