Course Suits Azinger Nicely

The Players Championship is considered one of the toughest tests in golf. Whether it was Thursday depends on who is asked.

Paul Azinger finally found the Stadium Course to his liking, perhaps because he had his best score in 49 rounds at Sawgrass. He had a six-under-par 66 that gave him a one-stroke lead over Vijay Singh, Scott Hoch and Jonathan Kaye.

Azinger saw pitch marks on greens that were relatively soft and receptive because of torrential rain earlier in the week. In some years, tee shots would bounce along firm fairways into ankle-deep rough, setting up an approach shot onto a concrete-like green.

“When the ball hit the green, you could hear it from 150 yards out,” he said.

Tiger Woods seemingly played on a different course.

Woods said he had to battle winds that shifted and swirled, yet hit only a couple of bad shots all day and finished with a 72--the 10th time in 17 rounds at The Players Championship that he failed to break par.

“I only hit two or three bad shots all day, which in these conditions is pretty good,” he said.

One of those bad shots was a three-wood that went into the water down the left side of the 18th fairway, leading to a double bogey.

Was the Stadium Course there for the taking?

“Ask the guys who shot 75 or 78 and see if they think it was there for the taking,” Hoch said. “It took them.”

Those guys included Ernie Els, who had eight bogeys and finished with a 76, his worst score on the PGA Tour since a five-over 76 in the final round of the Nissan Open last year.

Phil Mickelson continued his erratic play, making nine pars in a round of 72. He had only five pars total in his 72 in the second round at Bay Hill last week. This time, he missed the island-green 17th and took bogey, then hit into the water again on the 18th for double bogey.