Westwood leads, Mickelson charges, Woods sputters
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - A scrambling par on the final hole allowed Lee Westwood to keep the one-shot lead that he started with Saturday at The Players Championship. Only now he has a lot more company.
Masters champion Phil Mickelson suddenly is back in the picture for the title and possibly the No. 1 ranking.
Tiger Woods is not.
Westwood, who fell two shots behind with six holes left in the third round, avoided the kind of mistakes on the back nine that slowed Heath Slocum's charge and finished with a 2-under 70 to take a one-shot lead over Robert Allenby going into the final round on the always unpredictable TPC Sawgrass.
Allenby was five shots behind when he walked off the 13th tee. He answered with a 6-iron to just outside 12 feet on the par-5 16th for eagle, then a 12-foot birdie on the island-green 17th that curled into the side of the cup. He shot a 67 and will play in the final group. Westwood was at 14-under 202.
"The golf course changed a lot. It got really firm this afternoon," Westwood said. "I thought I played well - gave myself a lot of chances, missed a couple, but all in all, I was pleased with the way I played. I didn't make too many poor shots out there."
He certainly didn't on the 18th after his drive landed in a drain grate. He took a free drop, saw a gap in the trees and hit a 6-iron onto the green to give himself another shot at winning.
A month ago, Westwood had a one-shot lead over Mickelson going into the last round of the Masters.
Saturday, Lefty began the day nine shots out of the lead, same as Woods.
They went opposite directions, however. Mickelson didn't make a bogey until the final hole for a 66 to put himself back into the picture, just five shots behind Westwood. The 10 players ahead of him have a combined 14 victories on the PGA Tour.
"I feel like things started to click a little bit today, and I think I've got one more low round in me," Mickelson said.
To reach No. 1 for the first time in his career, Mickelson has to win and have Woods finish out of the top five. Woods did his part with a bogey-bogey finish for a 71 that put him 10 shots behind in a tie for 45th. His final bogey came after Woods popped up another 3-wood and had to hit fairway metal to the green.
It was the second time this week he hit a fairway metal for his second shot to a par 4.
"I had it going for a little bit," Woods said. "I thought if I could have birdied 16 and 17, I'd have been right back in the tournament."
