Golf Capsules: Cejka builds a 5-shot lead over Woods

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - Alex Cejka could see chaos all around him at The Players Championship, or at least hear it through the groans of a scorching Saturday at the TPC Sawgrass that delivered so many meltdowns.

He was among the few to survive, taking on the flag with an 8-iron on the final hole that set up a 5-foot birdie for an even-par 72 and a five-shot lead, the largest after three rounds in the 36 years of this prestigious event.

Time to exhale? Not quite.

In a tournament full of surprises, the biggest of all might be his date in the final round Sunday: Tiger Woods.

Woods didn't look like a player who should be in contention, not after having to play one shot left-handed from the base of a pine, missing one shot by 40 feet with a wedge in his hand and looking increasing frustrated at birdie chances that slipped away.

But back-to-back birdies, followed by a huge break on the 18th hole, changed his fortunes.

His 2-under 70 turned out to be good enough to move up 20 spots into a six-way tie for second, in the final pairing Sunday with a 38-year-old who has never held a final-round lead on U.S. soil.

"It's going to be tough," Cejka said. "He's the best player. It's going to be a good challenge for me. I know I have a lead, but it's against not only Tiger but against the rest of the field. I've got to play well tomorrow to win here."

Cejka was at 11-under 205 and doesn't seem to be all that intimidated.

He recalled beating Woods the last time they were paired in the final round of a big event - that was the 1996 British Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, when Woods was a 20-year-old amateur. Cejka shot 67 to finish 11th; Woods had a 70.

And the Czech-born German is going with a familiar Sunday attire - red shirt and black pants - a tradition for Woods in the final round.

"Hopefully, it works for me, too," Cejka said. "It's nice to watch the best player in the world, but I've got to focus again on my game tomorrow and let him work a little bit."

In Woods' only victory this year since returning from knee surgery, he matched his PGA Tour best with a five-shot comeback against Sean O'Hair in the final pairing at Bay Hill.

Even so, Woods was not alone in his pursuit.

Henrik Stenson was two shots behind until he bogeyed three of the last five holes, nearly chipping into the water on the 16th. He wound up with a 73, and was in the six-way tie for second that included Woods, two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen (71), Jonathan Byrd (71), Ben Crane (72) and Ian Poulter, who didn't make a single birdie on his way to a 75.

Woods got into the final group because he was the first to finish among the group at 6-under 210, and what a finish it was.

He had been struggling all day in temperatures that climbed into the 90s. He had to hit one shot left-handed from the base of a pine, missed his target by 40 feet with a wedge, and looked increasingly frustrated as he missed birdie chances.

Back-to-back birdies got him in range, and a huge break that followed on the 18th kept him there.

He was in the trees again, a few feet from the divot he left the day before when he made a tremendous escape. This time, a 6-iron came out hot and more left than he wanted, racing through the green and tumbling down a bank toward the pond. But a tuft of Bermuda grass grabbed the ball a foot from the water, and Woods managed to save par.

He had no idea where it would lead him.

"You figured some of the guys would shoot 3- or 4-under-par today, but it's just not happening out there," Woods said.

Instead, everyone went the other direction.

-Poulter took bogeys on two par 5s.

-David Toms was making a run until he shot 42 on the back nine for a 77.

-Kevin Na managed only two pars on the back nine for a 40.

The good news for most was that they still had hope.

"I'm still in pretty good shape," Stenson said. "I would have liked to have finished better. That's just the nature of this golf course."

Mother Nature didn't help.

After overnight rain on the eve of the tournament, the TPC Sawgrass has been in an oven set to broil. The putting surfaces are more yellow than green. The fairways are faster than ever. The slightest miss can lead to big trouble.

No one had quite a wild day as Na. He was two strokes behind at the turn, then bogeyed the next two holes and put a tee shot in the water on the par-3 13th and took triple bogey. He got back in the mix with a birdie on the 15th and an eagle on the 16th, only to bogey the last two holes for a 74.

He was in the group at 5-under 211.

"This course, it's crazy," Na said. "You've got the greatest players in the world having trouble shooting par on this golf course. There's a reason we're shooting over par."

Na slides down leaderboard at Players Championship

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - Kevin Na trudged up the 18th fairway, stopped a few yards short of the green and started searching for his ball.

