JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) - Gary Woodland and Matt Kuchar exchanged birdies and bad breaks and wound up tied for the lead at The Barclays.
Kuchar, who completed five holes of his second round Saturday morning for a 6-under 65 and a two-shot lead, was tied with Woodland on the reachable par-4 16th when his putt ran into a sprinkler and stopped, costing him a reasonable chance at birdie. He wound up with a 70 in the third round.
Woodland had a one-shot lead until his tee shot on the 17th plugged in the far end of the fairway bunker, effectively costing him a full shot. He blasted out sideways, made bogey and had to settle for a 68.
They were at 12-under 201 in FedEx Cup playoffs opener, one shot ahead of Kevin Chappell, who broke the tournament course record with a bogey-free 62. Chappell’s round was so strong that it was 10 shots better than the average score at Liberty National, where the wind was blowing about 10 mph.
Tiger Woods spent another round grabbing his lower back and bending over gingerly to put his ball on the tee and retrieve it from the cup. He was on the fringe of contention for much of the blustery afternoon until two solid shots on the par-5 13th for a birdie, driving the 16th green for a two-putt birdie and closing with a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th for a 69 that left him very much in the picture at 8-under 205.
David Lynn of England, who earned his PGA Tour card a year ago from his runner-up finish in the PGA Championship, also had a 69 and was tied with Woods, four behind. The large group at 7-under 206 included 20-year-old Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson, Jim Furyk, Justin Rose and Rickie Fowler.
CANADIAN WOMEN’S OPEN
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) _ Solheim Cup star Caroline Hedwall shot a 6-under 64 in the Canadian Women’s Open to take a one-stroke lead over European teammate Suzann Pettersen and defending champion Lydia Ko.
Hedwall, winless on the LPGA Tour, was a record 5-0 last week in Colorado in Europe’s blowout victory over the United States. The 24-year-old Swede had a 10-under 200 total at Royal Mayfair.
Pettersen shot a 65. She won the 2009 tournament at Priddis Greens in Calgary.
The 16-year-old Ko had a 67. Last year at Vancouver Golf Club, the New Zealand amateur became the youngest winner in LPGA Tour history at 15 years, 4 months.
Brittany Lincicome and I.K. Kim were two strokes back at 8 under. Kim had a 65, and Lincicome, the 2011 winner at Hillsdale in Quebec, shot 66.
Top-ranked Inbee Park, tied for the second-round lead with Cristie Kerr, had a 74 to fall six strokes back at 4 under. Park swept the first three majors of the season and has six tour victories this year.
Kerr was another stroke back after a 75.
Charley Hull, the 17-year-old English player coming off a strong performance in the Solheim Cup, was 4 under after a 71.
BOEING CLASSIC
SNOQUALMIE, Wash. (AP) _ John Riegger shot an 8-under 64 to open a three-stroke lead after the second round of the Champions Tour’s Boeing Classic
The 50-year-old Riegger, making his fifth career start on the 50-and-over tour, had an eagle for the second straight day and added seven birdies and a bogey to finish at 11 under at TPC Snoqualmie Ridge.
Tom Lehman, Bernhard Langer, Kirk Triplett and Bobby Clampett were tied for second. Lehman had a 67, Langer and Triplett shot 68, and Clampett had a 69.
Hometown favorite Fred Couples was 5 under after a 70.
First-round leader Bart Bryant, the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open winner last week in Endicott, N.Y., followed his opening 66 with a 75 to drop into a tie for 20th at 3 under.
JOHNNIE WALKER CHAMPIONSHIP
GLENEAGLES, Scotland (AP) _ England’s Tommy Fleetwood shot a 5-under 67 for a share the third-round lead with Argentina’s Ricardo Gonzalez in the European Tour’s Johnnie Walker Championship.
Gonzalez had a 70 to match Fleetwoods at 16 under on the Jack Nicklaus-designed PGA Centenary Course, the site of the Ryder Cup next year.
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