It was a difficult day out on the Torrey Pines South Course during round 3 of the Farmers Insurance Open in La Quinta yesterday, with only five players able to break 70 on moving day. The main recipient of all the gifts his rivals presented to him was Carlos Ortiz, whose 6-under-par 66, while so many of his major opponents were mired in quicksand, rocketed him into a first-place tie with Patrick Reed at 10 under par.

    Reed, himself, could have taken a daylight lead into today's finale, but he was only able to muster up a 2-under 70. The sub-70 shooters who profited most were Xander Schauffele and Henrik Norlander, whose 68's vaulted them both up 28 spots into a tie for 12th at 6 under. 

    Included in a tie for third at 8 under are another four who failed to take advantage of the higher scores: Viktor Hovland (73), and Lanto Griffin, Jon Rahm and Adam Scott, who all posted 72's. Rory McIlroy's 70 left him at 7 under, tied for eighth.   

    Ted Potter continued his resurgence after making his first cut Friday following seven misses, shooting an even-par 72 to remain at 4 under and among a group tied for 20th. With a big fat zero in the earnings column thus far in the wrap-around season, Ted has a chance to remedy that with a solid performance today; he goes off from No. 1 at 12:10 (EST) with Bo Hoag and Sungjae Im.

    If Ted stays right where he is (alone) his check would come to $99,375. But a jump to 10th, say, could net him $204,375 and make the earlier missed cuts a distant memory. Even a drop to 30th would be worth $51,375. (The above payoffs are based on a field of 65; they will vary - downward - somewhat tonight because the field totals 79).   

    Ted made 14 pars during his round, along with two birdies and two bogeys for nines of 36-36. A birdie on a putt of 16 feet, 11 inches on No. 16 got him to 4 under, and a pitch to within 10 inches of the hole on the 18th saved a par 5. When the chips were down, he played the final six holes in 1 under.  

         

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