Monday Finish: Berger moves closer to Presidents Cup berth

GREENSBORO, N.C. – A Wyndham Championship brain-teaser: What do Tim Petrovic, Billy Mayfair, Jeff Overton, George McNeill and C.T. Pan have in common? Answer: All have finished second to Brandt Snedeker and Webb Simpson at the Wyndham. Snedeker, who won the tournament in 2007 and 2018, and Simpson, who did it in 2011, wasted no time in assuming their superhero identities here, each opening with a 6-under 64 to trail early leader Byeong Hun An by two strokes after the completion of the morning wave. Mackenzie Hughes, Patrick Rodgers and Rory Sabbatini each signed for 7-under 63. “I’m definitely a horse for a course,â€� said Snedeker, 38, who came into this week with a 67.4 career average at Forest Oaks C.C., where he won in ’07, and Sedgefield, where he opened with a 59 on the way to victory last season. “This golf course kind of sets up perfectly for me, I love it, I know how to play it, so no real big surprises out there.â€� At 32nd in the FedExCup, the nine-time PGA TOUR winner has work to do to get back to East Lake for the season-ending TOUR Championship, which he won on the way to the FedExCup title in 2012. And he’s not even on the radar to make this year’s Presidents Cup team. His career, though, has one thing in common with Tiger Woods, this year’s U.S. captain. Like Woods, Snedeker has feasted at his favorite events, winning twice at not just the Wyndham, but also the Farmers Insurance Open and AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Snedeker laughed off the comparison. “Yeah, I think Tiger won at one golf course as many times as I’ve won in my whole career,â€� he said, “so he’s got me beat there a little bit.â€� As for the prospect of the Presidents Cup, he added, “I need to win some golf tournaments and kind of get my game to where I feel like I would be a deserving pick.â€� Last year’s runaway winner of THE PLAYERS Championship, Simpson, 33, is much higher up the list of U.S. Presidents Cup Team hopefuls, up from 11th to 10th after his runner-up finish at the World Golf Championships-FedEx St. Jude Invitational last week. Just outside the top eight who will automatically make the team, he expressed his disappointment to Woods that he hadn’t moved up higher. Woods told him to play better, which Simpson laughed about earlier this week. Much like Snedeker, Simpson, whose career-scoring average at the Wyndham was an even spiffier 67.0 coming into this week, appreciates everything about this tournament. He and his wife, Dowd, even named one of their five kids Wyndham, but call her Winnie. “I love the Bermudagrass,â€� Simpson said. “I love having options off the tee, hitting different clubs, undulating greens. … You know, my brother lives here, (I) went to Wake (Forest) 30 minutes down the road; I just feel very comfortable here and always love coming here.â€� The tournament was under lift-clean-and-place rules after a storm dumped seven inches of rain in downtown Greensboro on Wednesday night, but only an inch or so at Sedgefield. To a man, the morning wave of players raved about perfect greens, which Patrick Rodgers (63) likened to “putting on a pool tableâ€� after he had made a gaudy 166 feet of putts. Simpson eagled the par-5 fifth hole and had two bogeys in his round. Starting on the back nine, he was even par through his first seven holes before catching fire. He said he believes Woods is watching, and added he might text him again Sunday night if he keeps playing well. “It’s on your mind all the time,â€� he said of the prospect of making Woods’ Presidents Cup team. If there’s such a thing as an all-Wyndham team, Simpson and Snedeker are already on it.

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NICHOLASVILLE, Kentucky – No one told Tom Lovelady he wasn’t fun to be around anymore. “People are still rooming with me this week,â€� he said with an easy smile. “Must not be too miserable.â€� But even so, Lovelady knew he needed an attitude adjustment. He was letting the bad shots get to him and the missed putts gnaw at him. It was counterproductive, and he knew it. “I finally said, I’m sick of it,â€� Lovelady reported. “I don’t care what bad breaks I’m going to get, I’m going to live with it because everybody else gets the same. “Really just came from inner belief and motivation.â€� His new mindset has paid dividends this week at the Barbasol Championship. Lovelady made four straight birdies starting at the 14th hole on Saturday en route to a 65 that left him 18 under and tied atop the leaderboard heading into the final round. Lovelady, who will be looking for his first TOUR victory, has plenty of company at the top. He’s tied with Robert Streb, who matched the day’s low round of 63; the resurgent Hunter Mahan, who had a 64, and Troy Merritt, who had a 69 and set the first- and second-round pace. Lovelady, who played at Alabama with Justin Thomas and Trey Mullinax, is hitting on all cylinders at Keene Trace Golf Club this week. He ranks first in driving distance, second in Strokes Gained: Around the Green and No. 1 in Strokes Gained: Total. So Lovelady – who turns 25 on Monday — knows he’s doing something right, and he hopes to keep things on an even keel for the final round. “Just treat each shot for what it’s worth, and if you hit a bad shot just go get up and down,â€� he said. “I think that that’s the mindset that I’ve had this week. It’s just been really good for me. “Past few weeks I’ve struggled. Just been tired and I’ve kind of let that get me. I just got fed up with it. Mentally this is one of the better weeks that I’ve had and it’s shown, and looking forward to tomorrow.â€� NOTABLES Amazing what a little bit of job security can do for a guy. Sam Ryder earned some last week when he tied for second at the John Deere Classic, moving from 148th to 115th in the FedExCup in the process. He came to Kentucky a little more relaxed, as a result, and after Saturday’s 63, his seventh consecutive in the 60s, Ryder has a chance to win his first PGA TOUR event. “It’s given me a lot of confidence,â€� Ryder said after the bogey-free round at Keene Trace. “And also there’s a little bit of a monkey off my back in terms of the pressure of trying to keep my job for next year. So it’s allowed me to play a little more freely and just kind of trust my game.â€� Ryder will start the final round at 17 under and one stroke off the lead. He was looking forward to the late tee time, too, after having to play 36 holes on Saturday. “I can feel it in my legs and hips and stuff,â€� Ryder said. “I’m definitely in need of some rest going into tomorrow. But when you start making a bunch of birdies and you get 7, 8, 9-under, a little bit of adrenaline will carry you through those last few holes. QUOTABLES A lead is — it’s kind of a false word or leading you in the wrong direction because you’re going to play somuch golf tomorrow and there are going to be so many fluxes and you’re going to need all 18 holes to try to pull away from these guys.Probably a fan’s paradise. Everybody is going to have a chance at it. Probably come down to who is hitting them close and making the putts. SUPERLATIVES Lowest round: Robert Streb, Sam Ryder and Blayne Barber each shot 9-under 63s. Longest drive: Tom Lovelady had Nos. 1 and 2 in this category. He hit one 371 yards on the 14th hole and 349 on No. 13. Hardest hole: The ninth hole, a 421-yard par 4, played to an average of 4.096 with nine birdies, 50 pars, 12 bogeys and two double bogeys. Easiest hole: The sixth hole, a 516-yard par 5, played to an average of 4.178 with three eagles, 54 birdies, 16 pars and just four bogeys. SHOT OF THE DAY

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Kevin Stadler slammed a club in anger during a Web.com event Friday, causing the club to break and fly into the head of a spectator, who needed six stitches to close the cut.

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