Cejka leads by five; gets Sunday pairing with Tiger

Golf Betting Lines

05/09/2009 - Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - If Alex Cejka is going to earn his first PGA Tour victory on Sunday, he will have to contend with his playing partner before all else.

That would be Tiger Woods.

Cejka only managed an even-par 72 on Saturday, but it was enough to extend his cushion to five shots over Woods and five other players after the third round of The Players Championship at the Stadium Course at the TPC at Sawgrass.

Cejka, who birdied the last to finish at 11-under 205, will now be paired with Woods in Sunday's final group in his quest to get his first win inside the United States.

While Cejka may not have the PGA Tour victory yet, he's certainly no slouch. He owns four European Tour titles, and three of those came with at least a piece of the 54-hole lead.

This isn't Cejka's first third-round lead on tour. He shared a piece of the 2001 British Open third-round lead before a final-round 73 left him in a tie for 13th, six behind eventual winner David Duval.

His five-stroke advantage is the largest third-round lead in Players Championship history and Cejka may need all of those strokes come Sunday afternoon.

Woods is the most intimidating player in the sport and six weeks ago, toppled Sean O'Hair down five at the beginning of the final round at Bay Hill. Five shots is the largest comeback in tournament history and Cejka has not visited the winner's circle in almost seven years, so he could be shaky.

No matter what, this should make for an interesting Sunday.

"If you want to win a big event like this, you have to beat everybody," acknowledged Cejka. "It doesn't matter who you play with. It's going to be a challenge tomorrow. I've played with him before. He's the best golfer in the world and we'll see what I can match."

Woods posted a two-under 70 to finish at six-under 210 and was joined in second by two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen (71), Jonathan Byrd (71), Ben Crane (72), Henrik Stenson (73) and Ian Poulter (75).

Woods was only one-under par through his first 10 holes, then found trouble with a drive at the par-five 11th. His tee ball landed against a tree and Woods was forced to go left-handed with his second shot.

He was just trying to hit it back in the fairway, but with an inverted club face and a surprisingly proficient technique, Woods knocked it back into play.

"I don't have a problem hitting shots left-handed," said Woods. "I actually hit it too good and I was stymied there for my third shot."

Unfortunately, Woods couldn't save par at 11, but he got the stroke back at the next hole with a short birdie putt. The best in the game drove into a bunker at 15 and failed to make par. He took advantage of the next few holes to get back into contention.

At the par-five 16th, Woods knocked it on the green in two and lagged his 45- footer inside two feet. He birdied that hole, then delighted the crowd with a nine-iron tee ball to eight feet at the famous 17th.

Woods made that, then sank a spectacular par from the right rough at 18 to give himself a chance on Sunday.

"This is basically our fifth major, and that's how it's playing. It's playing just like a major championship," said Woods, who has not finished inside the top 10 since his only win here in 2001. "It's fast, it's hard, it's dry. And you just have to keep plodding along."

That's exactly what Cejka did on Saturday.

He made four pars in his first four holes and he had to scramble for some. At the fifth, Cejka rolled in a 14-foot birdie putt to get to 12-under par, but found trouble before the turn.

At the par-four seventh, Cejka three-putted from 35 feet for a bogey and two holes later, at the par-five ninth, Cejka made a mess of the hole and missed a nine-footer for par.

That bogey still left Cejka one ahead and he got it together at the par-five 11th. He knocked his second in a greenside bunker, then blasted out to four feet. Cejka converted the birdie putt and sank a six-footer for birdie at 12 to reclaim his three-stroke cushion.

That margin didn't last long.

Cejka missed a five-foot par save at the 13th and a 10-footer at 14, but was still two ahead thanks to mistakes by his closest competitors, most notably Stenson, who bogeyed three of his last five, and Kevin Na.

Na got within three after an eagle at 16, but back-to-back bogeys at 17 and 18 dropped him down the leaderboard.

Cejka was comfortably ahead. He made a curious decision at the par-five 16th with a poor lay-up, but survived with a par. He was four in front and made a two-putt par at the island 17th.

At the last, Cejka hit a spectacular shot to five feet. He calmly rolled in the birdie putt to match the largest 54-hole lead in tournament history.

"Every birdie is important out here, but I'm very pleased with the way I finished," said Cejka, who defected from Communist Czechoslovakia with his father when he was nine years old. "I went out there and tried to enjoy today's round and not really think too much ahead."

A Poulter birdie at the last would have put him in the final pairing Sunday, but now it'll be Cejka and the world's best golfer. It will be Cejka's biggest stage and he seems poised to prevail with a calm approach that worked on Saturday.

"My goal is to take it out there and take it easy," he said. "Wait for my chances."

Na had an eagle, four birdies, five bogeys and a triple-bogey for a round of 74. He is tied for eighth with Brian Davis (71) and John Mallinger (74) at minus-five.

Masters champion Angel Cabrera, who complained of pace of play problems with partner Na, posted a five-over 77 and fell into a tie for 28th at two-under 214.

Phil Mickelson shot a one-under 71 and is part of a group knotted in 41st at minus-one. That puts the 2007 champion two ahead of the 2008 winner, Sergio Garcia, who could only muster a one-over 73 on Saturday.

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Police report: Terrell Owens hospitalized after attempt

Terrell Owens will address the media at a 3:15 p.m. ET news conference outside the Cowboys' practice facility after an internal police report indicated he tried to kill himself by overdosing on prescription pain medication, even putting two more pills into his mouth after a friend intervened.

The Dallas police report said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"

Owens left the hospital late Wednesday morning, giving reporters a "thumbs up" but making no comment as he was driven away in an SUV.

