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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- The Players Championship already provides plenty of theatre because of its thrill-a-minute golf course. Making it even more compelling is the star attraction of Sergio Garcia and Tiger Woods, playing in the final group on the weekend for the first time in nearly seven years. Garcia made seven straight putts -- six of them for birdie -- on his way to a 7-under 65 to match his best score on the TPC Sawgrass. That gave him a one-shot lead over Woods, who again made short work of the par 5s and posted his second straight 67. Woods broke his own 36-hole record at Sawgrass by six shots and cant find much wrong with his game at the moment. Its hard to call it a rivalry because its so one-sided. Not only does Woods have a 77-8 margin in PGA Tour victories (and 14-0 in the majors), in the previous five times they were in the final group on the weekend on the PGA Tour, Woods has gone on to win all five times. Asked about the possibility of playing with Woods on Saturday, Garcia said he wouldnt see it as anything but another round of golf. "I dont have to measure myself against anybody," Garcia said. "I know what I want to try to do, and any given day I can shoot a round like this and any other day he can shoot a good round and beat me. Like we always say, its not a sprint, its a marathon. So there are going to be good days and not so good days, so just got to enjoy the good ones as much as possible." This was a good day. Garcia ran off five straight birdies, ending the streak with putts from 20 feet and 25 feet, and then he added a 40-foot birdie putt on the par-3 eighth. Garcia, who won The Players in 2008, was at 11-under 133. Woods looks like hes having a good time on the course that has vexed him more than any other on the PGA Tour, and he could be the greater threat on the weekend. He now is 8-under on the par 5s this week, including a 20-foot eagle putt on No. 2 that gave him a share of lead. Woods took the outright lead with a short birdie putt on No. 4 until Garcia blazed by him with his string of birdies. Woods was asked if there was any part of his game that made him unhappy. "No, Im pretty pleased with where its at right now," Woods replied. The reporter looked at him, waiting for more. Woods looked back and finally added with a grin, "Did I answer that?" Woods and Garcia have played together on big stages -- Bethpage Black, Royal Liverpool -- with a big edge for Woods. They first were linked when the Spaniard was 19 and gave Woods all he could handle at Medinah in the 1999 PGA Championship. They were paired in the final round of the 2002 U.S. Open and 2006 British Open, the year Garcia dressed all in yellow. But with the tournament only halfway over, this is far more than a duel between Woods and Garcia. The 18 players within five shots of the lead include three current major champions -- Adam Scott, Webb Simpson and Rory McIlroy -- along with Lee Westwood, Henrik Stenson, Steve Stricker, Hunter Mahan and Zach Johnson. Westwood chipped in from 100 feet for eagle on the 11th hole and was atop the leaderboard until making pars on his last eight holes. He had a 66 and was two shots behind, along with Kevin Chappell (66) and Stenson, who had two eagles on the front nine in his round of 67. Ryan Palmer, who learned Thursday night that one of his best friends died in a car accident in San Antonio, had two eagles in a round of 69 and was three shots behind. Defending champion Matt Kuchar birdied three of his last four holes for a 66 and was at 7-under 137, along with Scott, Mahan and Johnson. Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., followed his opening round 71 with a 70, and remains eight shots off the pace at 3-under 141. David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., bettered his opening round with a 71, and is 10 back. McIlroy was coming off back-to-back bogeys when he chose to go for the green in two at the par-5 ninth -- he had planned to lay up each day. He hit the trees and got into a mess, and McIlroy made his third straight bogey. He rallied on the back for a 72 and was in the group at 6-under 138. "Ive made the cut, which Im delighted about," said McIlroy, who had missed the weekend his three previous times. "But I am in there with a chance." Woods won The Players in 2001, highlighted by that 60-foot putt on the island green described by NBC Sports analyst Gary Koch as "better than most." But he has only seriously contended twice, and he has failed to crack the top 20 eight times in 15 appearances. Woods is accentuating only the positive. "Even though I havent played well in the past, Ive still won here," he said. "Actually, Ive won here twice, technically." He was referring to the U.S. Amateur in 1994, the first of his