In toughest conditions of day, Garcia makes move
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents
PARAMUS, N.J. -- Much has been written this year about the maturation of Sergio Garcia, and the talented young Spaniard continues to lend validity to those words this week at The Barclays.
Just two weeks removed from a major disappointment at the PGA Championship, where he matched the winner, Padraig Harrington, shot-for-shot on Sunday until finding the water on the 16th hole at Oakland Hills, Garcia is contending again in the first event of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.
The 28-year-old fired a 69 at Ridgewood Country Club on Saturday to move to 7 under and within a stroke of the lead held by the surprising rookie, Kevin Streelman. Garcia is tied with Vijay Singh, Mike Weir and his potential Ryder Cup teammate, Paul Casey, and he is one of just four players to break par in each of the first three rounds.
"We're looking forward to giving it a run and hopefully be one of the guys that will have a chance going into the back nine," Garcia said. "So we'll see how it plays, but it should be a very exciting finish to the first Playoffs tournament."
Garcia set the tone for the afternoon when he hit a lob wedge to 18 inches on the first hole. He rolled in an 18-footer at the second hole for another birdie, then added a 4-footer at the fifth, the driveable par 4, to move to 8 under for the tournament.
The round became more adventurous as the day wore on and the warm sun continued to stiffen the small greens on this A.W. Tillinghast masterpiece. He made four bogeys in an eight-hole stretch that began at No. 7, but Garcia refused to buckle and answered with three birdies over the same segment.
The first of those birdies came courtesy of a 9-iron from the left fairway bunker that settled 4 feet from the pin at the ninth hole and put an end to a bogey-bogey run. Then he hit a 4-iron into the wind from 238 yards at the par-3 10th and snuck the 18-footer into the hole.
"I was happy to kind of steal one from the rest of the field there," Garcia said.
Thirteen of the first 30 players off the tee on Saturday shot in the 60s, which surprised Garcia as he was warming up for his date with Kenny Perry. Given their success, he thought the greens might have been softer, but he soon learned otherwise.
"They were for the first two or three holes, but then all of a sudden, they changed dramatically with the heat and everything," Garcia said. "They got extremely firm, and it became quite difficult to be able to hit the ball somehow close to the hole and in some holes, even to hit the green.
"Overall, I think it's still a pretty good, solid round. It wasn't easy. It wasn't playing easy at all. So we have a good chance tomorrow, so looking forward to that."
Garcia picked up his seventh PGA TOUR title ealier this year when he beat Paul Goydos in a playoff at THE PLAYERS Championship, which features the deepest field in golf. He's had two top-10s since, including that tie for second at the PGA Championship, which was Garcia's 14th in 41 major appearances.
Garcia is also a former champion at The Barclays, although it was played at a different course, at a different time of year, and had a different name. It wasn't part of the Playoffs then, either. While history is nice, Garcia knows he must stay in the present to have a chance to add a second TOUR win this season.
"It's always nice to win," Garcia said. "That's what we work for. It always gives you a little bit of confidence. But ... you've just got to go out there and believe in yourself, believe in your ability to play the game, and hopefully play well enough to win. If not, at least have a chance at it and keep learning from it."
Garcia entered The Barclays seeded 12th in the FedExCup. Unlike some, he doesn't feel a victory in one of the four Playoff events is the only way to win the $10 million bonus now that the points have been changed to increase volatility. Four consistently high finishes might be enough, in his opionion.
"If there's different winners, if you manage to finish top five, top three, something like that, I think you can have a chance," Garcia said. "I'd love to obviously win a couple and make it a little bit easier on myself. But if not, the good thing I know is that there's still three weeks to go and you know, just got to keep giving yourself chances."
Garcia is clearly a fan of the Playoffs, too. He likes the excitment it brings to the end of the PGA TOUR's regular season, as well as the closure to his U.S. campaign. He'll spend some time overseas after the Ryder Cup to support the European Tour.
"Obviously it means a lot, or I would not be here," Garcia said. "It's a nice way to finish the year here in the U.S. I think it's exciting, not only for us, but for the fans. ... It's nice to see them get excited about something else before we get to THE TOUR Championship."
Shop your favorite brand name golf equipment and accessories at SHOP.PGATOUR.COM
PLAY NOW
PGATOUR.com is part of the Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network