Sergio Garcia leads Players Championship

Woods briefly joined Garcia at the top of the leaderboard at 10 under but the American bogeyed.

FLORIDA. Sergio Garcia shot a seven-under-par 65 to set the clubhouse lead on 11 under, halfway through the second round of the Players Championship at Sawgrass.

The Spaniard had eight birdies in his round, including five on the trot from the second, to lead Tiger Woods by one. World number one Woods matched his first-round 67 to finish on 10 under, while England’s Lee Westwood is a shot further back on nine under after a 66.

World number two Rory McIlroy is among the late starters in Florida. The Northern Ireland player carded a first-round six-under-par 66 to trail overnight leader Roberto Castro by three shots. American Castro found himself trailing by two as he started on Friday afternoon.

Garcia, starting on the 10th, had six pars before picking up his first shot on the par-five 16th and he birdied the 18th to go to six under. A bogey on the first checked his progress but a run of six birdies in his next seven holes, including the run of five, catapulted him to the top of the leaderboard.