Garcia rediscovers old touch to be in hunt at Players

FLORIDA: It was anything but elementary for J.B. Holmes who despite wild inaccuracy off the tee used a sizzling short game to tie fellow American Kyle Stanley for the lead after the third round at The Players Championship in Florida on Saturday.

Holmes, a four-times PGA Tour winner, found places at the TPC Sawgrass previously untrodden by man, yet somehow managed only one bogey in a two-under-par 70, on an afternoon that started breezy but fell calm over the final hour or so.

Stanley, meanwhile, settled down after a slow start and proceeded to hit the ball like a metronome, hardly straying from the middle of the fairway but managing only a pedestrian even-par 72.

Holmes and Stanley, at nine-under 207, headed South African Louis Oosthuizen (73) by one stroke, with South Korean Kim Si-woo (68) two behind heading into the final round of the PGA Tour’s flagship event on Sunday. On a day when most of the big names failed to make a move, US Masters champion Sergio Garcia was a notable exception, carding 67 to trail the leaders by four strokes.

“Until the last three holes it was very windy and very tough. It was hard for me to hit fairways,” Holmes said in a large understatement, adding that he was used to hitting recovery shots from tough positions.

“I grew up in the woods playing golf ... today was just a throw-back to how I played junior golf. “When I did miss it, I missed it spots where I could get around the green and have a chance to get upand-down.”

Co-leader Stanley, a one-time PGA Tour winner, was pleased to overcome a poor start.

“I thought I handled pretty well,” he said. (the situation)

“Two-over through four, I just had to remind myself to stay pretty patient. The birdie on (hole) eight kind of settled me down a little bit and then just tried to keep things pretty simple after that, back to my game plan of fairways and greens.”

Oosthuizen, the runaway 2010 British Open champion, was not at the top of his game, but did enough to hang in close to the leaders.

“I struggled today,” he said. “I didn’t hit it great. A few things were behind it, probably tried too much in the windy conditions and missed loads of fairways in the early stages.

“With all that, being one off the lead, I’m very happy going into tomorrow.”

Garcia was also happy to be within striking distance.

“I was able to hit some really, really quality shots and thanks to that and some great putts, we were able to shoot a very good five-under.” FLORIDA: Masters champion Sergio Garcia recovered from a slow start and found his old form to storm into contention at The Players Championship where a victory could enhance his special 2017 season.

Garcia seized his long awaited Major title by winning the US Masters last month and now has his eyes set on the PGA Tour’s flagship event where the Spaniard is five-under-par and just four shots off the lead.

A 2008 Players Championship winner and frequent contender in the tournament, Garcia enters Sunday’s final round with new-found status to match his strong history at TPC Sawgrass.

“I’ve told you guys many, many times it’s one of my favorite golf courses we play all year, and for some reason I can see what I want to do,” Garcia told reporters.

“I just like the golf course. I’ve been fortunate to be very successful here.”

Garcia’s week got off to a slow start when he battled to a one-over-par 73 on Thursday, which featured a hole-in-one on the island green par-3 17th hole.

He has since found his old form, culminating with Saturday’s five-under 67 that vaulted him up the leaderboard.

“I felt like a little bit in chains on Thursday because of how overwhelming everything has been,” Garcia said. “I was thinking, ‘ come on, you have to play well after winning the Masters.’ I probably put a little too much pressure on myself.”

Garcia, 37, is still basking in the glory that came with his Masters triumph and has brought the Green Jacket with him to Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

Now he will attempt to create another memorable moment and build on his growing resume. With a win, Garcia would join Tiger Woods (2001) as the only player to win the Masters and the Players Championship in the same year.