The Barclays, Round 3: Martin Laird Surges Ahead, Tiger Toils In Irrelevancy

The story of Saturday's Barclays action was undoubtedly Scotland's Martin Laird, who raced to the top of the leaderboard with a scintillating 65. Laird made birdie on four consecutive holes (2-5), and pushed his bogey-free streak to 34 holes with solid play on the back nine.

Meanwhile, Jason Day--the leader coming into today's action, had a largely unimpressive Saturday, going only -1 and watching his advantage evaporate. Day's, er, day was spoiled by a +1 back nine that included three bogeys (and one on the ninth hole, just for good measure). Day's play off the tee undermined solid putting, and he'll need to start hitting fairways with some regularity if he wants to contend tomorrow.

The leaderboard setup should seem familiar to Dustin Johnson, who's tied with Day in second place at -9. During last week's US Open, Johnson also went into the final day of play tied for second place while three shots back. Leader Nick Watney completely imploded during the final round; will Laird follow suit this week? Also, will Johnson ground his club in a sand trap on the 18th with a playoff on the line? (No.) 

The disappointment of the day was Tiger Woods, whose first-hole triple submarined his chances at contention before they started. Woods did birdie three of the last six holes, which is enough for us to ask: is Tiger back???? (Also no.)

You can follow the live leaderboard here. For more on the Barclays and the PGA Tour, be sure to check out our golf blog, Waggle Room.

Jason Day entered Round 3 of the Barclays with the lead, and thanks to some remarkably good play, he still stands atop the leaderboard. Day rebounded from a bogey on the first hole to score birdies on holes two and three, then shot an eagle on the fifth hole to bring him to 11-under for the tournament.

However, his distance from the pack has not increased, thanks to the likes of Martin Laird and Dustin Johnson. Laird started his Saturday play with four consecutive birdies to stand at 10-under. The 27-year-old Laird is in pursuit of his second-ever PGA Tour win.

Johnson, as you may remember, suffered yet another heartbreaking finish during this year's PGA Championship. Through sixteen holes in Round 3, Johnson is shooting 7-under for the day, thanks in part to an eagle on the thirteenth hole. He now sits in third place, two strokes behind the lead.

Meanwhile, Tiger Woods has stalled and is eleven strokes off the lead. Since his triple bogey on the first hole, he's shot 1-over through the following eleven holes to score even for the tournament. Barring a near-miraculous turn of events, Woods will have to keep waiting for his first PGA Tour win of 2010.

You can follow the live leaderboard here. For more on the Barclays and the PGA Tour, be sure to check out our golf blog, Waggle Room.

Tiger Woods began the 2010 Barclays with a remarkable 65 score in Round 1. He stumbled a bit in Round 2, but still found himself only four strokes behind the lead entering Round 3, preserving a realistic chance of charging toward the top of the leaderboard.

Unfortunately for Woods, he immediately ran into trouble with a triple bogey on the first hole on Saturday. He managed par on the following six holes, but now stands in a tie for 46th place, eight strokes behind the lead.

Meanwhile, Justin Rose has vaulted up the leaderboard in Round 3. His six birdies -- and no bogeys -- have moved him all the way up into a tie for second at 7-under.

Vaughn Taylor, who began the day in a tie for second, hit the course minutes ago. He has made birdie on the two holes he's played thus far.

You can follow the live leaderboard here. For more on the Barclays and the PGA Tour, be sure to check out our golf blog, Waggle Room.