It has taken a good three rounds, but finally the course at the Firestone–Country–Club did distill out the contenders from the pretenders to set up a juicy final day for us. Sergio Garcia was in no mood to slow down, a 67 helping him consolidate his position at the front, with a three shot cushion to cover him for what promises to be an intense battle for honour at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational. In a role reversal, Rory McIlroy, who was nearly chased down by the Spaniard at Hoylake will be the one chasing this time.
The Northern Irishman is playing true to his word, following up his Open success with a strong performance at Akron. McIlroy is three back after making 66 on Saturday. Tiger Woods has plenty of work to do in order to iron the chinks in his wearing armour. The American failed to break par again, making 72 to slide further down the pecking order. But Sunday may not only be about Garcia and McIlroy after all – Justin Rose and Adam Scott are six off the pace and if either of them catches fire, we could be in for a roller coaster ride to the very end.
Garcia looked like a man intent on putting some distance between him and the field – firing four birdies over the first eleven holes to build a six shot lead at one point during the third round. The Spaniard made the turn in 32, before nicking one more shot at the eleventh. His run of bogey free golf, which lasted 37 holes, came to an end at the 14th. Garcia missed par from five feet out to give one back to the course.
McIlroy also had three birdies on the outward nine, but he was five behind Garcia after finding the bunker to the right of the 12th green. He needed three shots from to get up and down for a bogey at the par-3 hole. But he bolstered his chances of launching a serious assault with back to back birdies at the 17th and 18th to put himself within the strike zone for Sunday.
First round leader Marc Leishman is in the mix too – posting a 68 to get nine-under through three rounds. Adam Scott, Keegan Bradley and Justin Rose are all at 202, six shots adrift of Garcia. But this group will need either a spectacular finish or a burnout at the front to contend on Sunday for the trophy. Even otherwise, there will be plenty of dollars riding on their clubs as they march ahead of the final pair.
Hideki Matsuyama scored a brilliant 65 to get inside the top ten and put himself up for a strong finish in the final round. Scott and Matsuyama enjoyed the best rounds on the day, scoring 65 despite suffering bogeys at different points on the course. Sunday promises to be an intriguing battle between the same two men who fought down the stretch at Hoylake a couple of weeks ago.
Report by Anand Datla
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