Players Championship 2013: Sergio, Tiger climb leaderboard

Sergio Garcia caught fire at the second round of the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass on Friday, shooting a 65 to move up nine spots to the top of the leaderboard heading into the weekend. Garcia is at 11-under through two rounds, which is enough to give him a one-stroke lead over Tiger Woods.

Woods has been his steady self, shooting 67 on both days of the tournament to hover around the top of the leaderboard with two rounds still to go. If not for Garcia’s big round, Woods would be at the top.

Rory McIlroy is even through 14 holes in the second round of the 2013 Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Tied for second after the first round, McIlroy has slipped out of the top ten and is tied for eleventh overall at 6-under.

Meanwhile, Zach Johnson is 2-under through 14. Johnson is currently tied with three for fifth at 8-under overall. He is two strokes off the lead held by Sergio Garcia at 11-under.

Rory McIlroy is 1-under par through six holes in the second round of the 2013 Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. McIlroy was tied for second place after the first round, but he has slipped to a tie for seventh as a few competitors have shot low Friday scores.

The biggest mover in Round 2 has been Sergio Garcia, who jumped from a tie for 10th after the first round into the tournament lead. Garcia shot a 7-under 65, the low round of the day so far, moving to 11-under through 36 holes. Tiger Woods completed his second straight round at 5-under, and he sits alone in second place, one stroke off the lead. Kevin Chappell and Lee Westwood both shot 6-under 66s to get to -9 and a tie for third.

A rivalry which was once hailed as the future of golf in the late 90s may resurface on the weekend at the 2013 Players Championship. Sergio Garcia and Tiger Woods charged to the top of the leaderboard Friday morning at TPC Sawgrass, overtaking 18-hole leader Roberto Castrom who’s out in the afternoon wave. Garcia, who’s at 11-under, leads Woods by one shot with half the field still out on the course.

For Woods, the conditions were perfect to take aim at the pins and shape shots with his irons. While he plays it annually when healthy (and sometimes injured), this course is not a favorite of Tiger’s, who won the event in 2001. He’s been unable to contend since 2009, but this May, he entered the week in different form and with greater comfort in his Sean Foley-redesigned swing. Even with that improved game, Tiger talked about the tricky layout before the week and it was clear that this Pete Dye design is still not one he’s especially comfortable with.

With six holes left in his second round, Tiger Woods is now 10-under and in sole possession of first place at the 2013 Players Championship. The Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass is not a favorite of Tiger’s, with only one career win and non-contention since 2009. He talked about the tricky layout of the course, and it’s a tournament where he feels obligated to show up annually. It may be the “fifth major” but it’s not one of his preferential destinations like Torrey Pines, Doral, Bay Hill, or Firestone. But despite the rough track record here, Woods is taking the same route to the top of the leaderboard that he does at those other annual stops, by dominating the par-5s on his way to the midpoint lead.

It was at the par-5 second that Woods jumped into a share of the lead for the first time this week, draining an eagle to get to 9-under for the championship. Tiger sent a laser off the tee that left him 170 yards into the green. He put his approach shot pin high on the back of the green, but still had more than 20 feet to the hole. Tiger’s ball, however, never left the center of the cup and he started walking towards the hole before it ever went in for the eagle 3. He’s now 7-under through the first seven par-5s he’s played this week, and the eagle made up for a disappointing par at No. 11 early in his round.

Tiger Woods is 7-under after his first nine holes in Friday’s second round of the 2013 Players Championship. It was the back nine on Thursday where Tiger made his move to get inside the top five, and he started there on Friday morning with the relatively good scoring conditions still in effect at TPC Sawgrass.

It didn’t take long for Tiger to add to his 5-under number from Thursday, opening with a birdie at No. 10 after perfect placement from tee-to-green. It was quick way to get back the shot he lost on the 18th green the day prior. After picking up birdies on all four par-5s on Thursday, Tiger made a mess of his first par-5, No. 11, in the second round. He left his second shot short of the green, but then duffed his flop shot into a sand trap a few yards in front of him. He managed to get up-and-down from the bunker to avoid a bogey, but the par was still a disappointing result on a relatively easy hole. But again, Tiger quickly responded from that miss to add another birdie on No. 12, sticking his iron approach shot to six feet to easily get to 7-under.

Tiger Woods is making an early Friday move at the 2013 Players Championship, adding two birdies in his first four holes to get to 7-under, into a tie for second. Woods started the day on the back nine, which he began with three straight birdies on Thursday after making the turn. The wind was down again on Friday morning at TPC Sawgrass, and Tiger took advantage of the benign conditions and birdie opportunities at the start of his round.

Woods mixed it up off the tee on Thursday, hitting driver, fairway woods and hybrids, and irons to keep the ball in the fairway on a tight Pete Dye layout. At the opening No. 10, he put his ball drive in the middle, setting up an approach shot that he dropped on top of the pin and spun back short of the cup. He cleaned up his birdie putt and to quickly got back the shot he dropped on the finishing hole on Thursday.

Could fans have asked for a better start to The Players Championship? Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy finished in the top five Thursday, sitting just a stroke apart from each other and both setting personal bests for their opening round at TPC Sawgrass. Friday is sure to be another day full of leaderboard moves in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

Despite the strong starts from the top two players in the world, they were both at least three shots behind leader Roberto Castro. Castro shot a 9-under 63 in his TPC debut, matching the tournament course record held by Hall of Famers Fred Couples and Greg Norman,. Seven birdies and an eagle on the par-5 second hole gave him a three-stroke lead over McIlroy and Zach Johnson heading into Day 2.

Roberto Castro tied a TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course record after shooting 9-under-par 63 during the first round of the 2013 Players Championship on Thursday. Through one day, he holds a nice cushion over the field, three shots ahead of second-place Zach Johnson and Rory McIlroy, and four shots ahead of Tiger Woods.

Castro enjoyed good weather conditions for his round and took advantage with birdies on five of his first nine holes. After the turn, he recorded an eagle on No. 2 and birdies on 4 and 6 before closing the day with par on his final three holes. Castro is playing the Players Championship for the first time in his career and has yet to record a win in his four years as a pro.