Garcia back on track, in the hunt at TOUR Championship

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ATLANTA -- The Sergio Garcia everyone expected to see at Valhalla last week surfaced Friday at THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola.

Europe's Mr. Ryder Cup was nothing if not on top of his game as he fired a 65 that pulled him within two strokes of his singles nemesis, Anthony Kim, at the midway point of the finale of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.

The turnaround has been decisive -- and quick. The normally fiery Garcia had inexplicably gone winless in four matches at Valhalla, capping off an extremely frustrating week by losing to an equally feisty Kim 5 and 4 on Sunday.

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Sergio Garcia will be playing with Anthony Kim on Saturday at East Lake.

Garcia through 36 holes

STATS Rnd1 Rnd2 TOT EAGLES -- -- 0 BIRDIES 5 6 11 PARS 9 11 20 BOGEYS 3 1 4 DOUBLE BOGEYS 1 -- 1 OTHER -- -- 0 DRIVING ACCURACY 64 64 64.3 DRIVING DISTANCE 301.5 284.0 292.8 PUTTS PER ROUND 27 28 27.5 PUTTS PER GIR 1.700 1.600 1.640 GREENS IN REG 56 83 69.4 SAND SAVES 100 100 100.0

Garcia struggled out of the gate on Thursday, too, making two bogeys and a double bogey in his first six holes at East Lake. He's 9 under, though, over his last 25 and suddenly finds himself playing with Kim in Saturday's final group at 11:25 a.m.

Garcia would later correct a reporter trying to be generous and call his start "slower than slow." The wake-up call came at the fifth hole in the first round when his tee shot disappeared into a bush and Garcia made the double.

"After that I managed to get it back and it got me going in the right direction," he said. "Got some good momentum on my side and started rolling the ball nicely. Made a couple putts here and there.

"I guess it's just the way the game is, so happy about shooting 5 under today."

Garcia was equally philosophical about the Ryder Cup.

He admittedly wasn't feeling completely well -- European Captain Nick Faldo made the bold move to bench him for Saturday's Foursomes, a format in which Garcia had never lost. Even at 0-2-2, the 28-year-old wasn't that disappointed with his performance.

"They were making a lot of putts when they had to make them, and unfortunately we weren't," Garcia said. "When you don't get anything going, playing in a Ryder Cup and playing match play, it's tougher, because you know that you need to win a hole here or there. If you have a chance and you don't make it and things like that, it kind of puts you under a lot of pressure.

"I felt like I hit a lot of good quality shots last week. I've been hitting some good shots here this week, too, and just rolling the putter a lot better."

The pairing with Kim is a dream come true for the fans in Atlanta who have a chance to see two of the best young players in the game do battle. Garcia, though, would not get caught up in any talk of a grudge match.

"It's the Saturday of THE TOUR Championship," he said. "It's a totally different event. Tomorrow is an important day to give yourself a chance on Sunday.

"You're not going to win the tournament tomorrow unless you shoot 52, so I think tomorrow is important to stay patient, like I've been these days, even if you get off to a rough start."

And Garcia has been playing extremely well this year. He won THE PLAYERS Championship earlier this year and he came within a waterlogged ball at the 16th hole of denying Padraig Harrington his second straight major at the PGA Championship.

Had Garcia beaten Vijay Singh in that playoff at The Barclays, he might have a chance to win the FedExCup this week rather than the big Fijian. Garcia tied for fifth at the Deutsche Bank Championship and tied for 20th at the BMW Championship.

The excitable Spaniard has finally learned the value of patience, and no where was it more evident that over the last two days when he refused to become unglued after the dismal start.

Garcia made his move on the front nine Friday when he made four birdies in a five-hole stretch on the way to a 30 on the front. His birdie putts came from 4, 28, 25 and 2 feet as he got up and down from the greenside bunker at the ninth hole.

"The pins were a little bit easier," said Garcia, who ranks fifth in fairways hit, third in greens in regulation and fourth in putts per round at East Lake. "There's no doubt that the officials saw yesterday how tough the course was, and taking away Anthony's round (of 64), with this little breeze, it gets quite tricky out there.

"If you miss the fairway you're pretty much done. Even from the fairway it's still tough, because the greens are so firm and so fast. But today if you played well you had a chance of getting on a roll like I did, and I'm just happy that I got it."

Not only is Garcia seeking his second win of the season and eighth of his PGA TOUR career, he has a shot at the Vardon Trophy and the Byron Nelson Award that goes to the player with the lowest adjusted scoring average.

Garcia trails Phil Mickelson by .01 of a stroke and he's .11 ahead of Kim and Vijay Singh. Mickelson currently stands third in THE TOUR Championship, one shot behind Garcia, Singh hurt his chances with rounds of 73-74 -- although he's wrapped up the FedExCup.

All four of the contenders have said THE TOUR Championship will be their final PGA TOUR event of the season, so the Vardon Trophy and Byron Nelson Award are on the line.

"The only thing I can do is keep playing well," Garcia said. "If I manage to win that, that's a bonus. It would be great. But that's not my goal at the moment. ...

"I just want to ... make sure I have a good, solid weekend, give myself a chance at winning THE TOUR Championship, which is a great event, and finish a good year in a very good manner.

"I'm looking forward to the challenge, and it should be fun."