The Barclays: A Recap

This morning at 4:30AM, I felt compelled to write a blog letting you know Nick Watney won The Barclays on Sunday, but being in Central Florida and spending a lot of time watching the Weather Channel for progress on Issac, and how it was going to affect my day, I didn’t get to recap the the remainder of the action. So here we go….

Sergio Garcia brought a two shot lead to the golf course on Sunday, but lost the putting stroke he had found at The Wyndham last weekend. I will say that maybe the difficulty of the greens at Bethpage might have helped him along a bit. The greens which had been putting at about 12 on the stimpmeter for the first two rounds had increased to over 14. Sergio finished in a tie for third place with Dustin Johnson.

Once again, Tiger Woods had a horrible Sunday at Bethpage State Park: The Black Course. Someone snapped a picture when he was setting up for his tee shot on the first hole, and set the tone for his day. And it was not a good one. Starting the day at 4 under par and only six strokes back, Woods, acting like a spoiled brat, shot 76 on the day and wound up tied for 38th place, dropping him to third in the FedEx Cup standings, behind winner Nick Watney and runner up Brandt Snedeker. With only three birdies on the day, he bogeyed six holes and had a double bogey at the 12th hole.

Phil Mickelson who had gotten a putting tip from a friend on the phone, and looking a little like Sergio Garcia with the scissor, had a horrible day as well. Phil also carded a 5 over 76 and finished tied with tiger Woods for 38th place.

Dustin Johnson had a good finish on the weekend, shooting a 3 under par 68 on Sunday, and getting himself into a tie for third place with Garcia. More importantly, the showing at this tournament should put him in the conversation for Ryder Cup consideration along with Nick Watney and Snedeker. Snedeker and Johnson finished the season in 13th and 15th place in the Ryder Cup standings and deserve a look from Captain Davis Love III. Watney finished in 30th place, but with the win, should get some consideration.

After Nick Watney’s woes on the season being mostly caused by his putter, he credits a lesson from a friend in News York for the turn around this weekend. We will see when the playoffs continue next weekend at The Deutche Bank, if his putting stroke is fixed.

After a 7 under par 64 on Thursday, first round leader Padraig Harrington went 75-75 on Friday and Saturday to finish tied for 19th. He did come back with a 68 on Sunday, but it was too little, too late. Other notable finishes were Frenchman Graham DeLaet, Louis Oosthuizen, Lee Westwood and Brian Harmon finishing at 5 under par in a tie for fifth place. Masters Champion Bubba Watson and former World number one, Luke Donald finished with a large group at 3 under par.

Current World number one, Rory McIlroy had a mediocre tournament where he neither played well or played badly. He finished at one over par in a tie for 24th, dropping him to 4th in the FedEx points.

Only the top  100 golfers on the FedEx points list will continue on to Boston for the Labor Day weekend. One of the casualties will be Ryder Cup Captain Davis Love III. He ended at 115 in the standings and is out of the competition. Sergio Garcia has indicated he will fore-go The Deutche Bank and resume play the following week at The BMW Championship at Crooked Stick in Indiana. I’m guessing he won’t make The FedEx Cup people too happy with that move, but he indicated he needed some rest before the Ryder Cup starts.

Don’t forget, the Deutche Bank will not start until Friday. This will give us something to watch on Labor Day Monday after re-couping from the long weekend.

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