Barclays Golf 2012 Leaderboard: Sergio Garcia Will Win for 2nd Straight Week

Sergio Garcia made a great run en route to a first-place finish at the Wyndham Championship last weekend and while playing at The Barclays at Bethpage Black this weekend, he’ll look for the same result.

Garcia played well through all four rounds in North Carolina, but his seven-under second round is really what gave him the edge to top the leaderboard during the weekend. Garcia was solid from the tee box and fantastic on the greens. He averaged 26.8 putts per round (tied for second-best) and 1.635 putts per green in regulation (second-best).

Sergio’s putter hasn’t been as kind to him this season as it used to be, and that’s a major factor going into The Barclays. Garcia has to take his time reading putts and stay composed no matter what the situation unless he could find himself going home early.

Before winning the Wyndham Championship, Sergio was having a lackluster season and hadn’t finished with a score under par since May. In fact, he’s only been under par at the conclusion of a 2012 tournament on five occasions. Despite only missing two cuts, it’s safe to say that Garcia is no longer the golfer he once was.

"It’s a hard game," Garcia said via the New York Times, "but it’s also—when you can do a couple things right, gives a lot back to you. You just kind of keep practicing, keep trying hard and just kind of wait for the right times to come around. You know, it’s pretty much as simple as that."

This most recent victory is exactly what Garcia needs going into the PGA playoffs, though. It’s a major confidence booster and he should be able to repeat his success going into this weekend, especially since he’s played well at The Barclays in the past.

In 2011, Garcia shot nine-under par, but still finished in a tied for 32nd. In 2009, he finished tied for 31st with a one-over par. The year before that, he lost in a playoff to Vijay Singh after finishing the fourth round at eight-under par. Garcia has shot under par at The Barclays on several other occasions as well as this time around should be no different.

Garcia is currently ranked 32nd in the FedEx Cup standings and could jump plenty of players if he comes out on top at The Barclays. It may be premature to say that Garcia is back, but a win at Bethpage Black would definitely put him into the mix going forward.