Third-round notebook – THE BARCLAYS
Steve Marino, currently No. 30 in FedExCup pointsSteve Marino birdied three of the final five holes on Saturday to shoot 3-under-par 68 to move to 9-under-par and a tie with Paul Goydos for the third-round lead at The Barclays. Marino leads the field with 76 putts thru three rounds.
This is the second time in Marino’s career that he has held or shared the 54-hole lead. He was also tied for the lead thru three rounds at the 2008 Children’s Miracle Network Classic at Walt Disney World Resort. He finished T3.
In his third year as a PGA Tour member, Marino is looking for his first win. In The Barclays’ 42-year history, eight players have made the event their first PGA Tour win.
Andy North
1979 Jack Renner
1989 Wayne Grady
1993 Vijay Singh
1998 J.P. Hayes
2000 Dennis Paulson
2002 Chris Smith
2003 Jonathan Kaye
At The Barclays, Marino missed the cut in 2007 and T69 in 2008.
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.
Marino could move into the coveted top five in FedExCup standings with a third-place or better finish this week.
Paul Goydos, currently No. 49 in FedExCup points
Paul Goydos, co-leader after Round 1, birdied holes 3, 4 and 5 to jump-start his third round and finished Saturday with a 3-under-par 68 to share the lead with Steve Marino at 9-under-par. Goydos has twice held a 54-hole lead in his career. The last time was earlier this year a the Travelers Championship where he finished T2. His other 54-hole lead was at the 2008 PLAYERS Championship where he lost in a playoff to Sergio Garcia.
Paul Goydos’ share of the lead at The Barclays is due in part to his play on the par-threes. Goydos leads the field outright in average score on the par-threes with a 2.67 through three rounds
Paul Goydos has never played in THE Tour Championship presented by Coca-Cola. A 28th-or-better finish this week would move Goydos into the top 30 in FedExCup points. A second-place or better would move him into the top five.
Goydos has two PGA Tour wins: 1996 Bay Hill Invitational and 2007 Sony Open in Hawaii.
Goydos is contesting The Barclays for the 13th time in his career, making six cuts with three top-20 finishes (T11/1996, T13/1993, T16/2000).
For the week, Goydos is averaging 1.545 putts per green in regulation, the second-best average of any player in the field this week.
Fredrik Jacobson, currently No. 107 in FedExCup points
Sweden’s Fredrik Jacobson also shot a 3-under-68 to move to 7-under par and is T3 with Webb Simpson. Jacobson has twice finished runner-up on the PGA Tour – 2008 AT&T National, 20007 Ginn sur Mer Classic at Tesoro.
2009 Season Notes – Entering The Barclays, Fredrik Jacobson needed to play well to continue in the PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedExCup. He has two top-10 finishes in 2009, both T5s at The Honda Classic and the Valero Texas Open.
The Barclays Notes – Making his seventh-career start at The Barclays with his best finish at T5 in 2006.
FedExCup Notes- Finished 104th in the 2007 FedExCup and 53rd last year. If Jacobson were to stay in the same position (T3) that he finished the third round, he would move to No. 21 in the FedExCup standings.
Webb Simpson, currently No. 85 in FedExCup points
Webb Simpson is two strokes back of the lead at 7-under-par and is T3. His previous best position after 54 holes in his PGA Tour career is T10 – 2009 Arnold Palmer Invitational (finished T11).
There has not been a rookie winner yet this year on the PGA Tour. Of course, there are still plenty of Tournaments left in 2009, but the last time no rookie won in an entire season was 1998. It has happened only five times since 1970 (1998, 1986, 1981, 1978, 1970).
Simpson is making his first-career start at The Barclays. In the 42-year history of the event, only two players have won in their first starts: Jack Renner (1979) and Vijay Singh (1993). For both of those players, it was also their first PGA Tour win. Singh was a rookie.
Best finishes by players in their first start at The Barclays (not including 1967):
1 Jack Renner 1979
1 Vijay Singh 1993
2 Ernie Els 1994
T2 Bob Murphy 1968
T2 Fuzzy Zoeller 1976
T2 David Gossett 2002
T2 Pat Perez 2002
T2 Padraig Harrington 2004
3 Dwight Nevil 1972
3 Kirk Triplett 1990
3 Sergio Garcia 2000
T3 Robert Damron 1997
4 Bruce Lietzke 1975
T4 Andy Bean 1977
T4 Scott Simpson 1979
T4 Kevin Streelman 2008
5 Pat Fitzsimmons 1975
T5 Bob Burns 1994
Steve Stricker, currently No. 2 in FedExCup points
Stricker continues to play well in the PGA Tour Playoffs. Stricker hit 14 of 14 fairways during round three to shot a 3-under-par 68 and is three strokes off the lead. Stricker leads the field by hitting 87.8 percent of the fairways (37 of 42).
