Golf: Wilkinson and Lee fade at Barracuda Championship

New Zealand's Tim Wilkinson. Photo / Ross Setford.

Kiwi golfers Tim Wilkinson and Danny Lee both endured disappointing third rounds at the Barracuda Championship in Nevada on the PGA Tour.

Wilkinson only accumulated one modified stableford point during his round today, which included two birdies and three bogeys, as he slipped to a share of 25th on 22 points for the tournament having begun the day inside the top five. Lee produced an even-scoring round and was left in a tie for 56th on 15 points.

Australian Geoff Ogilvy leads the tournament on 35 points with Americans Jason Allred and Nick Watney in a share of second place on 32.

The Barracuda Championship, which changed its scoring to modified stableford in 2012, is the only tournament on the PGA Tour, which uses this format.

Players are awarded points on each hole with eight points for a double eagle, five for an eagle and two for a birdie. Scoring par on a hole is neutral while a bogey costs you one point and a double bogey or worse will result in a player losing three points.

Essentially, the format promotes 'risk and reward' on the golf course and encourages players to take on more aggressive strokes in the search for points, while if they're on track for a double bogey or worse they can just pick up their ball and move on to the next hole.

Wilkinson came in to the tournament in 108th place on the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup standings and needs a solid fourth round to hold his spot, while Lee came to Nevada in 104th and could drop a spot this week.

Players who finish inside the top 125 hold their PGA Tour cards for next season.

This week's tournament in Nevada has a watered-down field given the world's best players are on course at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational event in Akron, Ohio.

Spaniard Sergio Garcia (-14) has a three-shot lead after the third round of the cash-rich WGC event with Rory McIlroy (-11) in second place.