Spain’s affable Sergio Garcia is out in front and on target for a second Players Championship success in five years after posting a seven under par 65 on day two of the rich $9.5m event at TPC Sawgrass.
Garcia again showed his affectionfor the Pete Dye designed Stadium layout with the Ryder Cup star birding six of his closing eight holes including five in succession from the 11th hole of his round.
But while Garcia looks to taste success for a first time this new season, World No. 1 Tiger Woods and a player who has won three times already in 2013, is just a shot behind on 10-under par after shooting a successive 67.
Sergio Garcia won the Players Championship in 2008 and now looking to lift the trophy for a second time.
“There’s obviously two or three holes I’m not a huge fan of, comfort-wise,” said Garcia said about the Stadium Course.
“But for the most part, I’ve always said it — it’s one of my favorite golf courses, and that’s probably one of the reasons I tend to play fairly well when I’m here.”
Garcia’s game is on the upswing now, with five top-10s in his last 11 starts on the PGA Tour dating back to last year’s win at the Wyndham Championship.
“I’ve always liked those kinds of courses — small greens, not particularly long, doglegs,” added Garcia. “Courses that are asking you to maneuver the ball. This course is no different.”
After shooting an opening 68, Garcia started Friday’s round on the 10th hole and was a bogey-free 2 under at the turn. He then bogeyed the par-4 first hole when he found bunkers with his tee shot and approach shot.
That dropped shot turned out to be a wake-up call. Or maybe just a hiccup.
He birdied the par-5 second with two putts from 15 feet. Then the par-3 third with a putt inside 7 feet. Then the par-4 fourth from 8-1/2 feet. Then the par-4 fifth from 19 feet. Then he drained a 26-footer at the par-4 sixth.
Five consecutive birdies. And the biggest of the day was still to come — a 40-foot putt at the par-3 eighth that moved him atop the leaderboard.
If Garcia goes on to win this weekend, he’ll likely look at the six-birdie, seven-hole stretch as the turning point.
“Unfortunately we don’t have enough of those,” he said of the hot streak. “But when you start going like that, obviously it feels great. You know, everything seems kind of clearer in your head, you seem to see the break.”
He just needs to keep his head clear for two more rounds. Right now, he’d be paired with Tiger Woods, who’s 10 under through 36 holes, in the final group. It’s always a challenge to play with Tiger in the final group on a weekend, but Garcia won’t be focused on his playing partner.
Instead, he plans to call upon the good vibes he felt in winning in 2008, when he beat Paul Goydos in a playoff, as well as the year before that, when he finished second to Phil Mickelson. Until last year at Wyndham, Garcia’s 2008 PLAYERS win had been his last on TOUR.
“What happened here five years ago was great,” Garcia said. “What happened here six years ago was great.,
“Fortunately for me, I’ve managed to play quite decent on this golf course. So any good thing that you can get in your head, it’s obviously positive, and those kinds of things always help.
“But it’s a different year … It’s a different tournament. So we’ll see if we can manage to do something similar.”
* Thanks to www.pgatour.com
