ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Billy Andrade knows how to take advantage of his opportunities. When he got one to get into the PGA Championship, he wasted no time getting in contention.
Andrade shot a 3-under 67 Thursday, making the unlikely jump in just a few days from a no-hope alternate to third on the leaderboard.
"When you're the seventh alternate, you don't think that you have a shot," Andrade said. "So I'm here for a reason, and I'm going to try to seize this opportunity and seize this moment."
Andrade was just a shot back of leaders Phil Mickelson and Rod Pampling after a round that was not as surprising to him as the phone call he got Monday asking him if he wanted to play.
Andrade had assumed he would not be playing. But the final two players in front of him on the waiting list, Larry Nelson and Hidemichi Tanaka, withdrew.
Andrade was on his way from a round of golf when he checked his messages Monday and found two of interest.
The first carried news that Nelson pulled because of a bad hip. The second was that Tanaka had declined the invitation to play.
"They asked me if I wanted the spot," Andrade said, smiling. "I had to call back and accept, which I did immediately."
Teeing off with one of the final groups of the afternoon, Andrade made two early birdies and then had three more on the back nine, including an 8-footer on No. 18 that gave him sole possession of third place.
Andrade, who has won four times on the PGA Tour, had been having a tough season up until Thursday.
He entered this week ranked 135th on the PGA Tour money list, and had missed eight cuts in 20 tournaments.
"I haven't played that well yet. I think it's because I'm getting in my own way," Andrade said. "If I can get away from that and just kind of think about one shot at a time, I'm pretty good. And today was a good example of that."
Andrade then paid tribute to Nelson and Tanaka for allowing him to get this opportunity.
"I don't know if I believe in fate," Andrade said. "But a lot of circumstances happened for me to get in. So, you know what, if I'm here, let's try to make the best of it."
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