Surprise Leader at Barclays; Wie One Back at McDonald’s Championship
June 10, 2006 by admin
PGA
Billy Andrade is the surprise 54-hole leader at the Barclays Classic in Harrison, New York, just a few miles from next week’s U.S. Open venue. It’s been six years since Andrade last won at Las Vegas in 2000, but he feels he has what it takes to close the deal tomorrow. However, Vijay Singh and Adam Scott are only one back and both are extremely capable of putting together final round pressure on the leader.
LPGA
Michelle Wie missed an 18-inch par putt on the 17th hole at the LPGA’s McDonald’s Championship that ultimately would have tied her for the lead with Pat Hurst heading into Sunday’s final round, but she recovered with a birdie on 18 to shoot a 1-under 71. It’s easy to forget that Wie is only 16-years old and everyone expects her to play with the experience of a 10-year veteran every time she tees it up. Once she figures out the flat stick, she’ll be a terror on the LPGA.
Rumblings
Sergio Garcia pulled out of the Barclays classic on Friday with a bad back. It was reported that he injured his back while burying his club in the ground out of frustration while playing the pro-am on Wednesday. Some feel that Garcia is the best- golfer-not-to-win-a-major yet, but I’m in the minority that feels he needs to mature emotionally and even professionally if he wants to take it to the next level. He has a similar temperament to Seve Ballesteros in that his emotions are his best and worst enemy, depending on the situation.
It’s no secret that he felt Tiger Woods received way too much attention during his 2000-2002 run and even pouted during an interview session at the Masters during this period. It’s also been reported that Garcia’s practice priorities are questionable at times; suffice to say he likes the wine and the women. Nothing wrong with that, but you can’t expect to compete with the Tigers, Phils, and Vijays come Sunday on the back nine of a championship.