It’s Tough to Reach Players Finish Line

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — The debate about whether the Players Championship is a major can go on and on, but there doesn’t seem to be much question that the last two holes at the TPC of Sawgrass are a major pain.

“Brutal,” Tiger Woods said.

How tough on a scale of one to 10?

“Twelve,” Arron Oberholser said.

When the wind blows in gusts, and it swirls, and the greens dry out until they’re the consistency of, say, a freeway, that’s when the island green at the par-three 17th and the par-four 18th that has a lake all the way down the left side of the fairway play their toughest.

In Saturday’s third round, some played those two holes better than others, obviously. They are called the leaders -- Stephen Ames, who made par at both to wind up with a one-shot lead over Vijay Singh, who finished birdie-par, and Sergio Garcia, who went par-par to close.

Ames, at nine-under-par 207, steered himself to a two-under 70, the same score that Singh and Garcia managed under trying conditions that pounded nearly everyone who showed up. That included Oberholser, who plummeted from a tie for first into a tie for 17th when he triple bogeyed the 17th and double bogeyed the 18th, knocking his tee shot into water on both holes.

“What are you going to do?” he said. “But I played great golf for 16 holes today.”

Ames had only one major slip-up, the par-four fifth, when he missed the fairway, three-putted and walked away with a double bogey. With only one top-10 finish in seven tournaments this year, Ames has a shot at his second PGA Tour victory. His first came two years ago in the Western Open.

“I guess overall you’ve got to believe that you have a great golf swing and it’s working,” Ames said. “If you start worrying about if your golf swing is there or not, you’re going to fall.”

Ames came close at TPC Sawgrass in 2002 when he closed with a 67, but lost by two shots when Craig Perks closed with a chip-in eagle, a 28-foot birdie putt and a chip-in for par.

Ames is most closely pursued by Singh, a three-time major champion, and Garcia, known as the best player who hasn’t won a major. But they are hardly alone. Former Masters champion Mike Weir shot a 68 and moved into a tie for fourth with Henrik Stenson, who had a hole in one at the 13th on his way to a 70 that included bogeys at the 17th and 18th.

Garcia is putting in a cross-handed style and has only one three-putt this week, when he bogeyed the 13th Saturday. Singh, who was second to Woods here in 2001, has had only two top 10s in 13 trips to TPC Sawgrass, but he’s in position to make some noise this time, even though he sounded as if he was trying to encourage himself.

“I’m not playing extremely well,” he said. “I’m not playing badly, either, so I’m managing my game well.”

There is a six-way tie for sixth at five-under 211 that includes former U.S. Open champions Retief Goosen and Jim Furyk. Goosen had a 71 and Furyk, the 36-hole leader, was all over the place with two double bogeys, but hung in there with a 75, which was close to average for the day.

Not only is the rough grown up and the wind a problem, there’s the pressure of an $8-million tournament to weather, and the scores showed it.

The average score Saturday was 74.59 and the two toughest holes on the course were hardly surprising: the 18th, which played to an average of 4.69, and the 17th, where the average score was 3.54.

There were eight rounds in the 80s, among them Adam Scott’s 82 that caused him to fall from a tie for second when the day began to a tie for 51st.

It was an unsettling day for many and featured 19 lead changes involving eight players.

Fifteen players are within five shots of Ames, and Phil Mickelson is among them. Shifting into his Masters mode, Mickelson took the last two weeks off and is playing next week at the BellSouth to get ready for Augusta National. After his third-round 69, Mickelson is four under and believes he has a shot today.

“I wanted to get some momentum and start working to play well in two weeks from now,” he said. “And I also wanted to give myself a chance to win here.”

And after his one-over 73, Woods said he’s still in it, despite being seven shots from the lead.

“Without a doubt, maybe I can ... sneak in there,” he said.

Staying out of the water at the 17th would help everyone, although at this place, it’s truly a major obstacle. So far, 45 balls have missed the island green and wound up wet.

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Leaderboard

Today’s final round of the Players Championship begins at 10:30 a.m. PST on Channel 4.

*--* Player 1st 2nd 3rd Total Par Stephen Ames 71 66 70 207 -9 Vijay Singh 68 70 70 208 -8 Sergio Garcia 70 68 70 208 -8 Mike Weir 71 71 68 210 -6 Henrik Stenson 69 71 70 210 -6

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