It was buried deep in the rough.

He probably wished he could have left his entire round there.

Na had the wildest round during a strange Saturday at The Players Championship. The 25-year-old Na twice pulled within a stroke of leader Alex Cejka, but followed both of them with near-meltdowns on the unforgiving Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.

He shot a 2-over 74, was at 5 under heading into the final round and six strokes behind Cejka. It could have been worse, too.

"This golf course can do that to you," said Na, who turned pro at 17 and is still looking for his first PGA Tour victory. "Every hole is birdieable, but definitely you can make an X on it."

Na has proof. He made consecutive birdies on Nos. 7 and 8 to get to 9 under, then badly misread a long putt on No. 9 that seemed to start the free fall. He pulled his tee shot on No. 10 into the sand, then hit his approach 70 feet past the pin and three-putted for bogey.

He yanked his second shot into a tree on the par-5 No. 11 and dropped another shot. Things got even messier at the par-3 13th.

His dropped the club during his followthrough, then covered his mouth as his tee shot landed in the water left. His third shot landed over the green, leading to a triple bogey.

Na managed to regroup and get back near the top of the leaderboard with a 20-foot birdie putt at No. 15 and an eagle at the par-5 16th. But his day ended in forgettable fashion - with consecutive bogeys that left him in a three-way tie for eighth heading into the final round.

"It was wild," Na said. "Some of the holes you've just got to take your medicine center of the green. I tried that. It was just a little off. I wasn't down the middle of the green, and that's what you need to do out here. I'm going to go work on it on the range and figure it out a little bit."

He might first want to try to forget the last two holes.

Na's tee shot at the famed island green, No. 17, might have been the most baffling. After discussing club selection with his caddie, he watched in disbelief as his ball sailed by the pin and rolled precariously close to the edge of the water.

Using a hybrid club, he watched his slippery putt roll past 10 feet past the hole. He missed the par putt, but walked off the green feeling a little lucky he didn't make double bogey.

He hoped to get back on track at No. 18, but landed just short of a tree in the right rough. His knocked his approach shot into the tree and it ricocheted into the fairway. He came up short from there and couldn't even find his ball as he walked toward the green.

Fans and volunteer marshals had to help him out.

"This course, it's crazy," he said. "I love the crowd here. I love the way the finishing holes are. It's just beautiful finishing holes. I think it's just a great test of golf. You've got the greatest players in the world having trouble shooting par on this golf course. It means something. There's a reason why we're shooting over par."

ANOTHER CUT

For the first time in the tournament's 36-year history, The Players Championship had a second cut. Twelve more players were cut after the third round Saturday, all of them sent home because of a tour rule that calls for another cut if more than 78 players make it to the weekend.

Robert Karlsson, Hunter Mahan, Stewart Cink and Fred Funk were among the dozen players done a day earlier than they had hoped.

ISLAND PARADISE?

The 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass, the famed island green that has given players nightmares over the years, has proven to be a much more pleasant place to visit this year.

The lagoon hole, the one with swirling winds and daunting galleries, is playing under par for the first time since 1997. The hole's scoring average is 2.940 through three rounds, with only 24 balls hit into the murky waters. Only four balls landed in the water Saturday, the fewest in any round since only four also got wet in the third round in 2004.

DIVOTS: NBC commentator Peter Jacobsen took a playful jab at Tiger Woods, and renowned swing coach Hank Haney, during the third-round broadcast. Jacobsen said he thought Woods would rub off on former NBA star Charles Barkley, who is starring in a reality TV show as Haney's pupil. But Jacobsen said it looked like Barkley was rubbing off on Woods. ... Only 18 players shot under par in the third round. Woody Austin and Kenny Perry led the way with 68s. ... Alex Cejka's five-stroke lead is the largest in tournament history heading into the final round.

-- Mark Long

Players Championship at a Glance

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - A brief look at Saturday's third round of The Players Championship:

LEADING: Alex Cejka (72) at 11-under 205.

TRAILING: Tiger Woods (70), Retief Goosen (71), Jonathan Byrd (71), Ben Crane (72), Henrik Stenson (73) and Ian Poulter (75) at 210.

ROUND OF THE DAY: Woody Austin and Kenny Perry shot 4-under 68s and moved into a tie for 11th at 4 under.

