Fit of rage proves costly for Garcia
NOTEBOOK
NORTON — Statistically speaking, nobody had a better day on the greens in Friday’s opening round than Sergio Garcia. He led the 95 players in strokes gained putting, making up more than 4 shots with his flat stick.
Less than 48 hours later, that putter was rendered useless by the Spaniard.
After misreading a 35foot eagle attempt from the fringe at the 284-yard par-4 fourth, a frustrated Garcia slammed the head of his putter on a nearby sprinkler head. The force of the blow caused the club to be altered in a way that would have been in violation of Rule 4-2 that prohibits adjusting a club during the course of a round. If he had continued to use the club, Garcia would have been disqualified.
Needing to figure out a Plan B to navigate the greens, he went with a 3-wood and found immediate success, making a 14-footer for birdie that moved him to 1-under for the day and 3-under overall.
It didn’t take long, however, for him to pay for losing his cool.
He three-putted each of the final five holes on the front side with his driver and 3-wood for a par and four bogeys, including a tap-in that horseshoed around the rim and stayed out at No. 9.
After two good shots at No.10 left him looking at a 13-footer to get a shot back, he pulled out a 3-iron. That provided better results, but still short, resulting in a par.
He continued to use a 3-iron and driver the rest of the way, making a 12-foot birdie at No. 13 with the 3-iron and added another at 17 from 81⁄2 feet. His low point may have been at the last, however, as his third stroke hit a towering evergreen and dropped into the hazard, leading to a double bogey for a 4-over-par 75 and a tie for 53rd at 2-over.
He started the weekend 30th in the FedEx Cup standings, the final spot to make the Tour Championship, but is now projected to drop to 36th.
Afterward, he declined to speak to the media.
Back on track
It took Keegan Bradley two days to right the ship following Friday’s opening-round 76. He made four birdies and two bogeys yesterday for a 2-under 69 that has him heading into the final round at even par 213.
He started quickly with birdies at Nos. 10 and 11, before giving one back at No.12. Bradley settled for a 2-putt birdie at No.18 from 15 feet, and on the front had a bogey on No. 3 quickly wiped out by a birdie at the short fourth.
Bradley will start today’s final round at 10:20 a.m., playing with William McGirt.
Battle for Cup slot
In the race for the 10 automatic Presidents Cup slots on the United States team that will take on the Internationals later this month at Liberty National in New Jersey, No. 11 Kevin Chappell’s 2-under 69 has him at 3-under and in a share of 30th place. The current man on the bubble, Charley Hoffman, dropped back to 60th after a 73.
If that were to hold, it would be enough for Chappell to leapfrog Hoffman by 31 points. Hoffman entered the week with 4,349 points, a 23-point advantage.
Because this year’s events are doubled and FedEx Cup playoff events are treated like WGC events in the PGA’s eyes, the Dell Technologies Championship is worth 1,100 points.
Friendly confines
It should come as no surprise that attendance was hampered by the elements as the rain kept a lot of people away.
But for those who showed up at TPC Boston, they were able to get closer to the ropes as the decision to go in threesomes and off the first and 10th tees condensed the day and spread out the action around the course more than a typical moving day.
The players were certainly appreciative of those who ventured into the elements.
“I think it’s the best day to do it, so I’m glad they took advantage of that,” Rickie Fowler said. “I’d probably enjoy being on the couch sitting at home and watching a movie or something like that, but like I was tell my girlfriend Allison (Stokke), this morning, these are the days my mom loved the most because it was typically less people. You just bundle up, get warm and go cruise around.
“You don’t have to worry about too big of crowds, so as a spectator being out here, hopefully they enjoyed the day and got to see a lot of good golf.”
There figures to be less room to roam today as sunny skies and temperatures around 80 are in the forecast.