   
| Late hiccup aside, great third round for Garcia at THE PLAYERS  PGATOUR.com Interactive Producer PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Low scores were there for the taking during the third round of THE PLAYERS on Saturday. That's why Spain's Sergio Garcia had to be a little disappointed after tapping in for a double-bogey six on the 18th hole to wrap up an otherwise outstanding round of 5-under-par 67. "The wind wasn't as strong today as it was the last couple of days," Garcia said. "I played really well, unfortunately that one bad swing cost me a double bogey, but we're back with a chance tomorrow."  Sergio Garcia had an incredible stretch of seven birdies over 10 holes on Saturday. (Condon/PGA TOUR/WireImage)
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The one bad swing Garcia spoke of was a wayward 6-iron. After a beautiful drive with a three-wood that found the middle of the fairway on the long par-4 closing hole, he "got stuck" and pulled the ball slightly into the enormous lake that hugs the left side of the fairway. "I wanted to hit a good shot," Garcia said. "I wanted to hit a proper shot on 18. I wanted to give myself a good birdie chance. I didn't want to blast it right. I just got a little quick, a little stuck and unfortunately didn't cut it. I just pulled it a little bit and couldn't save my bogey...Unfortunately, tomorrow I'm going to have to shoot two shots better than if I made par on the last." Despite the shaky finish, the only other time Garcia has posted a score better than Saturday's 67 at THE PLAYERS Stadium Course was during the first round in 2005 when he put up a 66. But back to Saturday's round, which was a beauty until that end-of-the-round blemish. The 27-year-old was grabbing birdies in bunches. He had seven birdies in 10 holes, beginning on No. 4. "I played very nicely today, very steady," he said. "I hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens. I really had a pretty simple 7-under par going and missed some good birdie opportunities early on and then I got it going a little bit towards the middle of the round." Garcia made a Seve Ballesteros-like up-and-down for birdie at the par-5 16th hole. Trying to go for the green in two from the right-center of the fairway, Garcia pulled his shot with a mid-iron. It went into the gallery on the left and then nestled down into the rough with a downhill lie and not a whole lot of green to work with. From there he proceeded to punch his ball into the fringe and it released gently to the hole for a tap-in birdie. "It was a decent lie, but it was severely downhill," he said. "It just came out exactly where I wanted it to." Along with the wind, Garcia said another big difference on Saturday from the first two days was the pace of the greens. "The way it's set up the greens aren't very, very quick," he said. "They're a good speed. If you manage to get on a roll and hit a lot of fairways and feel comfortable with your irons you can give yourself a lot of birdie chances. The greens are just rolling beautifully. If you get a bit of confidence there you can make some good putts. On the other hand, if you start a little bit the other way, the wrong way, this is a course that can get you on any hole. It did to me on 18." |
