By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM

Rickie Fowler, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, Jason Dufner, Freddie Jacobson and Padraig Harrington have all committed to the Travelers Championship, the tournament announced on Tuesday.

"Along with being great golfers, these six individuals are all well known and our fans will be thrilled to see them compete in person," tournament director Nathan Grube said. "Our competitive field just got a lot stronger with these additions."

All six have played in the event before, which will take place at TPC River Highlands June 20-23, the week after the U.S. Open at nearby Merion Golf Club in suburban Philadelphia.

Jacobson won the Travelers in 2011, while Harrington tied for fifth in 2011 and was 11th last year.

Others already committed include Bubba Watson, Hunter Mahan, Keegan Bradley, Justin Rose, Zach Johnson, and defending champion Marc Leishman.

By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM

WATCH FOLLOW A GROUP LIVE

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- For the first time this week on PGATOUR.COM, fans will be able to follow live streaming video of  two groups at THE PLAYERS Championship for an entire round each day.

The morning group to watch on Sunday features a couple of major champions in Martin Kaymer and Charl Schwartzel. Both were under par through the first two rounds here but struggled in the third round, shooting 75 and 76, respectively.They teed off at 9:16 a.m. ET.

The afternoon group to follow features Lee Westwood and Marc Leishman. Westwood got off to a shaky start in the third round with two double bogeys in his first four holes, but he rallied with three birdies on the back nine to get within four of the lead entering the final round. Leishman, meanwhile, made three bogeys on the back nine, including one on the 18th. He's trying to become the first Aussie to win here since Adam Scott in 2004. They'll tee off at 1:48 p.m. ET.

By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- The final pairing of Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia tees off at 2:40 p.m. on Saturday. Here's a closer look at each of them, plus who and what else to watch for this afternoon at TPC Sawgrass.

Webb Simpson (1:30 p.m. ET): The reigning U.S. Open champion seemed to turn the corner at Hilton Head, where he finished second after losing in a playoff. This week, he's third in fairways hit and enters Saturday five back.

Jason Dufner (1:30 p..m ET): He had six birdies and just one bogey in the second round and is one of the best ball-strikers in the game. He also finished sixth here two years ago.

Zach Johnson (1:50 p.m. ET): The last four finishes for Johnson here: T32, T22, T12, T2. See the trend? A couple late bogeys on Friday hurt, but Johnson is still in the mix four back.

Adam Scott (1:50 p.m. ET): Playing for the first time since his Masters victory, Scott is in position to go after his second PLAYERS title (he won here in 2004). He's just four shots back.

Hunter Mahan (2 p.m. ET): After struggling in his last few starts, Mahan has turned it around here, hitting 75 percent of his greens in regulation.

Matt Kuchar (2 p.m. ET): No player has ever won this tournament two years in a row. After a 66 Friday, Kuchar has a chance and enters the third round just four shots back.

Ryan Palmer (2:20 p.m. ET): The Texan is playing with a heavy heart after a longtime friend was killed in a car accident Thursday night. He's wearing the initials "CA" on his hat in honor of him.

Henrik Stenson (2:20 p.m. ET): The 2009 champion is in contention again after making two eagles in the second round (on the par-5 second and ninth holes). When he won here four years ago, he shot a final-round 66.

Lee Westwood (2:30 p.m. ET): The Englishman has finished fourth, fifth and sixth here. All that's missing is a win. He's the only player without a bogey through the first two rounds.

Tiger Woods (2:40 p.m. ET): It's been a dozen years since Woods has won here, but he said all facets of his game are clicking right now and it's showed so far with his best 36-hole start in his history here.

Sergio Garcia (2:40 p.m. ET): Like Woods, Garcia has won here before (in 2008), but he's struggled at times playing alongside the world No. 1 with five his last six rounds in the 70s when the two have been paired.

UPDATE (2:42 p.m.): Lee Westwood's flawless streak is now over. He hit his drive at the first hole to the left and it settled several feet from a tree. He had a very steep takeaway and hit the tree on his backswing, missing the ball completely. He chipped his third out into the fairway, hit his fourth on the green and two-putted from 18 feet for double bogey. Westwood also appeared to tweak his left hand on his second shot.

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Not only is Lee Westwood in contention to win THE PLAYERS Championship for the first time, he has yet to make a bogey on the challenging Stadium Course at  TPC Sawgrass in the first two rounds.

No one has ever gone bogey-free during the PGA TOUR's signature event. The closest anyone has come was Greg Norman during his PLAYERS victory in 1994 -- he didn't make his first bogey until the 13th hole in the final round.

Gil Morgan made three bogeys in 1993 when he tied for third while Scott Hoch also had just three in 1996 when he tied for 19th.

Westwood will start the final round tied for third at 9 under, two strokes off the pace being set by Sergio Garcia. The Englishman tees off at 2:30 ET with Kevin Chappell.

