The Daily Wrap-up, Rd. 3: THE PLAYERS
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Alex Cejka could see chaos all around him at THE PLAYERS Championship, or at least hear it through the groans of a scorching Saturday at TPC Sawgrass that delivered so many meltdowns.
He was among the few to survive, taking on the flag with an 8-iron on the final hole that set up a 5-foot birdie for an even-par 72 and a five-shot lead, the largest after three rounds in the 36 years of this prestigious event.
Time to exhale? Not quite.
In a tournament full of surprises, the biggest of all might be his date in the final round Sunday: Tiger Woods.
Woods didn't look like a player who should be in contention, not after having to play one shot left-handed from the base of a pine, missing one shot by 40 feet with a wedge in his hand and looking increasingly frustrated at birdie chances that slipped away.
But back-to-back birdies, followed by a huge break on the 18th hole, changed his fortunes.
His 2-under 70 turned out to be good enough to move up 20 spots into a six-way tie for second. Since Woods was the first player in the clubhouse at 6 under, he earned a spot in the final pairing Sunday with a 38-year-old who has never held a final-round lead on U.S. soil.
"It's going to be tough," Cejka said. "He's the best player. It's going to be a good challenge for me. I know I have a lead, but it's against not only Tiger but against the rest of the field. I've got to play well tomorrow to win here."
Cejka was at 11-under 205 and doesn't seem to be all that intimidated.
He recalled beating Woods the last time they were paired in the final round of a big event -- that was the 1996 British Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, when Woods was a 20-year-old amateur. Cejka shot 67 to finish 11th; Woods had a 70.
And the Czech-born German is going with a familiar Sunday attire -- red shirt and black pants -- a tradition for Woods in the final round.
"Hopefully, it works for me, too," Cejka said. "It's nice to watch the best player in the world, but I've got to focus again on my game tomorrow and let him work a little bit."
In Woods' only victory this year since returning from knee surgery, he matched his PGA TOUR best with a five-shot comeback against Sean O'Hair in the final pairing at Bay Hill.
• To read the remainder of this story, click here.
DON'T BE SURPRISED IF IT COMES DOWN TO NO. 17
By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM Managing Editor
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Imagine this: You're leading THE PLAYERS Championship as you reach the 17th on Sunday. There, the island hole awaits, a 4,000 square-foot green surrounded by liquid trouble.
Nerves will be tight. A dry throat will ensue. The pressure will be intense. That green -- large by Stadium Course standards -- will look like the size of that missing button off your favorite well-worn shirt. If you miss the green and find the water, you might very well be throwing away the championship.
Stephen Ames doesn't recall feeling any pressure when he reached the 17th green on the final day in 2006. Of course, it helped that he had a six-shot lead at the time.
"If you're one shot ahead or one shot behind, it changes things," said Ames, whose tee shot that Sunday landed safely on the green for an easy par. "Six shots ahead? Not really much to worry about."
Even though Alex Cejka will go into the final round with a five-stroke lead, it's doubtful the leader will arrive at the 17th tee so comfortably ahead this Sunday. The Stadium Course, vulnerable in the first two days, turned inhospitable in the third round, thanks to firmed-up greens baked by the First Coast sun, an uptick in wind, and harsh pin placements.
• To read the remainder of this story, click here.
WOODS GETS CREATIVE, PLAYS WAY INTO FINAL PAIRING
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Left-handed from beside a tree trunk. Perched perilously above Pete Dye's signature railroad ties.
You name the situation, and Tiger Woods had a solution for it Saturday during the third round of THE PLAYERS Championship. And once again on this steamy afternoon, his never-say-die attitude was as important as those 14 incomparable, but sometimes uncooperative clubs in his bag.
The result was a determined 70 that included birdies at the 16th and 17th holes, which boosted Woods to the upper echelon of the leadeboard. The world No. 1 finished 54 holes at 6 under, tied with five others for second, five strokes off the lead.
That's doable, of course. Woods made up a five-stroke deficit to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard earlier this year in just his third start of the season. He also came from five behind at the 2000 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
To read the remainder of this story, click here.
| Top 5 notables at THE PLAYERS Championship | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Saturday's Best |
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The 523-yard par-5 16th hole was easiest with a Saturday scoring average of 4.482.