Michael Irvin said that Owens denied he attempted suicide and said he was rushed to the hospital as a result of an adverse reaction to medication. And a source close to Owens told Michael A. Smith that Owens wasn't attempting suicide.

NFL Network analyst Deion Sanders said he spoke with Owens shortly before his release from the hospital and that Owens was in good spirits.

"The fact that it has been reported a suicide attempt, he's laughed at that notion. It was a case that medication that was taken wasn't accepted well in his system with the other vitamins he's on," Sanders said.

The series of events began a little before 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Owens' publicist, Kim Etheredge, said she was at Owens' home when he took pain medicine for his broken right hand. Concerned by how he began acting, Etheredge said in various interviews Wednesday with Dallas-area media that she called 911. Owens was taken to a hospital, with Etheredge saying it was an allergic reaction to the medicine.

But early Wednesday, several media outlets received a police report -- that had yet to be released by the authorities -- saying Owens had attempted suicide by overdosing on the painkillers, even putting two more pills into his mouth after an unidentified friend intervened.

The police document, first reported by WFAA-TV, said Owens was asked by rescue workers "if he was attempting to harm himself, at which time [he] stated, 'Yes.'"

When officially released by police, about half the document was blacked out, including the phrases "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication" and "a drug overdose," as well as the details of Owens having two pills pried from his mouth and Owens saying "Yes" when asked if he intended to harm himself.

Etheredge, who said she was the friend cited in the police document, told Dallas-area media Wednesday that the police got the story wrong.

The tape of the 911 call could help clear things up. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get its contents, but fire department officials said it would not be available before late Wednesday.

The police report said the 32-year-old Owens told his friend "that he was depressed." Details of the police report were first reported by WFAA-TV.

The friend, who is not identified in the report, "noticed that [his] prescription pain medication was empty and observed [Owens] putting two pills in his mouth," the police report said.

Using her fingers, the friend attempted to pry them out of Owens' mouth. Owens told police he had taken only five of the 40 pain pills in the bottle he'd emptied before the incident.

Etheredge told the Star-Telegram that Owens was "fine."

Etheredge said she called 911 because Owens was groggy and lethargic. After taking some supplements "it kicked in a reaction" with the painkillers, she told the Star-Telegram.

"Here's a person whose body is so clean, it really had a negative reaction to the medication and supplements he was taking," Etheridge told The Morning News. "Thank goodness someone was there to call an ambulance."

Police Lt. Rick Watson said he could only confirm that paramedics called police to say they were taking Owens to the hospital. He said no more details would come from the police because no laws were broken.

It is not a crime in Texas for a person to attempt suicide.

"This is a high-profile person. We looked into it and we determined it is not a criminal offense," Watson said. "This a medical type of situation that occurred."

Watson and fire department spokesman Joel Lavender cited privacy laws for the lack of information they could provide. Lavender said more details could come from the 911 call. The Associated Press filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act to get the contents of the call.

"Let's just look at the tape, review the tape," Lavender said. "I'll give you an honest answer once I know something."

At the police news conference, Watson released a version of the police narrative with certain sections blacked out. The full report was obtained by several news outlets and reported first by WFAA. The AP received the full version from WFAA.

According to the police report, Dallas Fire and Rescue was called regarding someone "attempting suicide by prescription pain medication." Officers arrived to find Owens being stabilized by ambulance workers, who then took him to Baylor University Medical Center.

Owens was hospitalized late Tuesday because of what his publicist said was an allergic reaction to pain medicine he was taking for a broken hand. Doctors reportedly tried to induce vomiting.

Owens, one of the league's top receivers during his 11-year NFL career, is best known for wild stunts on the field and other publicity-seeking antics off it.

When the Cowboys signed him to a $25 million, three-year deal in March, they said their background checks indicated no red flags. In fact, team consultant Calvin Hill -- who mostly deals with troubled players -- said during training camp that his department was not involved with Owens because he didn't have a history of those kinds of problems.

He missed most of training camp, and three of four preseason games, because of a hamstring injury. He was late for work during his recovery and was fined for it, but Owens laughed it off, saying he overslept. He said it had happened before, though not with Dallas, and would probably happen again.

Owens broke the bone leading to his right ring finger during a game a week ago Sunday. The next day, doctors screwed in a plate so the bone could heal without fear of further damage. Cowboys coach Bill Parcells said last week that the pain medicine made Owens ill.

Owens had not practiced since the injury, but because Dallas had a bye this past weekend he did not miss a game. He was expected to practice Wednesday, and Parcells had said there was a chance Owens could play Sunday against Tennessee.

Owens had been especially looking forward to the Cowboys' game after that -- Oct. 8, in Philadelphia, against the team that dumped him midway through last season only months after he helped them nearly win the Super Bowl.

Owens was seen laughing and joking on the practice field Tuesday morning. He chatted briefly with reporters in the locker room in the afternoon and seemed fine. A 2-inch scar on the top of his hand was puffy but not wrapped, and he said the swelling was doing down.

While in the locker room, he took a pill from a white paper bag and looked at another medicine bottle that was in the bag. He also called a business partner about a towel-wrap venture they're starting and joked to TV cameras that he wasn't talking until Wednesday and it was only Tuesday.

"My little boy knows better than that," he said, laughing, as he plopped onto a sofa in the middle of the locker room.

Also Tuesday, Owens was involved in launching a national campaign for the National Alliance to End Abuse, an organization aimed at helping at-risk youngsters. He appeared at a high school Tuesday morning and was scheduled to visit others but had to cancel because of changes in the team's practice schedule.

Owens has played two games for the Cowboys, catching nine passes for 99 yards and a touchdown. For updated football betting lines and Dallas Cowboy Superbowl odds visit online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

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