Woods, Garcia feud as rain delays play

David who? ... David Lingmerth steals the lead during a rain-affected Players Championship. Source: Richard Heathcote / AFP

Relations between Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia appeared as stormy as the skies as little-known Swede David Lingmerth stole a two-shot lead from the pair during an uncompleted Players Championship third round on Saturday.

In just his 13th US PGA Tour start, 25-year-old rookie Lingmerth faced sleeping on his lead and then opening his Sunday on the daunting 18th hole before playing his final round after picking up four shots on the day to get to 12-under when darkness halted play.

Meanwhile Garcia lit a fuse after he accused Woods of inadvertent disrespect.

Woods and Garcia had played 14 holes and sat tied second with another Swede, 2009 Players Champion Henrik Stenson (16 holes), at 10-under.

Marc Leishman (71) and Greg Chalmers (68) led the Australian charge at seven-under and tied for 10th.
Woods and Garcia, who have never had a very cordial relationship, played out their own mini-storm early in the round.

Garcia started with a one-shot lead over Woods in the final group but it was erased quickly in controversial circumstances.

With Woods in the trees on the second hole and Garcia ready to play from the fairway it appeared the Spaniard had the advantage.

But just as he began his downswing, Woods, well away from Garcia and out of view, pulled a fairway wood from his bag, causing the crowd to erupt in delight at the prospect of the 14-time major champion trying something heroic.

Garcia flinched on his swing and blocked the ball way right into trouble.

To make matters worse, Woods recovered from the junk to card a birdie while Garcia made bogey.

Afterwards Garcia seemingly partly blamed Woods, no doubt amping up the frostiness between the pair.

"I wouldn't say that he didn't see that I was ready, but you do have a feel when the other guy is going to hit and right as I was in the top of the backswing, I think he must have pulled like a five-wood or a three-wood and obviously everybody started screaming," Garcia said.

"There's really not much you can do. I think that I try to respect everyone as much as possible out there. I try to be careful what I do to make sure it doesn't bother the other players."

For his part Woods said marshals had cleared him to get ready to hit and confirmed the pair did not talk much before, or after the incident.

"The marshals, they told me he already hit, so I pulled a club and was getting ready to play my shot, and then I hear his comments afterwards and not real surprising that he's complaining about something," Woods said.

Leishman, fresh off his personal best 66 on the TPC Sawgrass layout, opened with three birdies on his first four holes to stalk the leaders.

He knocked in another birdie right after the delay to be tied second but then went cold with three bogeys in the last seven holes to fall back in the pack.

Chalmers made a run up the leaderboard with a four-under 68 early in the day.
He managed four birdies on the front side, dropped a shot at the 15th but bounced back with birdie on 16.

Masters champion Adam Scott fought his game all day, shooting a 75 to drop back to four-under and seemingly out of contention while John Senden and Jason Day carded matching 71s to be two-under and one-under respectively, too far back to make a Sunday charge.

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