Sergio Garcia doesn't have a crystal ball. But he does know one thing.
Eighteen pars won't win the Wyndham Championship on Sunday. Neither will 14 under, which is right where Garcia finds himself as he takes a one-stroke lead into the final round of the final event of the PGA TOUR's Regular Season.
Not when Sedgefield Country Club has been so generous, averaging under par after each of the first three rounds, nearly one-and-a-half strokes in arrears of 70 on Saturday alone. Already there have been seven scores of 63 or better this week, including a course-record tying 61.
And not when there are so many highly motivated players chasing Garcia, either. Of course, the young Spaniard has his own incentive, too, as he tries to play his way onto the European Ryder Cup team.
Then there's Jason Dufner, who trails by two and is trying to win for the third time this breakout season. And he'd replace Tiger Woods as No. 1 in the FedExCup standings if he did.
Bud Cauley, Harris English, Matt Every and Jimmy Walker -- on the other hand -- are in search of the first victory of their TOUR careers. Cauley, who trails by one, gets the date with Garcia in the final pairing on Sunday. English is two behind; Every and Walker both trail by three.
And what about the seemingly endless procession of players with North Carolina ties feeding off that partisan crowd, one that was a sell-out on Saturday?
Tim Clark, who went to N.C. State, is one shot off the lead. His former Wolfpack roommate, Carl Pettersson, who went to high school in Greensboro, hangs two strokes back while UNC's Davis Love, the U.S. Ryder Cup captain, trails by three.
Don't forget about defending champion Webb Simpson, the former Deacon and current U.S. Open champion. He's among seven players tied at 10 under, along with another Wake Forest product, Bill Haas.
Partisan 'politics' aside -- and make no mistake, around here ACC loyalty is as strong as those Democrats or Republicans vying for votes -- there are a number of players on the leaderboard trying to creep into the top 125 in the FedExCup standings. Justin Leonard, who started the week 157th, and Richard Lee, who was 164th, are currently tied for 10th and just might be playing The Barclays next week if they can work their way into the top three or four.
But one thing's for certain. No matter where he stands on the leaderboard or what Atlantic Conference Conference school commands his allegiance, the winner will almost certainly need to go low on Sunday. A total of 16 players will start the final round within four strokes of Garcia's lead.
"Today scoring was out there and obviously the leaders didn't really get away from anyone," said Clark, whose first -- and last -- victory came at the 2010 PLAYERS Championship. "I felt like we all could have shot a little bit lower but it's going to be the same tomorrow -- a shootout."
Pettersson, who serves on the board of the tournament, owns a share of the course record, shot during his 2008 victory. He nearly tied it again in the first round, finishing one stroke off the pace.
"Hopefully I can have one more deep one in there," said Pettersson, who tied for third at the PGA Championship last week. "I think that's what it's going to take. You have to shoot lights out tomorrow. I've done it before so I know I can."
At the same time, Love, who is aiming to win his third Wyndham Championship at the age of 48, expects Sedgefield to get more difficult as the pressure mounts on Sunday.
"It's always easier earlier," the veteran said. "... The greens are a little drier and faster in the afternoon. Makes it a little bit tougher. They're trying to win. There's a little bit tougher at the end of the day, and hopefully I'll be in a good position tomorrow to catch them."
Garcia, though, is in the best shape of all as he seeks to snap a TOUR victory drought that stretches to the 2008 PLAYERS Championship. Interestingly, the last time the 32-year-old Spaniard held the third-round lead in a PGA TOUR event was at the Wyndham Championship in 2009. He nearly holed a bunker shot on the 72nd hole at Sedgefield that Sunday that would have put him in the playoff won by Ryan Moore. Instead, he finished solo fourth.
"Obviously I would love to be two, three shots better but, you know, we're in a good situation," Garcia said. "... It's going to be a tough day. There's no doubt about it. Lot of very good players behind me trying to achieve the same thing I'm trying to achieve.
"So, you know, hopefully I'll go out there tomorrow, play well again and give ourselves a good shot at winning and see if we can finish in the same position that I was today."
