After a nearly two-hour rain delay, Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia finally completed their front nine. Tiger went out in ever-par 36 and has not been as sharp on Saturday as his first two rounds. Woods missed a quality birdie chance at the par-5 ninth hole, but he’s still 9-under through his first 10 par-5s this week. The round started with Tiger missing off the tee, but he sprinkled in some mediocre approach and chip shots on the front side. He undoubtedly walked off the par-5 ninth disappointed with a par, but he’ll now have several birdie chances to start his back nine.
Players Championship leaderboard: Henrik Stenson maintains lead over Sergio Garcia, Tiger Woods
The 2009 winner is holding onto a slim lead as Sergio and Tiger battle behind him.
Andy Lyons
Garcia picked up his first birdie of the round at No. 9, putting a moderate length putt in the center of the cup to get back to even on the day. He did not play the hole without incident, however, as he glared back at a fan, or apparent disturbance, after slightly mishitting his second shot. The ball still fell safely in the fairway for a layup, and Sergio got up-and-down to get back to 11-under. It was a nice response for Garcia, who blamed Tiger for a missed shot on the first par-5 of the day during an eventful interview at the rain delay.
While Tiger and Sergio battled back-and-forth in the final pairing, Henrik Stenson quietly took over the lead, which he momentarily extended to two shots with a birdie on No. 9. The birdie capped an outward nine of 33 for the former Players Champion. Stenson’s career highlight occurred at this event in 2009, a win that pushed him inside the top five in the world golf rankings. But he completely fell off after that victory, failing to qualify for multiple majors and wandering in obscurity. He’s steadily re-emerged as a regular contender and his form this week has put him in place for a second title at TPC Sawgrass.
Due to the rain delay, it’s unlikely the third round finishes on Saturday. There’s also another, more substantial storm forecasted to come through the Ponte Vedra Beach area a little after 7 p.m. ET. If that does hit the area as expected, that could be it for the day and both Tiger and Sergio will have to come back bright and early Sunday morning. With that in mind, here’s the current leaderboard as they make their way to the back side at the Stadium Course:
| Score | Player | Thru |
| -12 | Henrik Stenson | 10 |
| -11 | Sergio Garcia | 9 |
| -10 | Tiger Woods | 9 |
| -10 | David Lingmerth | 11 |
| -9 | Jeff Maggert | F |
| -9 | Hunter Mahan | 12 |
| -8 | Marc Leishman | 13 |
| -8 | David Lynn | F |
| -8 | Ryan Palmer | 10 |
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