Golf: Flooding holds up Sergio Garcia’s bid to end US trophy drought

Published on 20/08/2012 02:51

SERGIO GARCIA was still holding a one-stroke lead when play was suspended in the final round of the Wyndham Championship at Greensboro in North Carolina last night.

Heavy rain flooded parts of an already saturated Sedgefield Country Club with Garcia, needing a top three finish to move back into a qualifying position for the Ryder Cup, standing 15-under par just short of the fifth green.

The 32-year-old Spaniard, without a victory in America for four years, birdied the short third from five feet.

South African Tim Clark had twice caught him with birdies at the second and fourth, but then ran up a bogey six at the long next to fall back alongside Americans Jason Dufner and Bud Cauley.

Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts, still in with a chance of automatic selection for Europe, moved from 17th into a tie for fourth by going to the turn in a three-under 32, but a bogey at the par three 12th saw him slip back to joint ninth. Unlike Garcia, 
Colsaerts is also playing the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles starting on Thursday. That is the final counting event before ten players qualify and captain Jose Maria Olazabal adds two wild cards.

Garcia had gone into the final round a stroke clear of the field after a third-round 66, which included five birdies, but prior to teeing off yesterday he was under no illusions about the task ahead of him.

He said: “Obviously I would love to be two, three shots better but I’m in a good situation. It’s going to be a tough day, there’s no doubt about it.

“A lot of very good players behind me are trying to achieve the same thing I’m trying to achieve.

“Hopefully I’ll go out there in the final round, play well again and give myself a good shot at winning.”

Second-round leader Jimmy Walker failed to maintain his momentum in the third round, a 71 seeing him three shots back.