Round 3: Ups And Downs

Garcia stays hot; DiMarco goes off on caddie

By Matt Rudy

Up

Sergio Garcia
If you were looking for some stress cracks, there certainly weren't any today. The formerly high-strung Spaniard played the perfect leader's round -- a no-bogey 68 that left him three shots ahead of Steve Stricker and six clear of a group in third. Garcia was accurate most of the day, and the few times he sprayed it, he showed some tremendous skills. Short-sided in deep grass on a downhill slope next to the 17th green, he slid a 60-degree wedge under the ball and lofted it to three feet. Then he drilled the putt right in the heart -- something he wouldn't have been able to do last year. Then, on 18, he gouged his approach shot out of the rough and carried the burn in front of the green, rolling it up to 10 feet.

Steve Stricker
Stricker shot the round of the tournament, making seven birdies for a 64 that tied the course record set by Colin Montgomerie in 1995. Monty's 64 came during the easier Scottish Open setup, when the course played almost 300 yards shorter, making Stricker's performance even more impressive. It's hard to pick against one of the birdies as the highlight of a day, but the biggest shot might have been a 20-footer to save par on the 14th hole. Stricker held on to play the last three holes in all pars and tie the record. Getting handshakes for scoring records is nice, but what the 64 really did was give Stricker a chance to win his first major. He's three behind Garcia -- a visit to one of the burns or a three-putt away from touching distance.

Even

Tiger Woods
Woods played much better Saturday than he did Friday, but it was only minor consolation. Woods knew he missed the scoring window -- he missed a realistic chance at eagle on No. 6 when he sprayed his approach shot, then gave away a shot with a sloppy chip shot and par putt on the 10th. What he really needed was for Garcia to back up over the last three holes. That didn't happen, and even some kind of superhero move tomorrow probably won't be enough. There are a ton of solid players on the board between him and the lead.

Down

Par
We never got the heavy rain or wind forecast for the day, and the field took advantage of the pins set up in anticipation of the difficult weather day that never came. Soft greens and accessible flags meant lots and lots of birdies. Carnoustie's course record was tied, and 13 players in the top 20 shot 69 or better on the day.

K.J. Choi
On a day when just about everybody was under par, Choi made two mistakes that really cost him. He hit his second shot on the par-5 sixth into a deep fairway bunker and couldn't hit the green or get up and down. Then, on 18, he hit his tee shot into the burn, and made another bogey. The bogey on 18 dropped him to 3-under and into a tie with six other players in third place.

Chris DiMarco
How can a guy be in the "down" category after shooting 66 to get back in the tournament? By blaming your poor play for the year on the caddie you just fired, then making a point to go back and spell the guy's name for reporters in the media center. That's throwing somebody under the bus, then backing up over the body.

Looking at Sunday

Best Bet
Sergio Garcia finds redemption with the belly putter and wins his first major championship. With the new putter, he'll win more career majors than Ernie Els.

Worst Bet
Chris DiMarco hasn't won a tournament of any kind since the European Tour Abu Dabi event last February, and since 2002 on the PGA Tour. An Open victory counts on both tours, but not if you don't actually win. He won't. Call it Karma.