Barlow Leads Fast Company

Moments after seizing the third-round lead in The International on Saturday, Craig Barlow could already hear the footsteps.

Mark Brooks, Sergio Garcia, Greg Norman and British Open champion Ernie Els were among the heavy hitters poised to catch the unheralded Barlow in today’s final round at Castle Rock, Colo. And he knew it.

“Yes, those guys have great records and they are big names,” Barlow said. “But I’ve got to worry about me, not them.”

Barlow birdied the last three holes to inch ahead of Steve Lowery and set up an intriguing showdown.

Barlow’s short birdie putt on the 18th hole gave him 11 points for the round and 28 points for the tournament under the modified Stableford scoring system.

Moments earlier, Lowery, playing in the same group, also birdied No. 18 to go to 27.

Brooks was at 26 and Rich Beem 25. Garcia stood at 21.

Garcia made the most noise in the third round, carding an eagle and eight birdies to storm the leaderboard. He moved momentarily into first place and found himself in fifth by the end of the day.

The scoring system awards five points for eagle, two for birdie, zero for par, minus-one for bogey and minus-three for double bogey or worse.

The field was cut again to the top 36 players and ties for today’s final round at Castle Pines Golf Club.

Players enjoyed favorable weather conditions after battling winds that gusted as high as 40 mph during the first two rounds.

Garcia’s 19 points represented the best round of the day--just one off the tournament record. Norman and Steve Stricker each had 16-point rounds, and Beem had 15.

Norman and Stricker had 20-point totals, along with Els. Ian Leggatt and Geoff Ogilvy stood at 18.

Barlow, 199th on the money list and in need of a good finish to avoid losing his Tour card for the third time in five years, birdied five of his last six holes to move from plus-18 to plus-28.

Lowery, the second-round leader with 21 points, faltered early but made four birdies on his back nine.

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Seeking her second win in Ohio in three weeks, South Korea’s Mi Hyun Kim shot a five-under-par 65 to forge a three-stroke lead heading into the final round of the Wendy’s Championship for Children in Dublin.

Kim won the Giant Eagle LPGA Classic two weeks ago in Youngstown, Ohio, for her fourth victory in as many years on tour.

Kim’s bogey-free 67 left her at nine-under 135.

She will try to preserve a lead heading into the final round for the first time since blowing a five-shot lead at Rochester six weeks ago.

Danielle Ammaccapane, who followed a first-round 73 with a 65, was alone in second at 138. She started the day tied for 37th and eight shots back but made up ground with seven birdies in a bogey-free round.

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Hale Irwin and Hubert Green were tied for the lead after two rounds of the Long Island Classic at Jericho, N.Y.

Irwin, the first-round leader by one stroke, shot a four-under-par 67 and was at 11-under 131 along with Green, who matched Irwin’s opening-round 64.

Morris Hatalsky, who had a second-round 65, was the only other player to reach 10 under.