PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - Matt Kuchar avoided the big mistakes that slowed so many other contenders - starting with Kevin Na - and kept out of the water on the TPC Sawgrass to close with a 2-under 70 for a 2-shot win in the Players Championship Sunday.
Martin Laird made a strong run until a bogey on the 18th left him with a 67 and a four-way tie for second. Rickie Fowler missed an eight-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole and shot 70. Ben Curtis and Zach Johnson each had 68.
Tiger Woods shot 40 on his front nine and rallied for a 73, at least finishing under par. He tied for 40th, the first time in his career that he has finished no better than 40th in three straight tournaments.
Na had a 3-shot lead early in the final round with a birdie on No. 2, but he fell apart quickly. He made four bogeys in five holes to close out the front nine in 39, and his hopes ended with a tee shot into the water on the par-3 13th. He closed with a 76 to tie for seventh, 5 shots behind.
Along with the pressure of trying to win, Na had to put up with some heckling over the waggles and whiffs of his painful pre-shot routine, with some spectators saying, "Pull the trigger" and "Hit it."
"I backed off and they're booing me," Na said. "I said, 'Look, guys, I backed off because of you guys.' ... But it is what it is."
SANTO DA SERRA, Madeira Islands - Ricardo Santos shot a 9-under 63 to win the Madeira Islands Open by 4 strokes, becoming the first Portuguese-born golfer to win on the European Tour in his home country.
