FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – After a couple of bogeys and an errant driver left him on shaky ground, Nick Watney re-established his three-shot lead with a birdie at the par-3 14th hole.

Watney had birdied the 11th and 12th holes and failed to birdie the par-5 13th. He went into the 14th with a two-shot lead over playing partner Sergio Garcia and Brandt Snedeker, who’s playing in the penultimate group.

But Watney struck his tee shot to within 11 feet to set up his fourth birdie of the day. Watney is 2 under on his round and 10 under for the tournament.

Garcia and Snedeker are at 7 under.

The next closest competitors still on the course are five shots off the lead.

Watney has hit just four of his first 11 fairways in the final round. In the opening round, he hit every fairway.

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Jonas Blixt and David Hearn are finished with their final rounds and project to move inside the top 100 for next week’s Deutsche Bank Championship.

Blixt, a PGA TOUR rookie, shot a final-round 73 and finished at 2 over. He’s projected to move from 101th to 97th – too close to the top 100 for him to feel comfortable until the standings become official.

“I'm trying not to look,” Blixt said when asked whether he would look at the projections. “But someone said I should be locked in by now. But yeah, you never know.”

As for Hearn, his place is more secure. He finished with even-par 71 and is 3 under for the tournament, putting him inside the top 20 on the leaderboard. He’s projected to move from 103rd to 65th and join fellow Canadian Graham DeLaet as one of the bubble jumpers into next week.

“I’m looking forward to the opportunity next week,” Hearn said. “It was a fun day.”

Bob Estes, Jason Day and Tommy Gainey also project to move from outside to inside the top 100 after today.

By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Rory McIlroy, ranked third in FedExCup points coming into this week, never made his presence felt on on The Barclays leaderboard. The reason for that, McIlroy said, was his putter.

The world No. 1, who won the PGA Championship two weeks ago, was solid from tee to green, but never needed less than 30 putts in any round. After shooting a final-round 1-over 72 on Sunday to finish at 1 under for the tournament, McIlroy had mixed feelings about his performance this week.

McIlroy

“But I felt like I played well enough to be in contention, anyway, and you know, the putter just wasn't working throughout the week. So I think that was the biggest disappointment of the week.”

McIlroy isn’t projected to drop out of the top five in the rankings going into next week’s Deutsche Bank Championship. He plans to spend the next few days in Manhattan before playing his pro-am round at TPC Boston on Thursday. The tournament begins on Friday, with a Monday Labor Day finish.

“It's a really good golf course; I like it. It's a big golf course,” McIlroy said of TPC Boston. “You've got to hit it well. So it should be good.

“Even though it's not the finish I would have wanted this week, still in a great position going into the next few weeks.”

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Nick Watney now leads playing partner Sergio Garcia by three shots with eight holes to play in the final round of The Barclays

For the second time in three holes, the final pairing had a two-shot swing. Watney birdied the par-4 10th after a brilliant approach to within five feet, while Garcia three-putted for bogey.

There was also a two-shot swing at the eighth hole, with a Watney birdie and Garcia bogey.

Watney has birdied three of his last four holes and is now at 11 under. Garcia is at 8 under, 2 over for the day.

PGA TOUR Radio’s John Maginnes just said Watney is “eight pars away from winning this golf tournament.”

Brandt Snedeker is the next closest pursuer at 7 under.

Defending champion Dustin Johnson bogeyed his final hole to finish with a 3-under 68 and drop to 6 under, tied for fourth with Tim Clark, who has five holes to play in his round.

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – If PGA TOUR rookie Harris English advances to the BMW Championship in two weeks, he might very well look back on his eagle on the 15th hole in Sunday’s final round of The Barclays as the decisive shot.

English was 2 under for the tournament going into the 15th hole. But with the eagle, he’s now at 4 under and inside the top 10 on the bunched-up Barclays leaderboard.

English entered the week ranked 87th in FedExCup points but is now projected to 52nd after the eagle. He’s safely in next week’s 100-man Deutsche Bank Championship and now projects to be inside the top 70 for the BMW Championship.

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – A two-shot swing at the par-3 eighth hole has allowed Nick Watney to move ahead of playing partner Sergio Garcia and take over the lead in the final round of The Barclays.

Watney rolled in a birdie putt of 28 feet, 8 inches at the eighth, while Garcia – who began the day with a two-shot lead – bogeyed when he found the greenside bunker with his tee shot.

Watney is at 10 under while Garcia is 9 under. They are two shots clear of their closest competitors, defending Barclays champion Dustin Johnson and Brandt Snedeker. Johnson is 4 under on his round with two holes to play.

Tiger Woods has dropped out of contention. He double bogeyed the 12th, then followed with bogeys at the 13th and 14th holes and is now 4 over on his round and even par for the tournament.

Garcia entered the final round with a two shot lead but bogeyed the first hole. When Watney birdied the second, the two were tied for the lead at 9 under.

But Watney bogeyed the fifth hole to drop off the pace, and now Garcia has re-built his two-shot advantage.

Brandt Snedeker is in solo third at 7 under and 1 under for his round.

Lee Westwood and Tim Clark are both having good days and have moved into a tie for fourth. Westwood is a bogey-free 2 under on his round through 10 holes; Clark just made the turn at 2 under. Both are 6 under for the tournament.

Defending Barclays champ Dustin Johnson also is 6 under for the tournament, 3 under for his round with four holes to play.

Tiger Woods had a rollercoaster first seven holes, with three birdies and three bogeys. He has now double bogeyed the 12th hole after missing the green, then three-putting from 34 feet.

Phil Mickelson is even par through eight holes.

By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – It was a week that started out promising. Then turned nightmarish. Then ended on a positive note.

Now it becomes a waiting game for Padraig Harrington.

European Ryder Cup Captain Jose Maria Olazabal will announce his two captain’s picks on Monday at 7 a.m. ET. Harrington, who has played in the last six Ryder Cups, did not automatically qualify for the European team, so he will have to rely on a pick in order to play in next month’s Ryder Cup at Medinah.

Harrington

“It’s hard to talk about it at this moment,” Harrington said. “Obviously there will be a lot more clarity tomorrow.”

Harrington was the first-round leader after shooting a 7-under 64. Afterward, Olazabal, competing at this week’s European Tour event, said Harrington would need to win The Barclays to enhance his chances of being a pick.

But Harrington struggled in the middle two rounds, shooting a pair of 4-over 75s. Having shot 29 on the back nine of the Bethpage State Park Black Course on Thursday, Harrington shot 40 and 39 in the next two rounds.

On Sunday, he was a bogey-free 1 under on the back nine en route to his 68. Starting the week 62nd in FedExCup points, Harrington was projected to 49th.

“I’m very happy with where I am with my game,” Harrington said.

He also said he’s comfortable with his relationship with Olazabal, despite any past differences they may have.

“I have a better relationship than you think with him,” Harrington said. “Even if I had no relationship, he still wants to pick the 12 best guys.”