Garcia’s late surge gives him 6-shot lead
Tied for the lead and facing a 20-minute wait on the eighth tee, Sergio Garcia was resting in the grass when he caught a frog. Someone told him to eat it, and he playfully held it by his mouth.
“Maybe I should have kissed it to see if it turned into a princess,” Garcia said Saturday.
The way things are going at the Wachovia Championship in Charlotte, N.C., it would have turned into a crystal trophy.
Garcia blew away a world-class field at Quail Hollow with five birdies on the tough back nine to cap the best round of the day, a 5-under-par 67, that gave him the biggest lead of his career.
Garcia was at 12-under 204 and had a six-shot lead over Jim Furyk, Vijay Singh and D.J. Trahan.
“I told you guys I was struggling with my putting,” Garcia said. “I feel like I’m starting to see the end of the tunnel. I feel like things are starting to go a bit my way.”
Trahan, a 24-year-old rookie, did his best to challenge Garcia until stumbling on the back nine to a 71. Furyk, in his best performance since wrist surgery a year ago, gave himself fleeting hope with a 33 on the back nine for a 69. Singh played in the last group with Garcia and couldn’t keep up, shooting a 71.
“He’s lapping the field right now,” Furyk said. “The golf tournament is in his hands; he’s going to determine who the winner is. He goes out and shoots 70, you can hand him the trophy.”
Quail Hollow has provided the toughest conditions of any PGA Tour course this year with its firm fairways and contoured greens that were running at 12 on the Stimpmeter that calibrates the speed of the greens.
Maybe Garcia didn’t get the memo.
Nick Price, alone in fifth at 5-under 211 after a 69, predicted the winning score at 10 under.
“Sergio’s already there,” Price said. “For me to get there, I’ve got to shoot 5-under (today), which is a tall order on this golf course.”
Tiger Woods, who has never finished worse than third after winning the Masters, might see that streak end with a thud. He squandered opportunities on the front nine and failed to make a birdie over the final 11 holes for a 73, leaving him at 1-under 215 and 11 shots behind.
Phil Mickelson had a 73 and was at 1-over 217.
It was only the third time Garcia has held a 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour, although never one this big.
LPGA
Annika Sorenstam’s cut streak is safe at 47 straight tournaments.
Now, about that winning streak.
With four birdies in a five-hole span, Sorenstam rebounded from a rough start at the Michelob Ultra Open in Williamsburg, Va., and got herself back into contention for a record sixth straight victory. At 1 over, she’s seven shots behind leader Cristie Kerr’s total of 136.
There are 36 holes to play today, and nobody rallies like Sorenstam.
“I just needed a few birdies to get me going,” said Sorenstam, whose 4-under 67 was low score of the day. “A few more would have been great to get on the leaderboard and tell them I’m still here.”
Asked if she really thought the other players don’t know she’s lurking, Sorenstam smiled.
“I think they know I’m here,” she said. “I just don’t know how badly they know I’m here.”
They’ll soon find out. Kerr (68) topped the leaderboard at 6 under. Michele Redman (69) and A.J. Eathorne (69) were two strokes back, and Shi Hyun Ahn and Nicole Perrot are at 3 under.
Wendy Ward of Edwall, Wash., shot a 74 to give her a 144 total.