Woodland and Kuchar tied for lead at Barclays
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Gary Woodland and Matt Kuchar exchanged birdies and bad breaks and wound up tied for the lead at The Barclays.
Kuchar, who completed five holes of his second round Saturday morning for a 6-under 65 and a twoshot lead, was tied with Woodland on the reachable par- 4 16th when his putt ran into a sprinkler and stopped, costing him a reasonable chance at birdie. He wound up with a 70 in the third round.
Woodland had a oneshot lead until his tee shot on the 17th plugged in the far end of the fairway bunker, effectively costing him a full shot.
He blasted out sideways, made bogey and had to settle for a 68.
They were at 12-under 201, one shot ahead of Kevin Chappell, who broke the tournament course record with a bogey-free 62.
Chappell’s round was so strong that it was 10 shots better than the average score at Liberty National, where the wind was blowing about 10 mph.
“In the wind, if you would have told me someone was going to shoot 62 today, I would probably have laughed at you,” Chappell said.
Tiger Woods spent another round grabbing his lower back and bending over gingerly to put his ball on the tee and retrieve it from the cup. He was on the fringe of contention for much of the blustery afternoon until two solid shots on the par-5 13th for a birdie, driving the 16th green for a two-putt birdie and closing with a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th for a 69 that left him very much in the picture at 8-under 205.
“It starts off great every day, and then it progressively deteriorates as the day goes on,” Woods said of his lower back, which he hurt from what he said was a soft bed in his hotel room.
“Hopefully, tomorrow it will be one of those days again. Fight through it and see if I can win a tournament.”
David Lynn of England, who earned his PGA Tour card a year ago from his runner-up finish in the PGA Championship, also had a 69 and was tied with Woods, four behind.
The large group at 7-under 206 included 20-yearold Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson, Jim Furyk, Justin Rose and Rickie Fowler.
With a dozen players separated by five shots, pure, easy-flowing greens at Liberty National and limited rough, the first event of the FedEx Cup playoffs is still very much up for grabs.
Chappell’s round was evidence that even in windy conditions, low scores are available. For the former UCLA Bruin, it was really as simple as making putts, most of them in that 10-foot to 15foot range. There were a few par saves on the back nine, and six birdies on the front.
“I just really holed all the putts that you kind of expect to hole but you don’t always hole,” he said.
Kuchar and Woodland will be in the final group for the second straight day, and they certainly aren’t strangers. Their caddies knew each other from the LPGA Tour, and they became friendly enough that Kuchar picked Woodland to be his partner in the World Cup two years ago. The Americans won for the first time in over a decade.
Last week, they attended an Atlanta Braves-New York Mets baseball game.
OTHER TOURNAMENTS
Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, Scotland: Argentina’s Ricardo Gonzalez and England’s Tommy Fleetwood share the lead at 16-under after the third round.
The 352nd-ranked Gonzalez had four birdies and finished with a 2-under 70 on Saturday. Fleetwood started birdie- eagle but also bogeyed the last for a 67.
The 43-year-old Gonzalez has led from the outset on the 2014 Ryder Cup course. He’s seeking to end a four-year European Tour title drought. The 22-yearold Fleetwood is competing in just his second full season on the tour.
Canadian Women’s Open at Edmonton, Alberta: Solheim Cup star Caroline Hedwall shot a 6-under 64 to take a one-stroke lead over European teammate Suzann Pettersen and defending champion Lydia Ko.
Hedwall, winless on the LPGA Tour, was a record 5-0 last week in Colorado in Europe’s blowout victory over the United States. The Swede had a 10-under 200 total at Royal Mayfair.
Pettersen shot a 65, and the 16-year-old Ko had a 67. Last year in British Columbia, the New Zealand amateur became the youngest winner in LPGA Tour history at 15 years, 4 months.
Hedwall had seven birdies and a bogey in the third round after opening with consecutive 68s.
Boeing Classic at Snoqualmie, Wash.: John Riegger shot an 8-under 64 on Saturday to open a three-stroke lead after the second round of the Champions Tour event.
The 50-year-old Riegger, making his fifth career start on the 50-and-over tour, had an eagle for the second straight day and added seven birdies and a bogey to finish at 11 under at TPC Snoqualmie Ridge.
Tom Lehman, Bernhard Langer, Kirk Triplett and Bobby Clampett were tied for second.