Westchester CC doesn't seem to be in future

PARAMUS, N.J. - For the first 40 years of this tournament's existence, from 1967 to 2007, it had one home that defined the event, the Westchester Country Club. The Barclays is scheduled to go back there as part of a rotation in 2012, but it is doubtful that it ever will go back.

"I think it's in discussion and I'd rather not say anything about it," Barclays president Bob Diamond said in a luncheon interview with reporters Saturday at Ridgewood Country Club, site of this year's tournament.

When it goes to Plainfield Country Club in 2011, the event will have been in New Jersey for four consecutive years. Will it ever move back across the Hudson?

Diamond said that when Barclays first took over sponsorship, the difficulty was in finding a host club (Bethpage Black had been mentioned). Now, he is getting requests from clubs. He added that he wants to keep a rotation that would include no fewer than three courses. What are the possibilities that one of them will be in New York?

"There are good opportunities," Diamond said. "But I wouldn't want to mention something we haven't discussed publicly."

Birdies and bogeys

Dustin Johnson shot 7-under-par 64 to go 9-under and earn a spot in the last group. If nothing else, Johnson has proved worth watching on Sundays, what with his meltdown from the lead at the U.S. Open and his two-stroke penalty on No. 18 at the PGA. He finished much earlier than leader Martin Laird so he didn't know how much of a hill he would have to climb. He did say, "If I can play like I did today, there's not too much out of reach." . . . Second-round leader Jason Day had an eventful third round: Five bogeys, four birdies and an eagle for a 70 that left him three shots out of first. "It probably could have been worse," Day said.