Woods is down 5 strokes to Cejka at TPC Sawgrass

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Alex Cejka could see chaos all around him at The Players Championship, or at least hear it through the groans of a scorching Saturday at the TPC Sawgrass that delivered so many meltdowns.

He was among the few to survive, taking on the flag with an 8-iron on the final hole that set up a 5-foot birdie for an even-par 72 and a five-shot lead, the largest after three rounds in the 36 years of this prestigious event.

Time to exhale? Not quite.

In a tournament full of surprises, the biggest of all might be his date in the final round today: Tiger Woods.

Woods didn’t look like a player who should be in contention, not after having to play one shot left-handed from the base of a pine, missing one shot by 40 feet with a wedge in his hand and looking increasing frustrated at birdie chances that slipped away.

But back-to-back birdies, followed by a huge break on the 18th hole, changed his fortunes.

His 2-under 70 turned out to be good enough to move up 20 spots into a six-way tie for second, in the final pairing with a 38-year-old who has never held a final-round lead on U.S. soil.

“It’s going to be tough,” Cejka said. “He’s the best player. It’s going to be a good challenge for me. I know I have a lead, but it’s against not only Tiger but against the rest of the field. I’ve got to play well to win here.”

Cejka was at 11-under 205 and doesn’t seem to be all that intimidated.

He recalled beating Woods the last time they were paired in the final round of a big event — that was the 1996 British Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, when Woods was a 20-year-old amateur. Cejka shot 67 to finish 11th; Woods had a 70.

Henrik Stenson was two shots behind until he bogeyed three of the last five holes, nearly chipping into the water on the 16th. He wound up with a 73, and was in the six-way tie for second that included Woods, two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen (71), Jonathan Byrd (71), Ben Crane (72) and Ian Poulter, who didn’t make a single birdie on his way to a 75.

Woods got into the final group because he was the first to finish among the group at 6-under 210, and what a finish it was.

Back-to-back birdies got him in range, and a huge break that followed on the 18th kept him there.

He was in the trees again, a few feet from the divot he left the day before when he made a tremendous escape. This time, a 6-iron came out hot and more left than he wanted, racing through the green and tumbling down a bank toward the pond. But a tuft of Bermuda grass grabbed the ball a foot from the water, and Woods managed to save par.

“You figured some of the guys would shoot 3- or 4-under-par today, but it’s just not happening out there,” Woods said.