SHOT OF THE DAY: Alex Cejka's 8-iron from 166 yards on No. 18 landed just inside 5 feet. He made the putt for birdie and extended his lead to five strokes heading into the final round.

TIGER TALES: Tiger Woods had five birdies, including two in the final three holes, and shot 70. He ended up getting paired in the final group with Cejka for Sunday's final round.

WATER BALLS: There were only four balls hit in the water on the island-green 17th, the fewest in any round since 2004.

STAT OF THE DAY: Cejka's five-shot lead is the largest 54-hole lead in tournament history.

NOTEWORTHY: Woods has played the three closing holes in 4 under this week.

QUOTEWORTHY: "They really need to be careful and not go stupid on us (Sunday), especially with this hot wind blowing. It'll dry anything out. It could be concrete out there. This golf course is hard enough as it is." - Daniel Chopra on the conditions of the greens.

Golf funnyman criticized over magazine article

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - CBS Sports golf analyst David Feherty came under sharp criticism Saturday for a joke he wrote in a Dallas magazine article that suggested American soldiers would be just as likely to knock off House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Leader Harry Reid as they would Osama bin Laden.

Feherty was among five Dallas residents who wrote for "D Magazine" on former President George W. Bush moving to Dallas, where the former Ryder Cup player from Northern Ireland has been living the last dozen years.

"From my own experience visiting the troops in the Middle East, I can tell you this though," Feherty wrote toward the end of his column. "Despite how the conflict has been portrayed by our glorious media, if you gave any U.S. soldier a gun with two bullets in it, and he found himself in an elevator with Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Osama bin Laden, there's a good chance that Nancy Pelosi would get shot twice, and Harry Reid and bin Laden would be strangled to death."

Feherty is among the most popular golf analysts on television for his glib humor. He writes a monthly column for Golf Magazine, and the last of the four books he has written was titled, "An Idiot for All Seasons."

CBS Sports quickly distanced itself from Feherty's writing.

"We want to be clear that this column for a Dallas magazine is an unacceptable attempt at humor and is not in any way condoned, endorsed or approved by CBS Sports," spokeswoman LeslieAnne Wade said.

CBS Sports is not televising the PGA Tour this week at The Players Championship, and Feherty did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

"David Feherty is an insightful and sometimes humorous commentator for CBS Sports' golf coverage," the PGA Tour said in a statement. "However, his attempt at humor in this instance went over the line, and his comments were clearly inappropriate. We hope he will use better judgment in the future."

Media Matters for America demanded an apology.

"Mr. Feherty's violent comments about Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid are disgusting," said Eric Burns, president of the watchdog group. "Suggesting that our troops would attack the leaders of the very democracy they've sworn to sacrifice their lives for is an insult to their integrity, honor, and professionalism. CBS Sports should demand it's golf analyst apologize to our soldiers."

Feherty, a recovering alcoholic, has been part of the CBS golf team since 1997 and has been an endless stream of comedy on the air. Last week in North Carolina, he stumbled over a line of questioning until he wound up asking Tiger Woods how it felt to be the "loser" after he finished fourth at the Quail Hollow Championship. That brought laughter from the world's No. 1 player.

He has gone to Iraq the last two years over Thanksgiving to meet with the troops and deliver his irreverent humor, but the experience moved him to the point that he has applied for U.S. citizenship.

Feherty is involved with "Troops First Foundation," with hopes of raising $15 million for soldiers who return wounded, many of them without limbs. He created his own division - "F Troop" - and last year took eight soldiers to South Dakota for pheasant hunting.

"I think it was going to Iraq and being so proud of this country," he said in an interview in November. "The vast majority of Americans who haven't been outside of America don't really understand how wonderful this place is. ... And it just meant more to me, I think in the last year or so, having visited our troops abroad and spent so much time with them at home, that it will be a great honor for me to be an American."

He is supportive of the 43rd president and his relocation to Dallas.

"I think most of us here in Dallas would have understood if he and the former First Missus had moved someplace a little more secluded than Preston Hollow. Like Area 51, maybe, or some sandbar in the Galapagos Islands, just so they could catch their breath for a couple of years and take stock of their lives," Feherty wrote.

