Price's wrist recovers along with game

Nick Price's sore wrist got a jolt this week -- from a trainer. Whatever he did seemed to work. Price, a two-time winner of the PGA Championship, shot a 3-under 69 today and is only five shots behind the leaders.

"I wish it would hurt more often -- I'd drive the ball better," Price said. "It's getting better and better.

"I think on Tuesday when I went into the fitness trailer, the one fellow in there felt that one of the bones in the top of my wrist was out of place. And he gave it a little snap and it felt like it went back into place. And it's just gotten stronger and stronger as the week has progressed."

The right wrist, bothering Price since the British Open, is still a bit tender. But Price has no complaints, especially after the way he hit the ball off the tee today.

"I'm driving the ball well again, which has been absent from my game for the last 2 1/2 months, and I think that's the reason I'm playing well because I seem to be hitting a lot of fairways," Price said.

WHERE'D IT GO?: Mark Brooks, the 1996 PGA champ, made a hole-in-one today on the 206-yard 17th hole. Brooks used a 3-iron for his ace, the 29th hole-in-one since 1970 in the PGA Championship.

"I hit it a little fat, pushed it and the wind brought it back," Brooks said. "It didn't carry on the green, it hit the collar. I was actually surprised it carried."

Brooks's ace helped him shoot a 2-under 70 to move to 3-under 213 for the tournament.

"It was nice playing OK and then having some luck," he said.

TOUGH TO REPEAT: Defending champion Vijay Singh shot a 77 today and fell 16 shots back at 5-over, showing how difficult it has been to repeat in the PGA.

During the 1990s, the best finish by a PGA champion in the next year's tournament was a third-place tie by Steve Elkington in 1996.

ONE MOMENT IN TIME: John Daly's victory in 1991 after he made the tournament as an alternate has been selected as the top moment in PGA Championship history.

Daly's win at Crooked Stick in Carmel, Ind., was picked by 921 respondents from the general public, who cast their ballots on the PGA.com Web site. There were 3,140 public voters overall.

Daly's accomplishment also was chosen as the PGA Championship's top moment by an international panel of 41 writers and broadcasters.

The ninth alternate prior to the 1991 tournament, Daly received a call less than 24 hours before it began, telling him he had moved up to No. 1 alternate.

Daly then drove through the night to reach the course, where he learned he was replacing Nick Price, who had withdrawn to attend the birth of his son.

The long-hitting Daly didn't even have time to practice. And he didn't need it. He shot a 12-under 276 to win by three strokes.

OLD FELLAS: Today was not a good day for the veterans in the field. Hale Irwin, at 54, shot a 78. Jay Haas, 45, the leader after two rounds, had a 75, and 49-year-old Lanny Wadkins shot a 74.

Haas is still in contention at 6-under through three rounds, five shots behind Tiger Woods and Mike Weir.

NO BOGEYS: Sergio Garcia recorded his second bogey-free round. He has made only two bogeys the entire tournament, those coming during Friday's second round. That's why the 19-year-old is only two shots off the lead.

ADMITTED HACKER: Chicago Bulls coach Tim Floyd was a spectator for today's third round. He quickly pointed out that he's no golfer. Not a serious one, at least.

"I play about six times a year in charity events and it's brutal," Floyd said. "I watch it on TV. I don't play a lot and I've never watched an event, so I don't know if that qualifies me as a fan."

Floyd said the Bulls' surprising trade this week, one that sent Brent Barry to Seattle for Hersey Hawkins and James Cotton, was predicated greatly on salary cap considerations.

"That had a lot to do with it. It was more cap than anything to do with Brent," Floyd said. Barry had signed a six-year, $27 million deal with the Bulls last January.

AP