● Bill Haas, who was born in Charlotte and graduated from Wake Forest, says that one of the best things about playing the Wells Fargo Championship is the crowd support.
Haas, who is tied for seventh at 5 under, lives in Greenville, S.C., and this stop on the PGA Tour is one of his favorites.
"It's unbelievable," Haas said. "A lot of people are just yelling to yell, but you can tell there's a lot of them yelling like, ‘Greenville or Wake Forest' and a lot of, ‘Go Deacs,' and that's great to hear. I try to acknowledge all of them but I'm trying to stay focused, too."
The crowd really got going on 18, when Haas chipped in for birdie and a 2 under 70.
For most of the tournament Haas has led the field in greens in regulation, but his putting has let him down.
"I just really felt nice over the ball and I drove it nice," Haas said. "I just wasn't making any putts. It was a day where you could move up and it doesn't look like anybody is going crazy low. I'm happy being at 5 under."
Haas said he hasn't had a good front side this tournament and hopes in today's final round he can get off to a good start.
"I just want to keep hitting the greens to give myself chances," Haas said. "I'm hoping (today) the putts fall and I get some good breaks … If I can shoot 2 or 3 under on the front side then maybe I can go real low."
● Davis Love III is in contention, thanks to slowing down his swing.
Love, who has made three of eight cuts coming into this tournament, said he watched Fred Couples earlier this week and it has helped him. Love, who was born in Charlotte and attended North Carolina, has always loved playing in this tournament.
Davis moved up the leaderboard thanks to his 4 under 68.
"My rhythm has really been good this week," said Love, whose last victory was the 2008 Children's Miracle Network Classic, which is a Fall Series tournament.
Love birdied the difficult No. 17, but said it wasn't on purpose.
"Trust me, I was just trying to get on the green," Love said.
● Bo Van Pelt, the leader after the first round with a 65, had a 1 under 71 and is at 4 under for the tournament.
"I didn't play that bad (Friday) but I just had a couple of stupid holes," Van Pelt said. "I kind of did the same thing today and had it going pretty good. I had plenty of good holes, but just didn't avoid the mistakes. I keep kind of shooting myself in the foot."
Van Pelt said that being so far back it will be hard to attack and make birdies today.
"You have to pick your spots," Van Pelt said. "You can't force it on every hole."
● One of the crowd favorites since Tiger Woods failed to make the cut is Anthony Kim, who is at 5 under and in contention to win his second Wells Fargo Championship. Kim, the 2008 champion, said he loves playing in North Carolina.
"I might buy a house here in North Carolina," Kim said.
One player who can definitely make a charge today is Kim, who has been known to make birdies in bunches.
"I'm trying to stay in the moment," he said. "I'm also trying to stay out of trouble and that's hard to do out here."
● Making an early jump up the leaderboard was Rory McIlroy, who started yesterday tied for 48th. He shot 66, the best round of the day, to move all the way up to a tie for seventh and is at 5 under.
McIlroy has been touted as the next golf star, and a win here would certainly give him a boost of confidence.
"I played really, really well," McIlroy said. "I feel as though I've been hitting it well for the last couple weeks. I'm just not really getting much out of my game. But today I knocked a few putts in and gave myself plenty of chances."