Weather delays third round at THE PLAYERS
The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. will test your patience under normal conditions. Throw in a two-hour severe weather delay, a late afternoon breeze and darkness, and it can really rattle your nerves.
That was the story Saturday in the third round of THE PLAYERS Championship. Tiger Woods began the day at 10-under par and was tied for second, one stroke behind playing partner Sergio Garcia. When play was called due to darkness, Tiger was standing in the middle of the fairway at the par-4 15th hole and remained at 10-under and tied for second with Garcia and Henrik Stenson, two strokes behind surprise leader David Lingmerth, who was 12-under for the tournament with only the 18th hole to play.
“No, I didn’t want to keep playing,” said Woods. “I’m half asleep. I’m really hungry and I really want dinner. So we called it quits and will go watch the (New York) Knicks game.”
Tiger, who won this event in 2001, carded 12 pars, one birdie and one bogey during the marathon round. He made an eight-foot birdie putt at the 532-yard, par-5 second, getting up-and-down from the front-right bunker, but three-putted the 177-yard, par-3 third hole for a bogey from 42 feet. Otherwise, he plodded admirably and was pleased with his performance.
“I was very patient today,” he said. “It was a day of grinding. Some of these pins are such sucker pins and the ball was flying.”
Woods failed to take advantage of several good birdie opportunities, most notably a 15-footer at the par-5 ninth, a nine-footer at the par-4 10th that stopped one inch from the cup, and a 10-footer at the par-5 11th. But he also made several nice par saves. Tiger got up-and-down at the par-4 fourth, par-4 sixth, and par-3 13th to keep his round going.
Third-round play will resume Sunday at 7:10 a.m. ET with 10 players still on the course. Woods will have a 140 yards to the flag at 15. Once he and Garcia complete their last four holes, all players will be re-paired according to their scores and the fourth round will start.