Stricker ended a winless drought of nearly seven years and 146 PGA Tour starts when he won the The Barclays in 2007. Stricker enters the 2009 PGA Tour Playoffs No. 2 in the FedExCup points standings on the strength of victories earlier in the year at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial in May and the John Deere Classic in July. In addition to the two victories, Stricker has notched six other top 10s in 2009, highlighted by a second-place finish at the Northern Trust Open.
A top-10 finish this week would be Stricker’s fifth top 10 in a PGA Tour Playoff event.
Most top 10s in PGA Tour Playoffs
Player Starts 2007 2008 Top 10s Wins
Camilo Villegas 8 3 3 6 2
Sergio Garcia 8 2 3 5 0
Rory Sabbatini 4 4 0 4 0
Steve Stricker 8 3 1 4 1
Both of Stricker’s victories this year have come after trailing thru 54 holes. He trailed by two strokes at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial and by one stroke at the John Deer Classic.
Stricker’s eight top-10 finishes are T2 on the PGA Tour in 2009 (Tiger Woods – 11; Kevin Na – 8).
Stricker is one of three players who have played in all 32 rounds of the FedExCup before the start of The Barclays.
Player 07 Finish 08 Finish
Jim Furyk 11th 5th
Sergio Garcia 9th 3rd
Steve Stricker 2nd 14th
Stricker also leads the PGA Tour Playoffs for most rounds in the 60s
Player PGA Tour Playoffs Rounds in the 60s
Steve Stricker 24
Sergio Garcia 21
Tiger Woods, No. 1 in the FedExCup Standings
Tiger Woods shot a 4-under-par 67 to move from T17 at the start of the third round to T7 when the round ended. Woods was eight strokes behind leader Webb Simpson following the second round. Woods’ largest comeback after 36 holes in nine strokes. Below is a look at Woods’ largest 36-hole come from behind victories.
Tournament 36-hole status Finish Scores
1999 Buick Invitational 9 back Tryba 2 over Brown 62-65
2000 AT&T Pebble Beach 8 back Singh 2 over Gogel, Singh 68-64
2007 Buick Invitational 7 back Snedeker 2 over Howell 69-66
2008 Arnold Palmer Invitational 7 back Singh 1 over Bryant 66-66
2006 Buick Invitational 7 back Jobe Playoff over Olazabal, Green 67-72
1996 Las Vegas Invitational 7 back Fehr Playoff over Love 67-64
Tiger Woods has been paired with Zach Johnson during all three rounds this week. They each posted rounds of 70-72-67-209 and will be paired again together on Sunday.
Tiger Woods is five strokes behind entering the final round. Twenty of Woods’ 70 victories have been come after trailing thru 54 holes.
Tournament 54-hole status Finish Score
2009 Arnold Palmer Invitational 5 back O'Hair 1 over O'Hair 67
2000 AT&T Pebble Beach 5 back Brooks, Gogel by 2 over Gogel, Singh 64
2009 the Memorial Tournament 4 back M. Wilson, Bettencourt 1 over Furyk 65
1996 Las Vegas Invitational 4 back Black Playoff over Love 64
2006 Deutsche Bank Championship 3 back Singh 2 over Singh 63
2009 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational 3 back P. Harrington 4 over P. Harrington, Allenby 65
2005 Ford Championship at Doral 2 back Mickelson by 1 over Mickelson 66
2005 Buick Invitational 2 back Lehman, Donald by 3 over Lehman, Howell, Donald 68
2001 THE PLAYERS Championship 2 back Kelly by 1 over Singh 67
2001 WGC-NEC Invitational 2 back Furyk Playoff over Furyk 69
2005 WGC-American Express 2 back Daly Playoff over Daly 67
2007 Buick Invitational 2 back Buckle, Snedeker 2 over Howell 66
2007 BMW Championship 1 back Stricker, Baddeley 2 over Baddeley 63
2007 Wachovia Championship 1 back Sabbatini 2 over Stricker 69
2007 WGC- Bridgestone Invitational 1 back Sabbatini 8 over Rose, Sabbatini 65
1999 WGC-American Express 1 back Jimenez, Parry Playoff over Jimenez 68
2006 Buick Invitational 1 back Garcia, Pampling Playoff over Green, Olazabal 72
1996 Disney 1 back Clements, Fehr, J. Haas by 1 over Stewart 66
2006 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational 1 back Cink Playoff over Cink 68
2001 Memorial Tournament 1 back Azinger by 7 over Azinger, Garcia 66
Zach Johnson, currently No. 3 in FedExCup points
After shooting 1-over 37 on the front nine on Saturday, six-time PGA Tour winner Zach Johnson birdied holes 13-17 for a back-nine 30 to shoot 4-under-par for the day. Oh Johnson’s six career PGA Tour victories, three have come after trailing thru three rounds. His largest come-from-behind win was three strokes at the AT&T Classic.
2009 Season Notes – Comes to The Barclays No. 3 in the FedExCup with two victories at the Sony Open in
Hawaii and a second-consecutive triumph at the Valero Texas Open. Johnson has seven top 10s in 21 starts in
2009 and has posted sub-par scores in 44-of-72 rounds on the year. In addition to the two victories, Johnson
notched a T2 at the John Deere Classic in July.
