Tiger Woods is back as the number one golfer in the world and at times that can come with some unwanted attention and perhaps even jealousy, which was something Woods had to deal with on Saturday at the Players Championship, as Sergio Garcia accused him of disrupting one of his shots, forcing him to shoot a bogey on the second hole of their grouping.
The newest controversy for Woods wasn't really his fault and came after the drop shot issue at the Masters when Woods was given a two stroke penalty for taking an improper drop after hitting a near perfect shot off the flag at the 15th hole, which knocked into the water and forced him to take the drop in the first place. On Saturday, Woods and Garcia were at the second hole when the two lined up for their second shots, with Woods in the trees and Garcia near the fairway. As Garcia lined up for his shot, the crowd made a noise and he glared at Woods afterwards.
Garcia later told reporters that Woods pulled his club early and caused the crowd to make a noise, disrupting his shot and sailing it wide. He ended up with a bogey while Woods ended up with a birdie, but video showed that Woods clearly pulled his club when Garcia was over the ball and easily could have stepped back and waited for it to pass to hit, but instead he went for it and now gets to use it as an excuse. The two eventually had their rounds cut short after a weather delay and a rain suspension and were forced to finish on Sunday morning, leaving the two tied for first place with rookie David Lingmerth at 11 under after Garcia shot a 72 and Woods shot a 71.
Phil Mickelson missed the cut the previous day and is out of the tournament, while Rory McIlroy is five strokes back after his round on Saturday entering the final round. Lingmerth had an excellent day to put himself in the top spot before Woods and Garcia finished their work on Sunday and now the two will wait until later in the afternoon to tee off, while they are on shot ahead of Henrik Stenson at 71, while Ryan Palmer and Casey Wittenberg are behind after shooting rounds of 70. Woods is in excellent position for his fourth victory of the year, as he is 52-4 when heaving at least a share of the lead heading into the final day of play.
Garcia whined multiple times about the issue and all he had to do was step off the ball, but he couldn't help but figure out a way to get at Tiger, although this has came back to bite him in the past. Garcia has never lived up to his potential and chances are he will blow the lead on Sunday. If Garcia lets Woods get into his head things will be tough for him but he did luck out in the sense that he is in the final group and that may take some pressure off of him heading into play on Sunday.