Wyndham Championship, Round 3, Sergio Garcia Leads

                                                                                                                       

Sergio Garcia/Gerry Broome / Associated Press

After three rounds of the Wyndham Championship Sergio Garcia is in control of his Ryder Cup destiny. Sergio had a third round of       -4 under par 66 on the par 70 Sedgefield Country Club lay-out, to lead by one shot from Tim Clark and Bud Cauley, who are on -13 under par. The FedEx Playoffs are just one week away, and Sergio Garcia is rounding into form at the right time. The going will  not be easy, apart from Bud Cauley and Tim Clark by one,  Jason Dufner, Harris English and Carl Pettersson are lurking with serious intent. Sergio is acutely aware of the competition looming behind him for the final round;

” Obviously I would love to be two, three shots better but, you know, we’re in a good situation, it’s going to be a tough day. There’s no doubt about it. A lot of very good players behind me trying to achieve the same thing I’m trying to achieve. So, you know, hopefully I’ll go out there tomorrow, play well again and give ourselves a good shot at winning and see if we can finish in the same position that I was today. Eighteen pars are not going to win it, you have to make some birdies out there. I don’t have a number, I’m not going to say I need to shoot 4 under, 5 under, or whatever. Someone might go out and shoot 9 under, and 5 under’s not good enough.”

Jason Dufner had the best round of the day, a -7 under par 63, and playing like that he could easily be in contention coming down the stretch on Sunday afternoon. Jason trails Sergio by two shots and is trying to win for the third time during this breakout season. Amazingly he would replace Tiger Woods as No. 1 in the FedEx Cup standings if he did, now that would be a talking point.

There are sixteen players within four shots of the lead, so in reality tomorrow is going to be a shoot-out, and may the best man win.

The American Ryder Cup Captain Davis Love 111 is still in contention in this tournament, and a win for him here would be a momentous occasion. And don’t forget Carl Pettersson, the Sedgefield Country Club member, he knows this course well, and that factor could give him the edge. Of course Carl will not be playing for Ryder Cup selection, as he does not qualify to play for either the U.S. or the European Team. I think some rule changes need to be made here, but you know how long it takes the authorities to come to any conclusions on rule changes, long putters have been around for twenty years.

Here is how the top of the leaderboard currently looks.

1. Sergio Garcia -14                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                T2. Bud Cauley -13                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           T2. Tim Clark -13                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            T4. Jason Dufner -12                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    T4. Harris English -12                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  T4. Carl Pettersson -12                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       T7. Davis Love III -11                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       T7. Matt Every -11                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              T7. Jimmy Walker 11

Wyndham Championship, round 2, Jimmy Walker in Front.

  

Jimmy Walker/getty images

Jimmy Walker is in front after the second round of the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club, Greensboro, North Carolina. Jimmy had a super smooth -8 under par, 62, for a tournament total of -12 under par. He now  leads the Championship by just one shot from Webb Simpson.

Jimmy  is playing well despite having suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee while making what he called a “funny step” at the HP Byron Nelson Championship in late May. He elected to have a cortisone injection the week of the U.S. Open, which took away the swelling and pain. Jimmy spoke about the discomfort he was feeling;

” For a while there I was out of my routine because I couldn’t bend down, I couldn’t read putts the way I wanted to. I couldn’t line my ball up the way I wanted to.”

He has  said he’ll probably undergo surgery in the offseason to fix the same problem he had on his right knee a couple of years ago.

Webb Simpson had a nice round of -7 under par 63, and a total of -11 under par and is alone in second spot, he is thinking about the FedEx Playoffs and also his first Ryder Cup;

“Obviously right now I’m thinking about the FedExCup Playoffs but I talked to Davis a little bit more today about the team and just kind of what to expect and how I can prepare for my first Ryder Cup and, so, I’m definitely thinking about it but, you know, I’m just trying to play good tomorrow and work for The Playoffs.”

There are four players tied in third place at -10 under par, they are, Carl Pettersson, Sergio Garcia, Harris English and Tim Clark.

Carl struggled today and admitted so;

“I’m going to drive back tonight home and get some rest and see if I can find my swing on the way back. I struggled early on didn’t have much today but I thought it was a good comeback shooting 4 under from nine onwards and 2-under par was okay today with the game that I had and hopefully I can hit the ball better on the weekend and have a chance. Overall, it was pretty good, there was some uncertainty for sure but, overall, I hit the driver pretty good, I’ll keep it in the bag for the weekend. I got to keep playing aggressive, put the ball in play and then try to make some birdies and have a low weekend, it’s nice to be up there with a chance to win.”