The Barclays Notes – Making his fourth-career start at The Barclays with his best finish at T23 in 2004. Posted
three sub-par rounds in 2007 en route to a T25 and missed the cut in 2008.
FedExCup Notes- Spent a total of five weeks at the top of the FedExCup points list following his two victories.
Johnson ranked No. 1 for two weeks following his victory at the Sony Open in Hawaii in January and three more
weeks following his victory at the Valero Texas Open in May. Johnson has enjoyed a top-five position in the
FedExCup for 14 weeks during the season, with his lowest ranking at No. 8 following the Transitions
Championship in March.
Johnson has competed in five-of-eight PGA Tour Playoff events since their inception in 2007 (missed
final three of 2008) with his best finish at T2 at THE Tour Championship in 2007. He finished the 2007
campaign No. 7 in the final FedExCup standings and No. 131 in 2008.
Miscellaneous
Jim Furyk mistakenly started his round with an extra 60-degree wedge in his bag and had to take a two-stroke penalty on both the first and second holes, resulting in double bogeys. Furyk discovered the extra club on the second hole, but still managed to shot a 1-under-par 70 by the end of the day. The rule states that the maximum penalty is two strokes per hole with a four-stroke maximum penalty.
Scoring averages:
Front 9 Back 9 18
Rd 1 36.44 35.52 71.96
Rd 2 37.50 36.87 74.36
Rd 3 36.07 39.35 71.00
All 36.74 35.88 72.62
The hardest hole thru three rounds has been the 508-yard par 4 10th hole, playing to a 4.456 average.
Daniel Chopra had a hole-in-one on the par 3 4th. Chopra hit a 6-iron from 179 yards.
The 16th hole has played at our around 300 yards thru all three rounds depending on placement of the tees. Below is how the field has faired by attempting to drive the green or laying up:
Went for it Laid up Reached the green
Round 1 3.71 3.95 1/7
Round 2 3.56 4.06 4/48
Round 3 3.73 3.91 1/22
Cumulative 3.62 3.97 6/77
In addition to winning the FedExCup, players have other reasons to hope to reach THE Tour Championship presented by Coca-Cola. Another motivating factor is the Tournaments in 2010 that a player who makes THE Tour Championship field gains access to.
Players who make THE Tour Championship field gain entry to the following events in 2010:
1. Masters Tournament
2. U.S. Open
3. British Open
4. World Golf Championships-CA Championship
5. All Invitationals, except the SBS Championship.
6. All full-field, open Tournaments
Five players moved into The Playoffs for the FedExCup with top-25 performances at last week’s Wyndham Championship. Only two have a chance at advancing to the Deutsche Bank Championship next week:
Player Wyndham Finish Advanced Current FedExCup Rank The Barclays-54 holes
Kevin Stadler T2 57 spots 76 MC
David Mathis T17 8 spots 118 MC
Chris Riley T13 10 spots 119 T51
Todd Hamilton T24 7 spots 121 77
Jeff Maggert T13 13 spots 123 MC
As the first Tournament of the four-event PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedExCup, this week’s field will be cut to 100 players for next week’s Deutsche Bank Championship. Players starting the week between 101 and 125 needed to at least make the cut this week in order to advance. Thirteen of the 25 were eliminated from the PGA Tour Playoffs by missing the 36-hole cut at The Barclays.
Rank Player Standing
101 Michael Allen MC
102 Robert Garrigus MC
103 Aaron Baddeley MC
104 James Driscoll MC
105 Jeff Quinney MC
106 Tim Herron MC
107 Fredrik Jacobson T3
108 Richard S. Johnson T22
109 Bill Lunde T33
110 Alex Cejka T71
111 Mark Calcavecchia MC
112 Harrison Frazar T43
113 Chris DiMarco MC
114 Steve Flesch DQ
115 Vaughn Taylor T43
116 Adam Scott T62
117 Chris Stroud WD
118 David Mathis MC
119 Chris Riley T51
120 Joe Ogilvie T75
121 Todd Hamilton 77
122 Roland Thatcher MC
123 Jeff Maggert MC
124 Heath Slocum 6
125 Troy Matteson T17
Ten players played in each of the nine events in the history of the PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedExCup. Here’s a look at the 10, their 54-hole scores/standing, and previous FedExCup finishes:
Player 2007 FedExCup Finish 2008 FedExCup Finish
Robert Allenby (T22) 23 19
K.J. Choi (MC) 5 10
Stewart Cink (T27) 22 20
Tim Clark (T22) 21 16
Jim Furyk (T22) 11 4
Sergio Garcia (T37) 9 3
Hunter Mahan (T22) 15 18
Vijay Singh (MC) 10 1
Steve Stricker (5) 2 14
Camilo Villegas (WD) 24 2
After zero bogey-free rounds on Friday, Bo Van Pelt, Greg Owen, Jonathan Byrd, Brandt Snedeker and Steve Stricker shot bogey-free rounds on Saturday.
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