Scott four shots off the pace as Garcia leads

Spain's Sergio Garcia fired a 7-under-par 65 to seize the second-round lead at the Players Championship, with Australia's Masters winner Adam Scott four shots behind.

Garcia's eight birdies included five in a row in his storming second nine which put him one stroke in front of world number one Tiger Woods, who had five birdies and an eagle and two bogeys in a 5-under-par 67.

Australia's Marc Leishman hit a 6-under-par 66 to sit a stroke behind Scott in the overall standings.

Leishman became only the fourth player in the tournament's history to hit an eagle.

Australians Greg Chalmers, John Senden and Jason Day also made the cut.
ScorePlayer(s)133 Sergio Garcia 68-65
134 Tiger Woods 67-67
135 Kevin Chappell 69-66, Lee Westwood 69-66, Henrik Stenson 68-67
136 Ryan Palmer 67-69, Casey Wittenberg 67-69, David Lingmerth 68-68
137 Matt Kuchar 71-66, Hunter Mahan 67-70, Adam Scott 69-68, Zach Johnson 66-71
138 Charles Howell 71-67, Marc Leishman 72-66, Jason Dufner 71-67, Webb Simpson 67-71, Martin Laird 71-67, Rory McIlroy 66-72, Steve Stricker 67-71


"Wonderful day today," said Garcia, who teed off on 10 at TPC Sawgrass's Stadium Course and began to warm up with birdies at 16 and 18.

He responded to a bogey at the par-four first with five straight birdies starting at the par-five second, then added one more at the par-three eighth.

"Yesterday I scored very well," said the Spaniard, winner of the Players Championship in 2008. "I didn't play that great. But today I played much nicer.

"Couple of tee shots here and there that I would have loved to hit a little better, but other than that, it was nice. I hit the ball very well, hit a lot of good iron shots and gave myself a lot of good birdie opportunities."

Woods pronounced himself "pleased with every facet" of his game.

"I feel like I'm driving it well, hitting it well with my irons, my distance control is good, short game is really solid, and I'm making my share of putts," said the already a three-time winner on the US PGA Tour this year.

Woods, making his first start since the Masters, has only one top-10 finish in the Players since he won the US PGA Tour's flagship event in 2001.

"I know how to get around this golf course," he said. "You have to drive the ball well. You have to hit your irons in the correct spots, and if you don't hit your irons in the correct spots, you're going to have some really funky up and downs."