Horschel bogey-free, leads BMW by 3

After blowing a chance to win on the 72nd hole last week at TPC Boston, Billy Horschel is showing no signs of a letdown. Here’s how things stand after three rounds at the BMW Championship, where Horschel holds a three-shot lead:

Leaderboard: Billy Horschel (-13), Ryan Palmer (-10), Martin Kaymer (-8), Bubba Watson (-8), Rickie Fowler (-7), Sergio Garcia (-6), Jordan Spieth (-5), Jim Furyk (-5)

What it means: Horschel  has only one career win, but he is known to get hot for weeks at a time and has carried his momentum from last week’s runner-up at the Deutsche Bank Championship to this week at Cherry Hills. He’ll take the role of leader into the final round, while Palmer – another player in contention a week ago – will look to chase him down, as both seek their first win of the season.

Round of the day: Morgan Hoffmann barely snuck into the field this week at No. 68 in the FedEx Cup standings, but he made a big move up the leaderboard with an 8-under 62. Hoffmann briefly scared golf’s magic number of 59, but even after playing his last six holes in even par he moved up 43 spots in the standings and gave himself a chance to make the Tour Championship after starting the playoffs at No. 124 in the points race.

Best of the rest: Horschel made it around Cherry Hills without a bogey, notching birdies on Nos. 1 and 8 before making three circles across four holes on Nos. 14-17 to move into the lead. He added a final birdie on the home hole, draining a putt from 32 feet, to shoot a 7-under 63 and take command of the event with one round to go.

Biggest disappointment: Garcia entered the day with a one-shot lead, but he now faces a seven-shot deficit after shooting a 2-over 72. Garcia needed only 21 putts in the second round, but his magic ran out on the greens at Cherry Hills, as the Spaniard missed four putts inside 5 feet. (Dis)honorable mention goes to Rory McIlroy, whose 72 included a four-putt triple bogey on No. 12.

Main storyline heading into Sunday: After a flawless third round, this appears to be Horschel’s event to lose, as he leads the elite field in putting just a few days after his chances to win at TPC Boston disappeared into the hazard on the final hole. Should Horschel stumble again, Watson has the length to conquer Cherry Hills, while Palmer is eager to show captain Tom Watson that he should have been considered for the Ryder Cup squad.

Shot of the day: Horschel appeared ready to polish off a 64 with a two-putt par before dropping a final bomb on the 18th hole to briefly extend his lead to four shots. It was his seventh birdie of the day, and third made putt of more than 20 feet.

Quote of the day: “You can’t dwell on it. There’s bigger things in life than hitting a fat 6-iron into the hazard.” – Horschel, on his 72nd-hole approach shot last week at TPC Boston.

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Garcia fires 64, leads Palmer by 1 at BMW

After rain overnight, Cherry Hills softened considerably and players were able to take full advantage during the second round of the BMW Championship. Here’s how things look at the halfway point in Denver, where Sergio Garcia holds a one-shot lead:

Leaderboard: Sergio Garcia (-8), Ryan Palmer (-7), Rory McIlroy (-6), Billy Horschel (-6), Graham DeLaet (-4), Bubba Watson (-4), Hideki Matsuyama (-4)

What it means: Garcia skipped last week’s Deutsche Bank Championship, and the decision to rest appears to be paying off. The Spaniard blitzed Cherry Hills for a 6-under 64. After a string of three straight runner-up finishes earlier this season, he is now in position to nab his first PGA Tour win since the 2012 Wyndham Championship.

Round of the day: Garcia started slowly, but his round was sparked by a hole-out eagle at No. 7. Although he bogeyed the next hole, Garcia closed with four birdies across his final eight holes. A 13-foot birdie putt on the home hole allowed him to pull ahead of Palmer after 36 holes.

Best of the rest: After contending last week at TPC Boston, Palmer’s name is again near the top of the leaderboard after he matched Garcia with a 6-under 64 of his own. His scorecard included six birdies, two bogeys and an eagle, as Palmer closed with four birdies in his final six holes to share low round of the day honors.

Biggest disappointment: It appears increasingly likely that Phil Mickelson will miss the Tour Championship for the first time in the playoff era. Mickelson struggled to a 6-over 76, highlighted by a triple bogey on No. 12, to fall into a tie for 63rd. Mickelson made only one birdie and will likely finish the season without a win for the first time since 2003.

Main storyline heading into Saturday: Garcia certainly knows how to play with the lead, but just last month he held an advantage at Firestone only to see McIlroy pull ahead in the final round. It appears that unless Garcia remains aggressive, a similar situation could play out this weekend.

Shot of the day: Garcia’s tee shot found the left rough on No. 7, but from there he made quick work of things. His wedge from 125 yards took one bounce and found the bottom of the hole, an improbable eagle that came on the heels of Garcia holing out from the bunker for birdie on No. 2.

Quote of the day: “I guess I had a couple bonuses out there today.” – Garcia on his front-nine hole-outs

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Garcia rides hole-outs to 64, BMW lead through 36

CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE, Colo. – Sergio Garcia hit great shots that led to eagle, birdie and par Friday for a 6-under 64 to lead the BMW Championship.

Garcia holed out of a bunker for birdie on the second hole. He holed a lob wedge for eagle on the seventh hole. And after hitting into the water going for the par-5 17th in two, he still escaped with par by getting up-and-down from 70 yards.

Ryan Palmer also had a 64 and was one shot behind.

Rory McIlroy made three straight birdies late in his round for another 67 and was two shots behind, along with Billy Horschel (66).

Garcia was at 8-under 132. Scoring was slightly easier because overnight rain and an overcast sky made the greens slightly softer.

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