Click here to follow his round on ShotTracker.

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Lee Westwood said he never felt like it was slipping away. Not even when he parred his first 14 holes on Thursday afternoon at THE PLAYERS Championship and Roberto Castro had long since posted a course-record 63.

That's because Westwood has played enough rounds on the Stadium Course to know the value of patience -- and his was rewarded when he birdied three of his last four holes. The momentum continued on Friday morning, too, as Westwood chipped in for eagle at the 11th hole, his second of the day, then added birdie putts of 14 feet and 12 inches on his last two holes.

"It's a big momentum swing if you pitch in," Westwood said. "That's what's been missing from my game over the last couple years almost, having a few breaks.  But I've worked hard on my short game, and I'm obviously getting it on line a little bit more than I used to do. I know that was a nice one to pitch in there, eagle is a bonus, and then to follow it with a couple of birdies was a good way to start the day."

Westwood -- who has yet to make a bogey this week -- went on to make the turn in 31, which was one off the back-nine record held by 14 players, and finished with a second-round 66 to move to 9 under. He'll start the third round two strokes off the lead held by Sergio Garcia.

"I obviously finished off strongly last night after being as patient as I could for the first 14 holes and then birdied three of the last four," Westwood said. "I wanted to get off to a quick start this morning. ... So that was a good start, 4 under after four, obviously, and just tried to build from that."

Westwood, who is sporting a goateee after scratching his nose, lip and chin in a diving accident which meant he couldn't shave for a week, has a solid record at TPC Sawgrass with three top-10s in 10 previous appearances, including a tie for fourth in 2010. He expects it to toughen up considerably over the weekend.

"They seem to let you have a bit of a go at it over the first couple of days and then they firm it up a lot come the weekend," Westwood said. "Certainly tomorrow teeing off at 2 (o'clock), it will be as firm as it's ever been all week. So a lot of patience is involved there.

"It will be sort of like a major-championship -tyle mentality to go out there and play disciplined golf and not attack flags when they shouldn't be attacked and try to hit a lot of fairways, so you have a lot of control on your second shot. No, I enjoy that kind of golf. It's very rewarding if you play well."
 
Westwood is also a big fan of the Stadium Course, which he sees as the great equalizer.

"I like this golf course because it's thrown up so many different winners with different sort of characteristics in their game," Westwood said. "I've seen Tiger win here, I've seen Fred Funk win here. You couldn't get two more different golf games. Tim Clark's more like Fred Funk. I suppose back when Greg won in '94 or something like that, he would have had a Tiger-Woods-type game.
 
"It always throws up so much drama, as well, with the finish. I just think it's a brilliant golf course, and a great one for this tournament, too.  I think the golf course suits the tournament well.

Tiger Woods makes a birdie on the 12th hole during the second round of THE PLAYERS Championship.

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Tiger Woods has seamlessly picked up where he left off during Friday's second round of THE PLAYERS Championship. But he's not the only one moving up the leaderboard.

Woods, who started on the back, birdied two of his first three holes on putts of 12 and 4 feet. But the FedExCup leader and world No. 1 gave one shot back at the 14th hole when he missed the fairway right, the green left and couldn't negotiate an 18-footer for par. He two-putted for birdie from 21 feet at the 16th hole, though, and is now 7 under for the tournament.

Meanwhile, Lee Westwood closed the gap on overnight leader, Roberto Castro, who tees off at 12:46 p.m., to one when he made the turn in 31 -- which is one stroke off the back-nine record held by 14 people. Westwood is 8 under for the tournament.

The Englishman almost immediately got things going in the right direction when he holed a wedge from 94 feet for eagle at the par-5 11th, then made birdie putts of 14 feet and 12 inches at the next two holes. Westwood capped his first nine off with an 8-footer for birdie at the 18th hole.

Kevin Chappell, who opened with a 69, has made up the most ground, starting on the back nine and making the turn in 32. He made an 11-footer for eagle at the 11th hole, then added birdies at Nos. 12, 13 and 16. He bogeyed Nos. 18 and 1 but got back on track with a 16-footer for birdie at the par-5 second and a 10-footer at No. 4 to tie Westwood.

Ryan Palmer has just played the front nine in 35 and is 6 under for the tournament. Also on the course at that number is Webb Simpson, who has made two birdies and a bogey in eight holes on the back nine.

By Brian Wacker, PGATOUR.COM

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- No one has ever successfully defended at THE PLAYERS Championship, where Matt Kuchar will begin his quest to become the first to do so this afternoon.

With pristine conditions -- sunny skies, hardly a breath of wind -- scoring has been good so far in the opening round at TPC Sawgrass. Will it continue? Here is a look at who and what to watch for this afternoon.

Lee Westwood (1:18 p.m. ET): The Englishman has knocked on the door a few times here -- most recently in 2010 when he was in contention going into Sunday before shooting 74 to finish fourth. He also finished fifth and sixth in 1998 and 1999 and given his ball-striking abilities should be a factor again.

