(Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)

Mark Wilson entered the third round of the BMW Championship with a lot of positives, but when the 18th holes of the third round was concluded, only that Wilson could talk about was the negatives.

Wilson, a Wisconsin native, that lives in the suburbs of Chicago and played the Cog Hill course hundreds of times so when he shot 65-66 to move to 11-under and tied with Justin Rose for the halfway lead it wasn’t surprising.

With two wins in 2010 at the Sony Open in Hawaii and the Waste Management Phoenix Open just weeks later, Wilson looked like a shoe in for the U.S. Presidents Cup team.

More Pro Golf Coverage

(Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)

But just as good as the early part of the season was positive, most of the remainder of the regular season has been mediocre.

So when Wilson showed his early season form over the first two rounds, it looked like the three-time PGA Tour winner would make his first postseason cup team.

But that was Friday, after shooting a 6-over, 77, Wilson is just trying to move back up the leaderboard and catch Rose, eight shots clear.

“I fought hard and played hard,” Wilson said of Saturday’s third round. “It was one of those days where I was definitely the bug, and the first two days I was the windshield.“

More Pro Golf Coverage

Bug or windshield, Wilson needs to make a significant move to make a statement to Fred Couples, the U.S. Presidents Cup captain.

(Photo by Hunter Martin/Getty Images)

If Wilson can chip away at Rose’s lead and then make a charge next week in Atlanta, Wilson could be the only three-time winner on the PGA Tour in 2011. If he can accomplish that it would be very difficult for Couples to not select him.

“I didn’t save any shots with some long putts or even make any birdie putts,” Wilson said. “They’ve got to go tomorrow. Law of averages.”

Stuart Hall is editor of the Golf Press Association.