Woods Clinches Second Players Championship

Tiger Woods held on to clinch his second
Players Championship by two strokes on
Sunday after long-time adversary Sergio
Garcia spectacularly imploded on his last
two holes.
Spaniard Garcia shared the lead on 13-under
with Woods when he teed off at the short but
treacherous 17th, but hit into the water twice
to crash to a quadruple bogey, after the world
number one had parred the famed island hole.
The 2001 champion Woods parred the 18th to
complete a two-under 70 for a 13-under total
of 275, surviving a late challenge from
Sweden’s David Lingmerth at the Stadium
Course at TPC Sawgrass.
The impressive rookie Lingmerth missed a
monster putt to bogey the last hole for a 72,
and finished tied for second with Americans
Jeff Maggert (70) and Kevin Streelman (67).
Garcia, the 2008 champion, compounded his
miserable finish by finding water on the 18th
to sign off with a double-bogey and plunge
well down the leaderboard.
MEAN-SPIRITED
Woods had appeared in complete command,
and led by two strokes before stumbling at the
14th after hooking his tee shot into the water
on the left.
That set up a four-way tie with Garcia,
Lingmerth and Maggert for the lead at 12-
under.
“It was a tough battle. I felt like was in control
of it after I birdied 12 and gave it right back at
14 with a double,” said Woods after claiming
his 78th PGA victory in his 300th career start.
“It was game on and anybody could win the
golf tournament.”
The 49-year-old Maggert, bidding to become
the oldest Players winner, slipped out of
contention when he hit his tee shot in the
water on the way to the 17th green and
Lingmerth took a step back with a bogey at the
14th.
It narrowed to a tie at 13-under between
Woods and Garcia, who had exchanged some
mean-spirited barbs as well as birdies and
bogeys in their third-round pairing on
Saturday.
BOLD LINE
After Woods parred the par-three 17th, Garcia
took a bold line at the pin but splashed well
short into the water.
Unbowed, he tried the ploy again and
temporarily found land before the ball
bounded into the drink.
“That hole has been good to me for the most
part,” said Garcia, whose 2008 Players title was
decided at the 17th in a playoff against Paul
Goydos.
“Today it wasn’t. That’s the way it is. That’s the
kind of hole it is. You’ve got to love it for what
it is.”
Lingmerth, who had missed his last five cuts
prior to Sawgrass, was back in the hunt with a
birdie at the par-five 16th after nearly holing
out a bunker shot.
After playing partner Garcia rinsed his tee shot
at 17, the young Swede also attacked the flag,
and managed to stick his shot in close before
missing an eight-foot birdie putt to remain one
stroke behind Woods.
Lingmerth reached the green of the difficult
18th but left himself a 60-foot birdie putt to
tie which he pushed 14 feet past the hole
leading to a dropped shot and an 11-under
finish.
The Web.com tour graduate said he was not
intimidated going up against the likes of Woods
and Garcia down the stretch of what is
generally considered golf’s fifth major.
“It was a great week overall,” said Lingmerth.
“(But) I’m in it to win it. I felt like I had a good
couple of chances there towards the end and
just didn’t putt very well.
“I’m out there to do my own thing. Sergio does
Sergio, and Tiger does Tiger, and I’m going to
do me.”
Tied for fifth place on 10 under par, three
shots off the pace, were Henrik Stenson of
Sweden (72), Scotsman Martin Laird (67) and
Ryan Palmer (72).