The Players Championship 2013 PGA Golf News and Results: Sergio Garcia Battles With Tiger Woods For Top Spot In Leaderboard

After the second day of the PGA 2013 Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass at Ponte Verda Beach, Fla., Sergio Garcia finds himself in the lead, but No.1-ranked Tiger Woods is closing in with a second-place positioning on the leaderboard.

After the second day of the tournament, Garcia holds a one-stroke lead over Woods after 36 holes at the Players Championship. Garcia, ranked 15th overall in the world, had a big day at the Players with a 7-under 65 day, making 13 birdies through 36 holes for a total of 133, 11 under par to put him a full shot ahead of Woods. Garcia last won the Players championship in May 2008, but as the tournament is not considered a "major" by the PGA, Garcia has not won a major yet since turning pro in 1999.

Meanwhile, Woods, who has not won at the Players since 2001, moved up from fifth place after Day 1 to second place after hitting an eagle and five birdies on Friday, although he had two bogeys to his score of 67 as well. Woods has only placed in the Top 10 at the Players one time since winning in 2001--an eighth place finish in 2009 when he shot 73 in the final group.

There is history between both golfers, both of them competing heatedly since 1999. Of the 12 tournaments during which the two were paired or grouped together for at least one round, Woods has won eight of them and holds a 12-3-4 in the 19 overall tournaments where they have been paired or grouped.

Woods won three tournaments in a row to kick off the year, while Garcia racked up three top 10 finishes, and his worst finish this year was a 16th overall finish at the Wells Fargo Championship.

Meanwhile, Kevin Chappell and Lee Westwood are hot on the heels of Garcia and Woods at 9-under par after shooting 6-under par Friday to vault up by 14 shots on the leaderboard. Rory McIlroy, No.2-ranked in the world, shot an even par and dropped 11 spots.

The Players Championship will be televised Saturday, May 10 at 12 p.m. EST on The Golf Channel and will switch to NBC at 2 p.m.

Leaderboard

Score   Player                          Thru

-11       Sergio Garcia              F

-10       Tiger Woods               F

-9         Kevin Chappell           F

-9         Lee Westwood            F

-9         Henrik Stenson            F

-8         Ryan Palmer                F

-8         Casey Wittenberg        F

-8         David Lingmerth         F

-7         Matt Kuchar                F