Troy Merritt held a tight grip at the top of the leaderboard as he made his way through Old Greenwood in round three of the 22nd annual Barracuda Championship.
Ending his day with two late birdies, Merritt will take a four-point lead (+33) into the final round. Merritt topped the leader board after round three at the 2019 Barracuda Championship where he went on to finish second after Collin Morikawa.
Merrit was a star on Friday when he had a mic on during the round. He was a joy to listen to, talking about his sons throughout the round. He made it easy to root for him!
Hot on Merritt’s heels is PGA TOUR rookie Maverick McNealy (+29/T2) who is in contention to become the fifth consecutive champion to earn his first PGA TOUR win at the Barracuda Championship.
Playing on a sponsor exemption, Matthias Schwab (+24/8th) needs a two-way tie for second or better to earn Special Temporary Membership; with a victory, he will be fully exempt through the 2022-23 TOUR season and be eligible for the 2020 FedExCup Playoffs.
Third-Round Leaderboard
Troy Merritt +8/+11/+14 – (+33)
Emiliano Grillo +10/+8/+11 – (+29)
Maverick McNealy +10/+9/+10 – (+29)
Robert Streb +11/+9/+8 – (+28)
Things to Know
- When holding a 54-hole lead/co-lead, Troy Merritt has converted for the win two of four times on the PGA TOUR
- With a win, Maverick McNealy would be the 12 th player (fifth straight) to earn first TOUR win at Barracuda Championship
- 33 points is the fewest needed to hold the 54-hole lead/co-lead since the Modified Stableford format began at this event
- Matthias Schwab needs a two-way tie for second or better to earn Special Temporary Membership
- Branden Grace withdrew prior to his third round after testing positive for COVID-19
- Winner earns a spot in the field at next week’s PGA Championship if not already exempt; top two players, not otherwise exempt, finishing in the top-10 and ties, earn exemptions into 2020 U.S. Open S
Troy Merritt (+33/1st)
- Marks fifth time with 54-hole lead/co-lead on TOUR, having converted two of the previous four instances into a win (2015 Quicken Loans National, 2018 Barbasol Championship)
- Last 54-hole lead/co-lead was at the 2019 Barracuda Championship, where he went on to finish runner-up
- Will earn a spot in the 2020 U.S. Open with a top-two finish; Already in the field for next week’s 2020 PGA Championship
- Entered the week No. 121 in the FedExCup standings and seeks to enter the Playoffs for the third straight season (sixth overall) Additional Notes
Emiliano Grillo (+29/T2) seeks second PGA TOUR title in his 126th start; win would mark his second title in California (2015 Safeway Open/Napa, California); finished T18 at 2019 Barracuda Championship
- With a win, PGA TOUR rookie Maverick McNealy (+29/T2) would become the 12th player (fifth consecutive) to earn their first TOUR win at the Barracuda Championship
- After entering the week having missed the cut in 10 of his last 11 starts, Robert Streb (+28/4th) sits five points off the lead; Was initially paired with Branden Grace before his withdrawal
- Joseph Bramlett (+26/T5) seeking second career top-10 (best TOUR finish: T9/2020 Puerto Rico Open); Finished inside the top three in both of his two starts on the Korn Ferry Tour this season (T2/Korn Ferry Challenge at TPC Sawgrass, T3/The King & Bear Classic at World Golf Village)
- After being T2 through 36 holes, Branden Grace withdrew prior to his third round after testing positive for COVID-19; Following the 10-day isolation period per CDC guidelines and TOUR health and safety protocols, Grace will no longer play next week’s PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park
- Playing on a sponsor exemption, Matthias Schwab (+24/8 th) needs a two-way tie for second or better to earn Special Temporary Membership; With a victory, he will be fully exempt through the 2022-23 TOUR season and be eligible for the 2020 FedExCup Playoffs
- Scott Stallings (+23/9 th) made eagles on No. 2 and No. 5 en route to a +11 score, marking the sixth time in his TOUR career to have two eagles in a round (most recent: R2/2020 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open)
Troy Merritt Quotes
Very impressive finish today. What’s it like sitting here with a lead at this point?
TROY MERRITT: I really wanted to make that last putt. I figured it would give me a five-point lead, and it’s a two-and-a-half-birdie lead had I made it, and I missed it. But a six-point lead would have been really nice. You just try to keep building. The points change so quickly around here. You saw between Matt and myself a couple five-point swings in the last five holes. You just try to go out, keep making birdies. The mindset is they have to come and get you, don’t go backwards. So we’ll just go out, try to keep hitting the fairways like we have been and giving ourselves some looks and hopefully make the putts tomorrow.
With that being said, is patience quite a virtue in this?
TROY MERRITT: Yeah, absolutely. You’re going to have a lot of birdie looks out here. If you find the fairway, you’re going to have a lot of putts inside 20 feet, and obviously you’re not going to make them all, but if you can hole three, four, maybe five of them, you’ll be doing just fine. If you can give yourself 14, 15 looks, you’ll be doing just fine and make a par putt every now and then. Yeah, the key to the game out here is fairways and greens, especially with this system. You can’t let a bogey bother you too much because birdies are worth two and a bogey just the minus one. You can get them back a little more quickly, just got to just let those bogeys go and make some more birdies.
