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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- A weekend filled with sharp words between Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia came down to one last showdown Sunday in The Players Championship, this one staged across the water in a tiny, terrifying section of the TPC Sawgrass. Tied for the lead with two holes to play, Woods kept his shots on land and made two pars. Garcia hit three balls into the water for a quadruple bogey-double bogey finish. If there was special satisfaction in beating Garcia again, Woods kept that to himself. What mattered was having a chance to win, closing it out like he does so often, and capturing the richest prize on the PGA Tour for the first time in a dozen years. "We just go out there and play," Woods said. "I had an opportunity to win the golf tournament when I was tied for the lead today, and I thought I handled the situation well and really played well today when I really needed to. And thats something Im excited about it." Woods allowed the final hour to turn into a tense duel by hooking his tee shot into the water on the 14th hole for double bogey. But his short game bailed him out to save par on the 15th and make a critical birdie on the 16th, and he was solid on the final two holes for a 2-under 70. If only it were that simple for the Spaniard. Garcia was standing on the 17th tee shot, staring across to the island green to watch Woods make his par. He took aim at the flag with his wedge and hung his head when he saw the ball splashed down short of the green. Then, Garcia hit another one in the water on his way to a quadruple-bogey 7. The meltdown was complete when Garcia hit his tee shot into the water on the 18th. "Its always nice to have a chance at beating the No. 1 player in the world, but unfortunately for me, I wasnt able to this week," Garcia said. Woods was in the scoring trailer when he watched on TV as Swedish rookie David Lingmerth missed a long birdie putt that would have forced a playoff. It raced by the cup, and Lingmerth three-putted for bogey. "How about that?" Woods said to his caddie, Joe LaCava as he gave him a hug. Woods finished on 13-under 275. He won The Players for the first time since 2001 and became the fifth multiple winner at Sawgrass since The Players moved to this former swamp in 1982. It was his 78th career win on the PGA Tour, four short of the record held by Sam Snead. And it was his first time winning with his girlfriend, Olympic ski champion Lindsey Vonn, at the tournament. Lingmerth closed with a 72 and finished two shots behind along with Kevin Streelman (67) and Jeff Maggert, who also was tied for the lead until finding the water on the 17th to make double bogey. The 49-year-old Maggert birdied the 18th for a 70. Garcia took 13 shots to cover the final two holes -- 6-over par -- and tumbled into a tie for eighth. There was a four-way tie for the lead after Woods made his double bogey, and the infamous 17th green took out Maggert and Garcia. After Garcia went into the water twice, Lingmerth missed an 8-foot birdie putt that would have tied him for the lead. Given their public sniping at each other over the weekend, it was only fitting that Garcia had the best chance to beat Woods. Their dispute started Saturday when Garcia complained in a TV interview that his shot from the par-5 second fairway was disrupted by cheers from the crowd around Woods, who was some 50 yards away in the trees and fired them up by taking a fairway metal out of his bag. He said Woods should have been paying attention, and it became a war of the words the next two days. "Not real surprising that hes complaining about something," Woods said. "At least Im true to myself," Garcia retorted. "I know what Im doing, and he can do whatever he wants." When they finished the storm-delayed third round Sunday morning, Garcia kept at it, saying that Woods is "not the nicest guy on tour." Woods had the last laugh. He had the trophy. Garcia, when asked if he would have changed anything about the flap with Woods, replied, "It sounds like I was the bad guy here. I was the victim. I dont have any regrets of anything." The real villain was the infamous 17th hole. "When youve got water in front of the green, thats not a good time to be short of the green. You know, it was close," Maggert said. "What can I say? A wrong shot at the wrong time and you get penalized on this golf course." It was at the 17th hole five years ago where Garcia won The Players Championship, when Paul Goydos hit into the water in a sudden-death playoff. This time, the island green got its revenge on him. Garcia hit a wedge and felt he caught it just a little bit thin, which is usually all it takes. "That hole has been good to me for the most part," Garcia said. "Today, it wasnt. Thats the way it is. Thats the kind of hole it is. Youve got to love it for what it is." Woods earned $1.71 million, pushing his season total to over $5.8 million in just seven tournaments. This is the 12th season he has won at least four times -- that used to be the standard of a great year before he joined the PGA Tour in 1996 -- and this was the quickest he has reached four wins in a year. It was the second time has won on Mothers Day. "Sorry, Mom," he said into the camera. "I think she might have had a heart attack. I was in control of the tournament, and I just hit the worst shot I could possibly hit." Typical of Woods these