Round 4: The Barclays

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Aug. 30, 2009
By PGATOUR.com Staff

WEATHER UPDATE (11:45 a.m.): A mysterious orb they call the sun appeared over Liberty National on Sunday morning. So after two days of steady rain and drizzle, this picture-perfect course by the Hudson River will finally get to shine.

The Statue of Liberty and dramatic Manhattan skyline won't be shrouded in gray anymore as the game's best players tackle the Tom Kite-Bob Cupp creation that has transformed a toxic waste dump into an extremely challenging test of golf. Adding to the difficulty, though, will be winds that may gust over 20 mph as the leaders tackle the back nine. -- Helen Ross

The first groups are ready to tee off in the final round of The Barclays. Here's how it sets up:

Groups We're Watching

Tee time	Players
1:45 p.m. ET, Hole No. 1		Paul Goydos, Steve Marino They have made it through the weekend, now can they withstand a day of desperation from the field?
1:35 p.m. ET, Hole No. 1		Fredrik Jacobson, Webb Simpson Simpson's 72 on Saturday took him out of the lead, but he is still within striking distance.
1:16 p.m. ET, Hole No. 1		Tiger Woods, Zach Johnson Woods has a sizeable lead in the FedExCup standings, but you know he wants to win every single tournament.

EXPERT PREVIEW: PGA TOUR on-site correspondent Brett Wright previews Sunday's round:

Saturday's forecast

Mostly Cloudy
Temp: 83 high/59 low
Mostly cloudy with a chance of afternoon showers. Winds from the south at 10 to 15 mph.

The greens at Liberty National have more break than anywhere else on TOUR. Tiger Woods even alluded to the amount of undulation when he said that so many of these putts are double breakers. This makes the normally automatic 3-to-4-footer a not-so certain thing. We have watched player after player miss makeable putts this week. Paul Goydos has been about as good as anyone putting this week. He is averaging 26 putts per round and making his share of the 4-to-10-foot putts. His irons are solid, and even though he is short off the tee, he is accurate with the driver. Look for Goydos to shoot at least 2 under and make the field climb to 11 under to challenge.

I also like young Steve Marino, whom Goydos told me he enjoyed playing with in Round 3. Marino is in the top five in making birdies on TOUR. He is not afraid of, or out of, his comfort zone when shooting very low scores like the 62 he had this year at Colonial in the Crown Plaza Invitational. Marino is still looking for his first TOUR win and has come close a few times. He has the confidence and the putter this week, and I feel Marino is the only player at the top of the leaderboard who could actually get off to a hot start and run away from the field � la Tiger Woods.

Another player looking for that first win is Fredrik Jacobson, perhaps the best putter day in, day out on TOUR. He must keep the ball in play with his driver. He is striking his irons great, so if he finds the fairways in the final round, Jacobson will be a factor.

The weather forecast for Sunday is mostly cloudy with little chance of rain and mild winds. This is what the golf world has been waiting for. We may finally see the best players in the world take off the gloves and take some real chances on these skatepark-like greens. They will be soft enough to attack with aggressive lines, and the players now have a better understanding of the way they play. Look for more low scoring like we had in Round 1 and tons of movement in the FedExCup standings.

And by the way -- the world's number one player, Tiger Woods, is only five strokes back of the leaders and only has six golfers to go through. Early Tiger roars may influence scores in the groups following Woods.

Stat of the day

This season, Marino has recorded four top-10 finishes, including a T2 at the Crowne Plaza Invitational after losing a sudden-death playoff to Steve Stricker and a T10 last week at the Wyndham Championship. Of Marino's 14 career top-10 finishes over the past three seasons, he's never had back-to-back top 10s.

The Film Room

	Round 3 Highlights: 2009 Barclays Paul Goydos and Steve Marino have earned spots in the final group by reaching 9 under during the third round of the 2009 Barclays. Watch it
	Shot of the Day: August 29, 2009 from Liberty National Tiger Woods drills his approach on the sixth hole during the third round of the 2009 Barclays. Watch it
	Goydos co-leader at 9 under after Round 3 Paul Goydos fired a 3-under 68 in the third round of the 2009 Barclays, which was good enough for a tie for the lead. Afterwards, he talked with Brett Wright from the PGA TOUR Network on SIRIUS XM Radio. Watch it