MIND THE MUSTACHE
THE NEXT OLYMPICS aren’t for another four years, but a pair of Rio Games veterans will be battling each other at Bethpage Black Sunday afternoon.
Rickie Fowler and Patrick Reed, who both represented the United States in Rio earlier in the month, went hole for hole down the back nine in the third round of The Barclays before Fowler made his move with a birdie putt on No. 18. That gave him a one-stroke lead, and Reed followed with a par putt on No. 18. Fowler’s scorecard featured a 3-under for the day and 9-under through 54 holes. It was a bogey-free round, his second such loop of the tournament. He noted that the only bogey thus far — on No. 9 in the opening round — came on “a serious lipout.”
“So it was basically like going 54 holes, no bogeys,” he said. “Around this place, I’m happy about that.”
Tied with Reed for the lead most of the round, Fowler drained birdie after birdie as the greens dried out. He also finished two shots ahead of Australian Adam Scott, who went 6-under on the day and finished one shot off the course record-64.
Aware that Scott went so low so early, Fowler practiced patience and noted that his save on No. 17 was a shot that he considered from all angles.
“I hit a great putt and it tried to wiggle on me at the end,” he said. “Luckily it just broke back and caught the right lip.”
There was little wiggle room afforded Fowler. By the time he took the course, the scoreboard informed all onlookers that Scott had set the pace by holing a wedge shot on the first hole for an eagle. Scott continued on from there with confidence in his bag. After the turn, Scott made a par save on No. 11 and hit a bomb on 12.
“It’s what I needed,” Scott said. “It had kind of been a frustrating two days playing well and not being able to get anything going. And then you’re given that start and two good shots on the next and four feet and you’re flying.”
It was the front nine that frustrated Reed, who held the lead after 36 holes. Reed returned to the field quickly in Round 3, bogeying three of his first six holes after holding a one shot lead over Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo. He regained form, though, dropping a few birdies and finding pars along the back nine to tie Fowler, who was playing in the group ahead of Reed. Boisterous crowd members heckled both Fowler and Reed. For Fowler, the source of the gibes was his playoff mustache. At the No. 17 tee, Reed was rankled by the fans’ noise level keeping up even when he was over the ball. “They were being loud,” Reed said. “Loud and obnoxious.”
There will be more noise if it stays close Sunday. Fowler knows the international implications of a win in the first FedEx Cup playoff event. Not only would he earn the attached points to position himself for a championship, but it would also strengthen his chances of making the Ryder Cup team. He currently sits 12th in Ryder Cup points.
“A win tomorrow would go a long way,” Fowler said. “It would take care of a lot of things.”
Today’s final round