-- Doug Ferguson

Ochoa falters as Wright takes lead at Kingsmill

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - Lindsey Wright can't remember the last time she played in the final grouping in a golf tournament, but she sounds eager to tackle the challenge.

"Absolutely," she said, when asked if she's ready for her first victory. "Bring it on."

The sixth-year pro from Australia shot a 7-under 64 Saturday and will start the final round of the Michelob Ultra Open tied for the lead with Cristie Kerr, an 11-time winner.

Kerr hopes to spend her day practicing the Zen-based mental process that she said has served her well since she adopted it last year, but also knows what Wright will confront.

"She'll have to deal with her internal self and voices and whatever else is going on, just like we all do," Kerr said after finishing strong while top-ranked Lorena Ochoa faltered.

Ochoa shot 74 with only two birdies, which were canceled out by a double-bogey at the par-4 14th. She started the day leading by three and now is five behind.

"I don't know what happened," Ochoa said. "I didn't hit the ball bad. I lipped out maybe four putts today. A couple of them were about six feet, so I was a little frustrated."

If Wright encountered those doubting voices, she hid it well Saturday. With three straight rounds in the 60s, she's exceeded her total for the first 22 rounds of the year. She came within one shot of the course record, and has one bogey in the first 54 holes at Kingsmill.

She and Kerr will play in the final twosome on Sunday.

"I'm excited," Wright said. "I feel like I'm ready. It's great to be in this position. I've worked really hard on my game, so I've earned the right to be here. It's not like, ‘Oh wow! I'm leading the tournament.' I mean, my expectations are that I expect to be here.

"But in saying that, it's also a new experience."

Her playing partner, by contrast, hopes to have it mastered. Kerr is ranked sixth in the world, counts the 2007 U.S. Open among her victories and won this event in 2005.

She said her birdie-birdie finish to gain a share of the lead was big.

"If you don't have to make up shots, it's better," she said.

In-Kyung Kim, one back after a 67, will play with Song-Hee Kim, who is two back after a 68, with Wendy Ward (67) and Natalie Gulbis (68) in the third-to-last group. Ochoa, who is tied with Ward and Gulbis, is in the fourth pairing with Shiho Oyama, who is seven back.

"I'm going to tell myself tomorrow is a new day," Ochoa said.

Ochoa's 13-under total coming into the day was a midpoint record, and Wright said having the 27-year-old leading the way inspired her to a share of the three-round mark at 15 under.

"Having seen Lorena at the top off the leaderboard, that kind of sets the wheels in motion when you get to the first tee because you know you've got to make birdies," she said.

On Sunday, she intends to employ lessons learned from past days in contention, most recently the Kraft Nabisco Championship, where she finished fourth a month ago.

"If you start planning the speech on the first hole, you know you're going to be in trouble. It's a matter of playing each shot at a time. You've got to pace yourself," she said.

Kerr just hopes to keep her mind clear and trained where it needs to be.

"I have to focus on where I want to go tomorrow instead of being tied for the lead, because obviously that's not going to hold up," she said, adding that her mental training not only steers her clear of negative thoughts, but allows her to negotiate the rough patches.

"If you can ride those patches where not everything is coming together, that's when you know you're playing really well," she said, noting that the philosophy worked for her in the third round when she had two bogeys on the front nine, then was 4-under on the last nine.

-- Hank Kurz Jr.

Vancsik retains lead at Italian Open

TURIN, Italy - Daniel Vancsik of Argentina shot a 2-under 69 despite two late bogeys Saturday to retain a slim lead after the third round of the Italian Open.

The round was suspended for nearly 4 hours because of a thunderstorm, and Vancsik bogeyed two of his last three holes when play resumed. He still leads Finland's Roope Kakko (68) by one shot at 11-under 202.

"I was really unlucky with the timing of the break. I was feeling very confident, but lost concentration when we went back," Vancsik said. "I'm still happy to be leading and confident about tomorrow."

John Daly fired a third-straight 69 and was tied for 11th in his second tournament since a four-month break. It was the fourth consecutive round in which the two-time major winner has broken 70.

"I don't know what other people were expecting of me coming back, but I just hope those close to me are happy," Daly said. "I'm a little frustrated, though, because I haven't had any consistency with my putter yet."