New Orleans ? Chris Couch has been on a wild ride ever since he got to the Big Easy, and going from worst-to-first in a wind-swept third round Saturday at the Zurich Classic only was part of it.

One day after closing with two tough pars to make the cut on the number, Couch piled up birdies in gusty conditions and zoomed up the leaderboard with an 8-under 64, signing his card 30 minutes before 36-hole leader Joe Durant teed off. The wind only got stronger, birdies became harder to find, and the day ended with Couch in the lead by himself.

“I’m not sure I would have believed it,” Couch said.

He was at 12-under 204 and had a one-shot lead over Durant (73) and Charles Howell III, who also played early and shot 66.

Masters champion Phil Mickelson figured he would need a 64 to get into the mix, and all it took was a 68 marred only by a bogey from the bunker on the 17th. He was only three shots behind, along with six others.

Dean Wilson (66) and Cameron Beckman (67), both early starters, were at 10-under 206.

The PGA Tour did not have records of anyone who went from the cutline to the 54-hole lead.

Even more bizarre was how Couch’s week started.

He drove Sunday night to downtown New Orleans and had a few drinks, then got lost on a six-block walk to his car.

“I saw some girls, they looked normal, and I thought I could get a ride from them,” he said. “I jumped in the car with them. I really didn’t like the situation, and it kind of got weird.”

Couch asked to get out of the car, and they let him out in a section of town that didn’t look familiar, except that he knew he needed to get out of there. He said another car pulled up and a man jumped out of the car and yelled, “What are you doing in this neighborhood?”

“I was scared in the part of town I was in,” Couch said.

Couch took off his sandals and ran as fast as he could for 20 minutes, ducking into a tattoo parlor to call the police for help. Couch lost his cell phone during the ordeal, unsure if he left it in the car or it was taken from him. Contrary to rumors that were swirling around English Turn, he said he was not robbed of any money.