Barlow stays put, near top of leaderboard
FARMINGTON – Craig Barlow doesn’t usually watch the leaderboard when he’s playing at a golf tournament, at least not on Saturday. “Saturday is moving day,” Barlow said. “You don’t win a golf tournament on Saturday.”
Barlow wasn’t much of a “mover” one way or the other during the third round of the 84 Lumber Classic. He began the day three strokes off the lead and ended it just two shots back at 10-under-par with a 2-under 70, after opening with rounds of 70 and 66.
Barlow admits he will glance at the leaderboard on Sunday … after a while.
“On the back nine I will,” Barlow said. “On the front nine I won’t. I just want to go out and see if I can get into some kind of rhythm and continue to hit quality golf shots.
“Definitely on the back nine, I want to know where I’m standing and do I need to take chances, do I need to play a little safer.”
The back nine includes three of Mystic Rock Golf Course’s toughest four holes, at least after three rounds. The toughest has been the par-4 No. 14, followed by the par-3 No. 12 with the par-4 No. 18 closing hole ranked fourth.
“I consider the back nine very important to knowing where you’re at, because there’s a few critical holes that you can maybe change your game plan a little bit if you need to be aggressive,” Barlow said.
“Definitely I’ll know where I’m at on the back nine.”
The 33-year-old Barlow, who turned pro in 1995, is still seeking his first PGA Tour win.
He’s tied for third place twice, in the 1999 Buick Challenge and the 2002 Air Canada Championship. His best finish in 2005 was at the Buick Open where he tied for eighth.
Barlow’s career has been hampered by injuries.
“I had (right) hip surgery in 2001 and (left) shoulder surgery in 2001,” Barlow said.
“They’re not a concern. I’m healthy. It’s September, so obviously my body is feeling it right now, but before too long I’ll have a nice couple months off.”
Barlow insists on not using his health problems as an excuse.
“I would like to think that those are behind me,” Barlow said. “My injuries are doing good. I’m not perfect, but I don’t think anybody out here is.”
Barlow wasn’t perfect on Saturday either, but the end result was acceptable to him. He was 13-under and in sole possession of the lead after carding five birdies in a seven-hole stretch from No. 5 to No. 11. Altogether, he mixed in seven birdies with three bogies and one double bogey on the par-5 No. 16 when he found a sand trap.
“It’s nasty,” Barlow said. “I was in the bunker in two, I had one foot in, one foot out of the bunker, the green is running away from me toward the water, and I’ve got a six-foot high lip, so I have to get it up high and hit it soft. I erred on the short side because I didn’t want to hit a steamer out of there, and now I’m in the rough that’s eight inches deep and I almost hit that one in the water.
“It wasn’t a pleasant experience to say the least. I’ll try not to be there tomorrow.”
Barlow didn’t let his troubles on 16th ruin his outlook.
“The 16th hole doesn’t make me happy, but I’ve got to look at the big picture here,” Barlow said. “The big picture is I’m playing great golf right now. I have to eliminate a few mistakes, and to win out here you can’t have mistakes. I’ve had a double bogey every day, and I’m still tied for second.”
Barlow will be quite wary of Mystic Rock today.
“I’m playing good golf, but this kind of golf course … Pete Dye is famous for making holes that you can throw up on yourself, and I’ve done it once a day, so that would be a nice goal for tomorrow, to not have that,” Barlow said.
A win or high finish would secure Barlow’s spot in top 125 of the money list. He’s currently at 107th with $599,662. He’s never finished higher than 100th.
Barlow’s been happy with his play of late.
“The last six weeks have been really solid,” Barlow said.
“By all means I’d like to have a few holes over today, but I’m in great position.
“I didn’t take myself out of the tournament.
“In fact, I put myself in the tournament.
“I’ve got a chance to win tomorrow.”