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Kim, Garcia breathe life into Tour Championship

Thanks to the cup, the Tour Championship finally might be worth watching. No, not the FedEx Cup.

Six days after Anthony Kim routed Sergio Garcia in the opening singles match at the Ryder Cup, two of golf's most dynamic young players will square off again in the third round at East Lake.

Kim had to settle for a 1-under 69 on Friday after making bogey from the bunker on No. 18, giving him a 2-shot lead over Garcia and putting them in the final pairing today at the Tour Championship.

This is not match play. There are 36 holes remaining. At stake is $1.26 million, not a 17-inch gold trophy to share. Besides, it was only a month ago that they played together the first two rounds of the PGA Championship.

Even so, the fact they are playing together so close to the Ryder Cup figures to bring the Tour Championship to life.

"We had one day of golf - really, 14 holes of golf," Kim said, trying to downplay the pairing and instead drawing laughter for his veiled reference of a 5-and-4 victory at Valhalla.

Kim was at 7-under 133, and while he will have a 2-up lead of sorts on today, the momentum might lie with Garcia. He was 4 over through his first six holes of the tournament, rallied for a 70, then followed that with nearly flawless play for a 65.

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