three straight titles. "I havent played my best here, but Ive always felt that courses, even though its been a while Ive won on them, Ive still won on them," Woods said. "I know how to get around this golf course. This course, more than most, really tests every facet of your game. You have to drive the ball well. You have to hit your irons in the correct spots, and if you dont hit your irons in the correct spots, youre going to have some really funky up-and-downs. "Its trying to manage the ball in the correct spots, and Ive done that the first two days." Woods twice made bogey, both times missing the fairway to the right on No. 14 and No. 7. He finished with a 20-foot birdie putt. Garcia, for two hours, looked like he couldnt miss. His streak began with a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-5 second. He stuffed his tee shot into 6 feet on the third, and hit wedge to 8 feet on the fourth. He followed that with his two long birdie putts, made a putt just inside 15 feet for par on the seventh and ended his big run with the 40-footer on No. 8. Garcia also is a past champion, winning a playoff in 2008. "Fortunately for me, Ive managed to play quite decent on this golf course," Garcia said. "So any good thing that you can get in your head, its obviously positive and those kind of things always help. But its a different year. Well see if we can manage to do something similar." Swell Flaske Blomster . 24 Baylor in a Big 12 clash between teams trending in opposite directions. Andrew Wiggins made 10-of-12 from the foul line and scored 17 for Kansas (14-4, 5-0 Big 12), which capped a stretch of four straight games against ranked opponents unscathed. Swell Flaske Norge . Louis Rams wide receiver Stedman Bailey last Sunday. The fine is the fourth this season for Goldson. He was fined $30,000 for a hit on the New York Jets Jeff Cumberland in Week 1. http://www.swellflaskenorge.com/ . Hamelin, who triumphed in the 500 on Saturday, edged out Victor An of Russia by 0.021 seconds to maintain his lead in the World Cup standings. Russias Vladimir Grigorev was third. In the relay, Canada took control six laps from the finish line to beat Russia and the Netherlands. Swell Flaske Marmor . White came in fourth place in the event. He was the two-time defending gold medallist. The gold medal went to Swiss snowboarder Iouri Podladtchikov. Swell Bottle Butikk . LOUIS -- Lance Lynn was one of the more enthusiastic participants as the St. BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- The?Indiana Hoosiers?will start highly touted junior college transfer?Richard Lagow?at quarterback in next weeks opener against Florida International, coach Kevin Wilson announced FridayLagow beat out junior Zander Diamont, who had more experience in the Hoosiers system, but Wilson made it clear that Lagows hold on the job will last only as long as he stays healthy and produces on the field.Rich has grown in every aspect, Indiana receiver Ricky Jones said. I believe hes gotten on the same page as the receivers in a short period of time and thats pretty impressive.Lagow initially signed with UConn but left school before the 2013 season opener. He then walked on at Oklahoma State, where he redshirted, then spent the next two seasons at Cisco (Texas) Community College.The 6-foot-6, 240-pound Lagow, who has two years of eligibility remaining, enrolled at Indiana last winter.For three weeks, Lagow and Diamont, who nearly pulled off an upset of Ohio State in relief last fall, went head-to-head in practice.?Hes really playing the best, Wilson said of Lagow. The other guys are playing better, and Zander gives you kind of a change-up out there. But the guy were going with is playing really, really ggood.dddddddddddds a true freshman, Diamont started the final six games after Indianas top two quarterbacks went down with season-ending injuries. The former Los Angeles city player of the year was 64-of-132 with 515 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions in 2014.Diamont filled in again last year when Nate Sudfeld went down with another injury. After stepping in against Ohio State, Diamont ran for a 79-yard touchdown -- the longest run by a quarterback in school history. He finished the game with seven carries for 98 yards, caught one pass for 16 yards and was 6-of-14 for 76 yards through the air.He struggled the next week against Penn State in his only start. The 6-1, 174-pound junior hasnt played in a game since Oct. 10.Wilson has used quarterback rotations in previous seasons and will look for ways to get Diamont on the field.We can put two quarterbacks on the field at the same time, Wilson said. Hes not a receiver, but he can play on the perimeter. Zander gives you some running skills the other guys dont have, so you may see them both lined up in the backfield at times. ' ' '