Monday, June 25, 2001
Garcia leaves Woods far back
at Buick Classic
By JOEL STASHENKO
Associated Press Writer
HARRISON, N.Y. (AP) — Sergio Garcia
neared his second career PGA Tour victory Sunday, and one golfer
he may not have to contend with in the final round of the Buick
Classic is Tiger Woods.
Garcia had a 5-under 66 during Sunday's
rain-delayed third round for a two-shot lead at 12-under 201,
and led Woods by 8 shots. Woods hit some errant irons on his last
nine holes after a fast start en route to a 3-under 68.
The largest third-round deficit Woods has
ever made up to win on the PGA tour was five shots at last year's
Pebble Beach AT&T National Pro-Am.
Scott Hoch, the second-round leader with
Garcia at 7-under, also had a 68 Sunday and was second at 10-under
203.
J.P. Hayes shot 67 Sunday and was alone
in third a stroke behind Hoch. Stewart Cink, Russ Cochran and
Gabriel Hjertstedt were at 7-under 206.
The final round will be Monday. Thursday's
opening round was interrupted by rain and Saturday's third round
was pushed back to Sunday after a downpour left several holes
at the Westchester Country Club waterlogged.
Garcia nearly won the Buick Classic last
year. He led in the final round but took a double-bogey after
driving into the trees at No. 11 and trying to hit the ball onto
the green instead of hacking it out into the fairway. He finished
third.
After several other near misses, the 21-year-old
Spaniard finally won his first PGA five weeks ago at the Colonial.
Garcia's best stretch Sunday came on the
front nine, when he birdied Nos. 5 and 6 and nearly drove the
green on the short par-4 seventh. He flopped a wedge shot there
which landed about 5 feet from the cup and rolled in for an eagle-2.
He also birdied the 9th, 17th and 18th to
finish strongly after bogeys at the 12th and 16th.
Earlier, with a huge gallery slogging behind
him through the mud and wet rough, Woods birdied Nos. 2, 4, 7
and 9 to make the turn at 5-under. With Garcia and Hoch yet to
tee off, that great start threw Woods high up on the leaderboard.
But he had to scramble for a par on the
short par-4 10th, normally a birdie hole for him, and he made
bogey at No. 11 after missing the green with his approach and
rimming out a 5-footer for par.
A birdie at No. 12 was offset by a bogey
at 17 where Woods, expecting the wind to hold up his ball, flew
the green with an 8-iron when the breeze momentarily died.
He also failed to birdie the par-5 18th
when he hit a second-shot 6-iron short instead of a cutting an
easy 5-iron.
“I needed a few more on the back nine,”
Woods said. “I needed to shoot on the back nine what I shot
on the front nine, at least. ... It was close to really being
a good one today.”
The way he ended the round, not to mention
the good scores posted by several other golfers, left Woods disappointed.
“It really puts me not in the mood
I want to be in,” he said.
Woods, who was tied for 118th after a miserable
4-over 75 in his first round here, was tied for 12th after the
third round with Paul Azinger, Kevin Sutherland and Mark Wiebe.
DIVOTS:
Hayes won the Buick Classic in 1998, another rain-plagued event
that was shortened to 54 holes, in a one-hole playoff with Jim
Furyk.
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