Phil Mickelson (1:28 p.m. ET): As difficult as this tournament -- or Mickelson -- is to predict, Lefty has been largely consistent if nothing else since his win here in 2007. He's finished in the top 25 every other year the last five and for his career has eight top 25s in the event.

Webb Simpson (1:28 p.m. ET): The reigning U.S. Open champion admitted to a lack of confidence earlier this season. Then he finished second at Hilton Head, where he lost in a playoff. He's missed three of four cuts here, however.

Sergio Garcia (1:39 p.m. ET): The 2008 champion (he also finished second the year before) has just one finish in the top 20 since, but he has played well this year with three top 10s. His ball-striking should work well here, but with Garcia it all comes down to how well he putts.

Luke Donald (1:39 p.m. ET): The former world No. 1 finished sixth last year and tied for fourth the year before with all of last last eight rounds and 11 of his last 12 on the Stadium Course at par or better.

Tiger Woods (1:49 p.m. ET): For all his accomplishments, Woods has won THE PLAYERS just once, in 2001. Though he has three wins this season, he has just one top 10 here since that lone victory a dozen years ago.

Matt Kuchar (1:49 p.m. ET):The defending champion has finished in the top 15 in three of the last four years and in 2004 he tied for 16th. This season, Kuchar has four top 10s, including a win.

Brandt Snedeker (1:49 p.m. ET): He was admittedly exhausted after being in contention at the Masters and subsequently missed the cut in Hilton Head. He was also one of the hottest players in the game before getting injured in February. Snedeker has struggled here, missing the cut each of the last four years.

Lee Westwood hits an 80-yard approach shot on the par-5 fifth hole to inside 3 feet then sinks his putt for birdie during the final round of the Wells Fargo Championship.

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Lee Westwood is battling a chest infection but you wouldn't know it from the way he played on Friday at the Wells Fargo Championship.

Westwood made six birdies and two bogeys on the way to a 68 that left him in a tie at 6 under, which was one shot off the lead held by Scott Gardiner when the morning wave finished the second round at Quail Hollow.

He said he wasn't sick enough to consider withdrawing, though -- not at a tournament where he tied for fifth a year ago. The occasional ailing green didn't scare him off, either.

"I like this golf course way too much," Westwood said. "It's a lot of money that we're playing for and a title at the end of the day. Somebody's going to say a speech and thank everybody and thank the greens keeper and Wells Fargo for putting up the cash at the end of the week, and somebody's going to be happy with the way the course is set up."

And the way Westwood see it, that somebody might as well be him. The Englishman, who turned 40 last week -- "We had a good party from what I can remember and people keep telling me," he reported, has posted top-10s in his last two starts, including a tie for eighth at the Masters.

Friday's round brought more of the same steady play. He hit nine fairways and 15 greens in regulation, using a total of 28 putts. Westwood's entire group played well, in fact -- Lucas Glover shot 71 and stands 5 under while Zach Johnson is 4 under after a 72.

"Certainly helps when everybody in the group is playing well," Westwood said. "You're seeing good shots all the time, and you get the feeling that the course is giving up birdies and isn't playing quite as hard as it might be."

The 68 marked the third time Westwood had broken 70 at Quail Hollow in his last four rounds. His 12 previous had all been 71 or higher so the Englishman appears to have figured things out.

"I guess you get rewarded for hitting it straight and penalized for missing it off line," he said with a shrug "Normally the greens are very firm. You have to think your way around and position the ball. This week you can be a little more aggressive because it is softer."

When he finished, though, the ailing Westwood was only looking for a soft mattress or plush couch.

"I just won't do too much practice this afternoon," he said. "I'll just go back to the room and lie down, really."

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Lee Westwood hadn't had much success at the Wells Fargo Championship. Until 2012, that is, when he shot 68-66 on the weekend and tied for fifth.

The Englishman appears to be picking up where he left off this week at Quail Hollow, playing his first 16 holes in 4 under and moving to 6 under for the tournament. Those weekend tallies last year were his first sub-70 scores at the Wells Fargo Championship in 14 rounds.

So Westwood is now tied with PGA TOUR rookie Russell Henley and two former winners of the Wells Fargo Championship, Rory McIlroy and Lucas Glover, one stroke behind Scott Gardiner.

Gardiner has just made the turn in 31 after making birdie on his final four holes of the front nine. The PGA TOUR rookie's best finish on TOUR came when he tied for 15th at the Sony Open in Hawaii earlier this year.

McIlroy, who got his breakthrough PGA TOUR win at Quail Hollow in 2010, has gotten back on track after shooting 38 on the back, his first of the day. He's made three birdies in eight holes on the front.

Glover also struggled on the back, making the turn in 37. But the winner of the 2011 Wells Fargo Championship is also 3 under on the front aftre playing seven holes.