11 of the past 13 winners of the Wyndham Championship have held the lead after 54 holes.
Sergio Garcia finished the third round with a 66, to hold the lead at -14 entering Sunday He last held a 54-hole lead/co-lead in a tournament at the 2009 Wyndham Championship. He has only played the Wyndham Championship twice before, in 2005 (T13) and 2009 (4th). Garcia is playing in his 13th PGA Tour event of the 2012 season and looking for his fifth top-20 finish.
After missing the cut at last week’s PGA Championship, Garcia added the Wyndham Championship to his schedule and the move has paid off. The Spaniard, who co-led the Wyndham after 54 holes in 2009 before finishing fourth, is looking to play his way onto the 2012 European Ryder Cup squad and play for his fellow countryman and captain Jose Maria Olazabal. With a sub-par round Saturday, Garcia posted his ninth sub-70 score in 11 rounds at Forest Oaks Country Club and Sedgefield Country Club.
SERGIO GARCIA quotes …
“I would love to be three shots better but we’re in a good situation going into tomorrow. There are a lot of very good players behind me trying to achieve same thing I’m trying to.
Even par is not going to win it, you have to make some birdies out there — I’m not going to say a number cause somebody behind me could shoot a really low number.
I’ve managed to hit a good amount of fairways which is important and a good amount of greens. The ones I’ve missed I’ve managed to get up and down.
Winning is great, it means a lot no matter what. Obviously putting myself in this situation is already great, it doesn’t matter the tour that it’s on.
I feel fairly good, I obviously feel much better this week. There’s no doubt I’ve been doing some things right and that’s why I’m in the position I am in.”
Tim Clark is one shot back at -13 after a third round 67. He held the sole lead twice during the day, before a bogey on #12 dropped him behind Garcia. He parred his last five holes.
Bud Cauley (-13) birdied three of his last four holes to close with a third round 66. The second year pro’s best finish was a 3rd place finish at the 2011 Frys.com Open. He has finished either 4th or T4 twice this season.
Jason Dufner closes with three birdies on last four holes to shoot 63 and finish at -12 overall, T3. He tied his season low round, set during the second round of the Humana Challenge.
Former champion Carl Pettersson finished the day at -12 overall with a -2, 68. He is tied for third with Dufner and Harris English.
Davis Love III posted a second straight 66 to close at -11 overall, three shots back of the lead. The North Carolina grad finished T12 last year.
Second round leader Jimmy Walker shot a 71, to finish the day at -11 overall, T7.
Defending champion Webb Simpson finished the third round at -10 overall after shooting a 1-over 71 today. Simpson is trying to become the second player to win back-to-back Wyndham Championship titles. Sam Snead accomplished the feat twice, 1949-50 and 1955-56. He is also trying to become first player to win the Wyndham after winning U.S. Open since Scott Simpson in 1987. The last player to win a major and Wyndham in the same year was Sandy Lyle in 1988 with Masters and Wyndham titles.
Justin Leonard moved into contention with a -6, 64 today to move to -10 for the tournament. He played the Wyndham in 1995, 2000 then not again until 2010. In the past three years here, his scoring average is 66.5 with all 11 rounds under 70. His scoring average for 1995 and 2000 was 70.63 in eight rounds with only two rounds under 70.
Will Claxton birdied four of the last six holes to end day with 65 and overall at -10.
Jeff Overton recorded a hole-in-one on the 196-yard #12 with a 6-iron. It was the 21st hole-in-one in tournament history and fourth year in a row with one in tournament play.
Wake Forest grad Kyle Reifers fired a third round 66 this morning. He had five birdies, three bogeys, and an eagle on #18 to conclude the day. He is -5 for the tournament.
Paul Casey didn’t settle for par for the course. On his front nine, he had five birdies, a bogey, double bogey, triple bogey and quadruple bogey. He posted five pars on the back nine, but never on back-to-back holes. He is +7 for the round, and +5 for the tournament.
Former No. 1 amateur in the world and 2011 U.S. Amateur runner-up Patrick Cantlay is looking for his best finish as a professional at the Wyndham Championship. With his third round of 4-under 66 Saturday, Cantlay matched his low round as a pro and registered back-to-back rounds in the 60’s for the first time as a pro. In nine events on the PGA Tour in 2012, Cantlay has made the cut seven times, including a current streak of five in a row. In fact, in six events as a pro, he has made the cut five times, missing only at the Traveler’s Championship in his professional debut on Friday, June 22.
Sedgefield Country Club, a classic Donald Ross design and the only Ross-designed course in the PGA TOUR’s regular season, boasts a long and storied history … Three of the first four winners of the Wyndham Championship (known then as the Greater Greensboro Open) were Sam Snead (1938), Ben Hogan (1940) and Byron Nelson (1941) … Snead went on to win the tournament eight times, the most wins by any player in the same event in PGA Tour history … Hogan (nine), Snead (seven) and Nelson (five) combined to win 21 majors.
