Thompson tearing it up early in the final round at Pebble

Under ideal conditions once again on the Monterey Peninsula, today's final round of the ATT at Pebble Beach is shaping up early to be quite a battle. Dudley Hart and VJ Singh each started the day at 9 under par, but with birdies on 5 of his first 8 holes Nicholas Thompson pulled even with the leading pair. Thompson has just bogied #9 a Pebble to fall one off the pace, but certainly put himself in the hunt. Hart and Singh each carded pars on their first two holes and are currently ont he 3rd fairway. An 11 on #14 yesterday doomed defending champ Phil Mickelson, so aside from Jim Furyk who is still 5 off the pace, VJ Singh is just about the only common PGA name player with a chance to win, and now, with a birdie on 3, the tall man from Fiji, who won this tournament in 2005 is all alone on top at 10 under par.