Padraig Harrington started the day tied for third but tied leader Jim Furyk by day’s end. Furyk led the pack after both the first and second rounds. Harrington held the clubhouse lead until Furyk birdied the par-5 18th getting up and down out of a green-side bunker. A win tomorrow for Harrington would be his second of the season. He grabbed his first win on the PGA Tour at the Honda Classic in March, and is no stranger to the Barclays Classic as he lost in a playoff last year to Sergio Garcia.
Furyk is seeking his first win on Tour since 2003, the year he won both the U.S. Open and the Buick Open. Furyk has been close twice this year finishing T2 at the MCI Heritage and the Wachovia Championship. He is currently 13th on the Tour money list with $1,795,669 in the bank this season. If Furyk is able to cash in tomorrow he will round out his PGA Tour victories to a tidy ten.
Many of birdies that Harrington pulled out of his hat today were a long way from the hole. A deft chipping stroke and some accurate putting delivered extra birdies for him. When it was all said and done, Harrington had nine pars, six birdies, and three bogies for a three-under 68.
Brad Faxon and Brian Gay are both two shots off the lead and can’t be counted out. Faxon, who lives in the Northeast, where this tournament is being held, had the round of the day shooting a 5-under 66. “I think the par-5’s were a big key to my round today,” said Faxon. “I haven’t played them particularly well this week, as a matter of fact I think the ninth hole yesterday was the first time I birdied a par-5. I birdied all three of them [today], I thought that was a big key.”
The highest ranked player in this tournament, Vijay Singh, is within four shots of the lead and could factor in down the stretch. Singh has a habit of showing up toward the end of any tournament and has broadened the definition of “striking distance” on more than one occasion. He had two bogies and a double at 13 that prevented him from bettering his 2-under 69.
Kenny Perry and John Senden are both tied for 5th with Vijay. Perry has two wins this season at the Bay Hill Invitational and the Bank of America Colonial. He is 7th on the 2005 PGA Tour money list. Meanwhile, last year’s winner, Sergio Garcia, is tied for 48th place with seven other players, 12 shots off the lead.
The way this course is playing, it could be anybody’s game tomorrow. The grounds crew at Westchester Country Club, where the Barclays Classic is being held, must be taking cues form the USGA’s typical U.S. Open set-up as the course has been playing tough. “The greens definitely firmed up, got baked out,” Furyk said. “They were almost turning white at the end. Everywhere you stepped you could kind of see your footmarks, not because they were soft, but because they were stressed out pretty well.” Furyk felt that the course was playing more difficult than the previous two days and he proved it by only going one-under for his highest score of the tournament.
Pos Player Tot R1 R2 R3 T1 Padraig Harrington -9 71 65 68 T1 Jim Furyk -9 65 69 70 T3 Brad Faxon -7 72 68 66 T3 Brian Gay -7 69 66 71 T5 Vijay Singh -5 68 71 69 T5 Kenny Perry -5 68 68 72 T5 John Senden -5 69 67 72 T8 Dean Wilson -4 72 71 66 T8 Pat Perez -4 70 71 68 T8 Brett Quigley -4 73 68 68 T8 Len Mattiace -4 71 65 73
Photo Credits: © AP Photo.