You were quite the superstar with the microphone earlier this week. I don’t know if there’s any chance you’d do it again tomorrow?
TROY MERRITT: Yeah, you can slap it back on me again if you can guarantee me another 11 points. It does help me control my temper out there. I tend to lose it off and on, so keeps me in check a little bit, so yeah, I’d be more than happy to wear it tomorrow.
Your plan today was less bogeys. I know you mentioned yesterday that was something you wanted to eliminate?
TROY MERRITT: Yeah, I hit my driver really well, found a lot of fairways. Missed three, but the three that I missed I still hit pretty good drives. We had tap-in birdies pretty much today. That was really the key. Not a lot of stress. Like I said, I had just the two bogeys. I couldn’t get the par putts to go, but nonetheless, if you’re going to make any birdies, you’re going to make up for two bogeys pretty quickly. Just a lot of fairways and greens and give yourself a lot of looks and hopefully a few fall.
What’s the mindset heading into tomorrow?
TROY MERRITT: Don’t get beat again like last year when we had the lead after 54. No, you’ve got to keep pushing forward. In this format guys can get hot and make up ground in a hurry. The key is not to go backwards if at all, keep going forwards, and if you can make the odd bogey, then birdie is going to make up for that and another point. Just keep going forward. There’s birdies out there. Guys are going to make birdies, so you have to keep making them, too.
What would it mean to win this week?
TROY MERRITT: Yeah, pretty cool. Last year we didn’t do anything really wrong down the stretch and Collin birdied four out of the last five to win, so it would be nice to finish off the job this year.
Just talking about that, do you feel like a victory tomorrow would give you a little redemption?
TROY MERRITT: Yeah, it’s always nice to have a win. Had we thrown it away last year and struggled down the stretch, you might feel a little bit different, but we played solid. We just didn’t make enough birdies. Collin finished great last year and deserved to win. Hopefully we can have that same position coming down the back nine, have a two-point lead and just get the job done tomorrow.
And just finally coming into the week, you weren’t in the PGA Championship and a victory here would have gotten you in, but now you’re in given a couple of withdrawals. When did you find out about that?
TROY MERRITT: I found out shortly after my round on Thursday that I was in. Honestly, I wasn’t too stressed about it. It’s great to be in the field. It’s always an honor to play in a major, but my focus is on this week. I knew that a win this week would take care of business anyway, and that’s been my goal ever since I got here on Tuesday afternoon. No, just going out, I’m going to try to get the victory tomorrow, and that’s more than just getting in the PGA; that’s two more years in Maui and PLAYERS. Just looking forward to a good day tomorrow and hopefully we can just finish the job up.
Maverick McNealy (Stanford grad) Quotes
Can we get a couple comments on your day today?
MAVERICK McNEALY: I thought it was a solid day. It’s my second 67, put up 10 points, and I’m in good position going into tomorrow. I definitely have been getting off to really good starts my first three rounds, and just got to keep that going tomorrow.
What do you think was working so well today?
MAVERICK McNEALY: My putter has been the best club in the bag all year, and today was no exception there. I’ve been doing a pretty good job over the last couple holes honestly today of gauging the distance and figuring out how far. I hit a lot of greens in regulation, so that was great.
Was there anything that surprised you about the course playing in the morning versus the afternoon?
MAVERICK McNEALY: Morning and afternoon play completely different. A few balls coming down the last six holes really surprised me, more than anything how far it was going, 14 through 18. Obviously I’ll need to adjust for tomorrow for sure.
What would it mean to make a run in this thing?
MAVERICK McNEALY: That’s the plan. Every week you tee up dreaming, wanting to win, so I just hope to have a chance come late tomorrow afternoon.
I know that wasn’t the finish you wanted, but how proud were you of the round that you played today?
MAVERICK McNEALY: I’m very happy with the way I played today. For me the most encouraging thing is that my game has been solid all week. Definitely a few adjustments I’ll make for tomorrow afternoon, definitely seeing how far the ball is going. It made me a little uncomfortable and unsure of what clubs to play. But all in all, I’m really excited and optimistic, and if my putter keeps going the way it’s going, I’ll have a chance.
Two of your career top-10 finishes have happened this season. Can you talk about how you’ve played this season and how you feel heading into the Playoffs?
MAVERICK McNEALY: This season has been good. I’ve had a couple bright spots and some not-so-good spots, but all in all it’s been quietly solid, I think. But I think making a run here at this event and hopefully finishing out on top would be fantastic. The goal is to win every week, and I’m really excited to have a good chance at it tomorrow.
Four of the last winners of this event have won their first PGA TOUR events here. Does that motivate you to make a run at it tomorrow?
MAVERICK McNEALY: Well, I think if it’s five we’ll have a good chance because Troy is a great player and he knows how to win, and I’m in full chase mode going into tomorrow and I’m going to have to make a lot of birdies.
And mindset going into tomorrow?
MAVERICK McNEALY: Again, just got to get off to a good start and give myself a lot of good looks with the putter. I think if I’m putting for birdie 14 or 15 times per round, I think we’ll be in a good spot.
Compiled by Dennis Miller