days, there were questions about where he took the drop -- some 255 yards from the hole. NBC Sports analyst Johnny Miller suggested it was a "borderline" where he took the drop. But Mark Russell, vice-president of competition for the PGA Tour, said there was nothing wrong with the drop. Woods conferred with Casey Wittenberg, who said there was "no doubt" that Woods took the drop in the right spot. "He asked me exactly where it crossed," Wittenberg said. "I told him I thought it crossed on the corner of the bunker, right where he took his drop. And its all good." Woods wound up with a double bogey, and he nearly fell out of the lead on the 15th until he saved par with an 8-foot putt. "The shot that turned the tide was the putt on 15," Woods said. "To go double bogey-bogey would have been huge. But to save a putt there and get some momentum going to the next three holes was big." Woods and Garcia played four tension-free holes Sunday morning to complete the third round, and they shook hands without words when they finished -- Woods with a 71, Garcia with a 72 to share the 54-hole lead with Lingmerth. With a three-way tie, Garcia wound up in the final group because he was first to play at the start of the third round. Garcia, however, continued to fuel the bad feelings between them. He told Sky Sports, "Im not going to lie, hes not my favourite guy to play with. Hes not the nicest guy on tour." And then he told Golf Channel, "We dont enjoy each others company. You dont need to be a rocket engineer to figure that out." Woods downplayed the episode and said it didnt matter who joined him on the tee. "Im tied for the lead, so Im right there." And thats where he usually wins. Woods now is 53-4 in his PGA Tour career when he has at least a share of the lead going into the final round. San Francisco 49ers Store . Varlamov made 33 saves and Ryan OReilly had a goal and scored in the shootout as the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Thursday night. Cheap 49ers Jerseys . -- San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks was fined $15,570 by the NFL on Wednesday for his hit on Saints quarterback Drew Brees last Sunday. https://www.49ersjerseysale.com/ . -- Eastern Kentucky thrives off creating havoc for others. Custom San Francisco 49ers Jerseys . "No difference at all," chirped U.S. roommate and linemate James van Riemsdyk. "Its still the same cranky Phil. 49ers Jerseys 2021 . Tuesdays surgery at Atlantas Piedmont Hospital was performed by Dr. Xavier Duralde and Hawks team physician Dr. Michael Bernot.This time Casey At The Bat delivered. Monday night at Shaw Park, Goldeyes first baseman Casey Haerther hit a grand slam home run in the fifth, drove in the tying run on a ground out in the seventh and then drove home the winner with a single in the bottom of the ninth as the Goldeyes beat the Wichita Wingnuts 7-6. Haerther finished with three hits on five trips and drove in six runs, as he led the Goldeyes to their 13th win of the season and put a halt to a three-game losing streak. The Goldeyes also came back from a 5-1 deficit thanks to Haerthers heroics. With the win, the Goldeyes improved to 13-11 and remained in second place in the American Associations North Division, just a half a game back of first-place Fargo. “On the home run, I got a fastball away,” said Haerther who drilled the pitch over the rightfield wall. “I didnt want to let him get to the splitter so I was sitting on the fastball. “I got a fastball on the single to win it, too. I figured hed try to get ahead and throw me a fastball on the first pitch. I didnt hit it very hard, but sometimes you dont have to hit it very hard.” Wichita took a 2-0 lead in the first, but the Goldeyes came back with a single in the first as Ryan Scoma doubled home Amos Ramon. With the Wingnuts leading 5-1 heading into the bottom of the fifth, newcomer Tyler Graham singled, Ramon singled and Mazzola walked and then Haerther took a fastball on a 1-0 count over the Manitoba Hydro sign in right fielld.dddddddddddd Wichita regained the lead 6-5 in the sixth, but Haerthers ground out in the seventh scored Graham from third and the game was tied again. Then, in the ninth, Haerther came up with the bases load and nobody out and he hit a first-pitch single to right to score Ramon with the game-winning run. “Yeah, that felt like last years playoffs,” said Ramon who had a four-hit night. “We really needed that as a team. We got down early, but we didnt give up. We played a real good ball game. We played good defense and started to hit. Hitting is just confidence and we started to get some confidence back tonight.” The top of the Goldeyes order came through big time on Monday. Graham, who was just acquired from Fargo, went two-for-five with two runs scored; Ramon went four-for-five with three runs scored; Scoma went one-for-four with an RBI and Haerther was three-for-five with a run scored and six driven in. Goldeyes closer Patrick Keating (1-0, 0.90 ERA)) got the win, while Wichitas Lincoln Holdzkom (1-1, 1.64 ERA) suffered the loss. The two teams will go at it again on Tuesday night at Shaw Park at 7:05 p.m. Right-hander Matt Rusch (4-1, 2.05 ERA) will get the start for Winnipeg, while Jon Link (4-1, 2.08) will take to the hill for Wichita. Tickets for all Goldeyes games are available through Ticketmaster by clicking on Ticketmaster.ca, calling 1-855-GOLDEYE or visiting any Ticketmaster outlet, including the Shaw Park box office. ' ' '