The 481-yard par-4 14th hole was toughest with a Saturday scoring average of 4.422.
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Retief Goosen was 50 yards from the pin after his second shot, then he pitched in for birdie on the par-4 14th hole. He is tied for second after three rounds. 
On a challenging day at TPC Sawgrass, both Kenny Perry and Woody Austin fired 68s to move from a tie for 61st into a tie for 11th. | QUOTE OF THE DAY | ||||||||||
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INSIDE THE ROPES WITH THE PGA TOUR NETWORK
PGA TOUR Network correspondent Fred Albers offers these observations from Saturday's action. Listen to PGA TOUR Live coverage on XM 146/SIRIUS 209 or right here at PGATOUR.COM.
Tiger Woods was a frustrated golfer walking off the 15th green. He had just made bogey and was back to even par in the third round of THE PLAYERS. His face was streaked with sweat and Woods grimaced as he took the short walk to the 16th tee. So how did he respond? Woods birdied the 16th, birdied the 17th and converted a one-putt par on the difficult 18th to finish 2 under (70) for the day and 6 under for the tournament. Lee Trevino once said that every golfer gets angry, it's just that the great ones learn to control their temper.
Every golfer needs patience on a difficult layout like TPC Sawgrass and Jonathan Byrd needed an extra dose in his third round. Byrd put up back-to-back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 5-7. He was 1 over arriving at the par-5 16th. A good drive left Byrd with 211 yards to the flag, and he cut a 5-iron to within three feet. The eagle putt did not offset the trio of bogeys, but it did allow him to shoot 1 under and finish 54 holes at 6-under par and still in contention.
Daniel Chopra admitted he was a little nervous playing with Tiger Woods in the third round, but he shared a special moment with the world's No. 1 ranked player. Woods hit his tee shot on the par-3 17th to within 8 feet and Chopra followed with a shot to within 2 feet. Both players birdied and the gallery erupted in "Golf's Greatest Stadium." Chopra walked next to Woods and asked, "Is it like this for you all the time?" Woods responded, "Pretty much so, yes." They both laughed then acknowledged the gallery.
HEADING HOME AFTER SATURDAY
Each week on the PGA TOUR, the 36-hole cut culls the field to the low 70 players and ties. However, if more than 78 players make the cut on Friday, there is a second one on Saturday for the low 70 players and ties. At THE PLAYERS Championship this week, 83 players made the 36-hole cut.
Therefore, there were 12 players cut after 54 holes, including Stewart Cink, Fred Funk, Steve Marino and Dustin Johnson. They will still earn money, though, based on where they finished after Saturday's round.
THIRD-ROUND NOTEBOOK: THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP
By Joel Schuchmann, PGA TOUR Staff
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Alex Cejka, 66-67-72=205 (-11), enters the final round of THE PLAYERS Championship with a 5-shot lead, the first time in his career he holds a 54-hole outright lead. Prior to this week, Cejka's best position entering a final round on the PGA TOUR was a share of the lead at the 2001 British Open.
• His 5-stroke lead entering the final round is the largest 54-hole lead in tournament history, bettering a 4-stroke advantage by Greg Norman in 1994 and Larry Mize in 1986.
• Cejka has teed off in the final round of a PGA TOUR event in the final two groups four previous times. He was tied for first at the 2001 British Open and tied for 13th; was tied for second at the 2003 B.C. Open and tied for second; was tied for second at the 2008 Stanford St. Jude Championship and tied for fourth; and was tied for fourth at the 2006 John Deere Classic and tied for third.
• The third-round leader/co-leader has won 14 of 18 events (78 percent) on the PGA TOUR this season. Last year, the third-round leader/co-leader only won 22 of 46 events (48 percent).
• In the last 10 PLAYERS Championships, only Stephen Ames (2006), Adam Scott (2004), Hal Sutton (2000) and David Duval (1999) have managed to turn a 54-hole lead into victory. Since THE PLAYERS moved to TPC Sawgrass in 1982, the third-round leader/co-leader has gone on to win 11 of 27 times (41 percent).
• Should Cejka go on to victory, he would be the fifth international player in the last eight years to win THE PLAYERS and only the second player in tournament history to make THE PLAYERS his first PGA TOUR win (joining Craig Perks, 2002).
• To read more notes from the third round, click here.
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