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Garcia error hands Perry Players Championship lead

10/05/2008

Sergio Garcia made a costly error on the 17th hole to hand the lead of the Players Championship to Kenny Perry.

The Spaniard had looked like retaining his overnight lead but a double-bogey at the infamous island hole means Perry now leads the tournament on six-under-par at the halfway stage.

Garcia is tied for second place, with Bernhard Langer and Paul Goydos one shot behind the leader. Meanwhile Anthony Kim, who won the Wachovia Championship last week, showed he is still in good form and is currently fifth on four-under.

Perry has had two steady rounds despite the testing conditions at Sawgrass and followed up his first round 68 with a 70 on day two.

The American birdied the opening hole but dropped a shot at the eighth. However, two more birdies on the back nine – combined with Garcia's error – put him on top of the leaderboard.

Garcia ended up carding a round of one-over as he battled the conditions all day. He bogeyed the first hole but managed to get back to parity with a birdie at the seventh.

A birdie at the 16th looked to have put him ahead of the pack only for him to take five shots at the 17th.

The par three was much kinder to Langer who holed an incredible 60-foot putt to birdie the hole in his round of five-under.

The veteran German enjoyed the round of the day, claiming four birdies and an eagle on the front nine and two birdies on the home stretch, along with three bogeys, to move up 33 places from his overnight position.