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JERSEY CITY, N.J. Seven days ago, Sergio Garcia wasn't even sure if he would be eligible to play in The Barclays for the start of the PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedEx Cup.
Suddenly, he has a splendid view from the top.
Garcia took another important step toward recovering from a troublesome season Thursday with a 6-under 65 at Liberty National for a share of the lead with Paul Goydos and Steve Marino.
“We are getting back into it,” Garcia said. “Last week was nice. It was good to see ourselves … getting that feeling of being out there trying to win a tournament and getting the juices flowing a little bit. We're just looking forward to hopefully finishing the year well here, keep this good momentum going.”
At a different venue, Garcia stayed the course. He is a two-time winner of this tournament, both times at tree-lined Westchester. On a track with intimidating views inside the ropes and gorgeous vistas of Manhattan, he wound up in a familiar spot.
In some respects, so did Tiger Woods. The Barclays is the only tournament Woods has played at least three times without finishing in the top 10. He shot a 70.
ELSEWHERE
U.S. AMATEUR: The top seeds continue to fall in Tulsa, Okla.
After two rounds Thursday, only one of the top 20 qualifiers is left among the eight golfers who'll play in the quarterfinals today.
Fourth-seeded Ben Martin beat former Tulsa golfer Nico Geyger in the round of 16 and will join former Clemson teammate Phillip Mollica in the quarterfinals.
Byeong-Hun An of South Korea and Stanford junior Steve Ziegler each needed extra holes to make it, and they'll play each other today.
The other quarterfinalists include Oklahoma State sophomore Peter Uihlein, whose dad is the CEO of the company that owns the Titleist brand, and Charlie Holland, who knocked off top seed Tim Jackson in the second round.
MET OPEN: Andrew Giuliani, son of former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, won his first outing as a professional at the 94th Met Open.
Giuliani hit a final round 71 for a 3-under par total at Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, N.J. He earned $27,500 out of the total purse of $150,000, the largest payout for a regional championship.
EUROPEAN: Paul Lawrie shot a bogey-free 67 in rainy conditions for a one-stroke lead at the Johnnie Walker Championship in Gleneagles, Scotland. Defending champion Gregory Havret, Steven O'Hara, Wade Orsmby and Ake Nilsson were a shot back.
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