Sabbatini Is Up Front At Players

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla., May 10 -- Rory Sabbatini said again Thursday he would love to play with Tiger Woods in the final group here Sunday in the Players Championship, despite wasting a two-shot lead over the world's No. 1 player just five days earlier in the final round of Wachovia Championship.

"The funny thing is after watching him play on Sunday, I think he's more beatable than ever," Sabbatini said after shooting 67 and tying for the first-round lead with Phil Mickelson. "I think there were a few fortuitous occasions out there [last Sunday] that really changed the round for him. And realizing that gives me even more confidence to go in and play with him on Sunday again."

The cocksure 31-year-old South African got off to a fabulous start with 6 birdies, 1 bogey and only 22 putts on a day when winds gusted up to 40 mph at the newly renovated TPC Sawgrass. Mickelson's 50-foot birdie putt at his 17th hole -- the 237-yard No. 8 -- pushed him into a share of the lead a few minutes after Sabbatini had finished his round.

Woods was not as fortunate. With three three-putts on his back nine leading to a 3-over 75, he matched his worst score in 11 appearances in the PGA Tour's marquee $9 million event. For the first time since the opening round of the 2003 Masters, Woods did not have a birdie on his scorecard, starting his day with 12 consecutive pars on a par-72 course that yielded a scoring average of 75.3 and only four rounds in the 60s.

Chris DiMarco, who hasn't had a top 15 finish in 10 tour starts this season, was only a shot off the lead with a 68, a stroke better than Australian Peter Lonard. DiMarco said he has been bothered by a sore shoulder but is now playing pain-free after taking several cortisone shots within the last month.

In addition to a $1.62 million champion's check, Woods should have plenty of incentive over the next few days to try to catch the leaders, most particularly Sabbatini. In a recent Sports Illustrated poll of tour players, 25 percent of respondents said the man they would least like to be paired with is Sabbatini, a fiery competitor who once chewed out playing partner Ben Crane for playing too slowly at the 2005 Booz Allen Classic at Congressional.

"I think a lot of people have commented in the past when people play with Tiger they stand and watch the show and don't participate," Sabbatini said.

"I'm not one to participate to watch the show. I'm there to participate to win. I want to be paired with Tiger in the last group on Sunday here this week. . . . I want him to pick it up and we'll be up there late on Sunday."

Asked to elaborate on why he believes Woods is more beatable than ever, Sabbatini said: "I've seen Tiger when he hits the ball well. And I've seen Tiger when there is not a facet of his game that you look at and you're not amazed. But I think [last] Sunday he struggled out there. He had to battle for that win. And I think that made me realize he is, I'd say, as beatable as ever. I've seen him when he figures it out. It's scary. I don't want to see that anymore. I like the new Tiger. I'm waiting for him to have kids to really test his patience."

Bud Martin, Sabbatini's agent, sat in the audience during Sabbatini's lively postmatch news conference and said afterward he admired his client's candor because "he believes in himself. A lot of guys out here walk on eggshells about what they say, who they might offend. He's comfortable in his own skin."

Woods had long left the premises by the time Sabbatini made his comments and was not available to respond. On past occasions when Woods has felt slighted by opponents, he has responded on the course, usually with a bravura performance.

He'll need several of them over the next two days to get back into contention on a traditionally treacherous venue made even more daunting by the winds blowing in off the nearby Atlantic coast, courtesy of subtropical storm Andrea. The 128-yard island green 17th was particularly dicey, with 50 shots in the water, including a quadruple-bogey 7 by Davis Love III with a second shot in the pond from the drop area. Last year, only 57 shots splashed all week.

"I enjoy this test," Woods insisted. "You've got to place the golf ball correctly, and if you don't, there's going to be a consequence. I played well, a lot better than the score indicates."

Mickelson, who switched to new swing coach Butch Harmon last month hoping to improve his accuracy off the tee, still had a difficult time keeping his drives on the fairway, hitting five of 14. But his short game constantly saved him, with two par saves from the sand and nine one-putt greens, six on his front nine.

"I hit a lot of good shots in some strong winds and was able to keep the ball in control," Mickelson said. "My misses were very small and allowed me to take a lot of the big trouble out of play. The biggest thing I'm noticing is that I'm not curving the ball as much right to left or left to right. The ball is not having as much sidespin. It seems to be a much straighter flight."

Sabbatini has missed the cut in this event six of the seven times he's played, but he came here this week riding a run of three straight top three finishes, including a tie for second in the Masters last month, his best result in a major championship.

"I think [that Masters finish] added a little fuel to the fire," he said. "I figure win this and another three majors and people will start paying attention."

Tiger Woods, no doubt, already is.