2014 Bridgestone Invitational: Sergio Garcia Remains On Top After Rainy Saturday
Not even rain could stop Sergio Garcia.
The third round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational had a three hour 14 minute rain delay with Garcia still required to play three holes to finish.
While the delay ruined his rhythm, it did not ruin his scoring as he parred all three holes to lead Rory McIlroy by three shots heading into Sunday’s final round.
“It’s a course I like, but it’s not an easy course, you have to feel comfortable,” Garcia said. “If you hit good shots, the greens are not too big, so you always feel like you have possible birdie chances.”
While Garcia’s string of one putts ended at the start of his round, he kept his bogey free string to 37 holes before missing a four-foot par putt on the 14th hole and collecting his second bogey of the week.
Garcia would be the first Spaniard to win a World Golf Championship event and also the 19th 54-hole leader to win this season.
To accomplish this, he will need to best his friend Rory McIlroy. McIlroy cut his deficit by one shot shooting a 4-under par 66.
“Rory and I are good friends, and he knows what I went through,” said Garcia. “I know what he went through. I would say we’re both feeling quite good about ourselves at the moment. We both feel quite comfortable where we are and quite happy.”
A win for Garcia is far from a sure thing, especially with three of McIlroy’s seven PGA TOUR victories [2010 Wells Fargo Championship, 2012 Deutsche Bank Championship and 2012 BMW Championship] coming from behind.
Regardless, McIlroy knows this will be his best start following a major victory, with his previous two results being a tie for 25th and tie for 24th respectively. McIlroy also can move to No. 1 in the Official World Gold Ranking with a win and Adam Scott finishing out of the top-5. Currently, Scott is tied for fourth place.
McIlroy’s key to success has been off the tee.
“I’ve never driven the ball better, I’m excited,” McIlroy said. “I feel really comfortable with that part of my game and that is the foundation of my game.”
McIlroy, The Open Champion, had the best response to the lengthy rain delay with birdies on his final two holes.
Garcia a golfer that plays to the fans and the rain delay [the 17th of the season] wiped out almost the entire gallery making it a tough adjustment in more ways than one.
“I think this one wasn’t the best for me,” said Garcia. “I felt like I was really on the go, and it was quite a big break, and then I didn’t feel as smooth as I felt before.”
Both players recorded birdies on holes 2 and 6. Garcia also birdied holes 4 and 11 with a bogey on 14. McIlroy ended his front nine with a birdie on the ninth hole and after a bogey on 12 birdied the final two holes of the day, with the second birdie coming from the back of the green.
Marc Leishman is in solo third place at 9-under par. Leishman leads the tournament with 17 birdies, but three bogeys halted his round and place him five shots behind the lead. Leishman was the winner of the 2012 Travelers Championship and was six strokes behind heading into the final round of that tournament.
Keegan Bradley, Justin Rose and Adam Scott each round out the top five with all three at 8-under par. Scott and Hideki Matsuyama each shot 5-under par in the third round which shared low round of the day honors.
Of note: There were two bogey-free rounds which belonged to Kevin Na [66] and Zach Johnson [68]. Na is tied for 32nd at even-par and Johnson is tied for 24th at 2-under par… Players will start tee times at 8:05 a.m. in pairs. There are thunderstorms in the current Sunday forecast and the leaders are to tee off at 2:05 p.m.
Quote of the day: “The 19th” – Tiger Woods on the hole he is most pleased with so far. He was 2-over par on the round and 1-over par for the tournament
Photo of the day:
Aug 2, 2014; Akron, OH, USA; Bubba Watson reacts after missing a putt on the ninth hole during the third round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational golf tournament at Firestone Country Club – South Course. Mandatory Credit: Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports