The Barclays 2012: Tiger Woods Drops A Shot, Sergio Garcia & Nick Watney Start With Birdies

The leaders are now on the course for the third round of the 2012 Barclays at Bethpage Black. Playing in the fifth-to-last group is Tiger Woods, and the FedEx Cup points leader has dropped a shot early on Saturday. Woods played through a stiff back on Friday, and while not as severe, those problems still appear to be bothering him during the third round. Woods bogeyed the par-3 third hole to fall back to fall to 4-under, five shots behind leaders Sergio Garcia and Nick Watney.

Both Garcia and Watney wasted little time posting a red number, as the mid-point leaders each birdied the first hole to move to 9-under. The morning wave certainly made up some ground on the afternoon groups by taking advantage of the gettable Black Course, so the final groups will need to stay under par on Saturday to hold their lead.

The biggest mover so far has been Kevin Stadler, who has yet to make a bogey and is 6-under through his first 16 holes. Stadler is trying to follow in the footsteps of Bill Haas, who won the FedEx Cup in 2011, and become the second son of a Tour pro to capture the $10 million prize in as many years.

Brandt Snedeker, who is still fighting to impress Ryder Cup Captain Davis Love III, is 4-under through his first eight holes. He joins Stadler at 7-under and just two shots back of the leaders. Snedeker is one of the best putters in the game and he appears to have the flatstick working on Saturday. That club is what will land him a Ryder Cup spot, but fellow captain’s choice options Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson, and Steve Stricker are also making noise this week on Long Island.

For live Barclays leaderboard, visit Golf.com.

Stay with this StoryStream for news and updates throughout the week at Bethpage. For all your golf news during the 2012 FedEx Cup, visit SB Nation’s golf hub.