Garcia in upbeat mood despite another faltering finish

By Mark Lamport-Stokes

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida (Reuters) - Spaniard Sergio Garcia shrugged off the disappointment of a stumbling finish for the second day in a row at the Players Championship on Saturday.

Despite striking the ball from tee to green as well as anyone in the 74-man field, Garcia bogeyed four of the last six holes to card a one-over-par 73 in the third round.

The previous day, the 28-year-old had surrendered a one-stroke lead by double-bogeying the treacherous 17th but he remained upbeat about his title hopes going into Sunday's final round.

"With everything that happened, I'm still there," Garcia told reporters after ending a grueling day of survival on sun-baked greens three shots behind pace-setting American Paul Goydos.

"I still have a good chance and I'm looking forward to tomorrow coming out and playing well again. We'll see if we can win this championship."

Garcia, seeking his seventh PGA Tour title, dueled for the lead with playing partner Goydos for much of the third round but was ultimately let down by his putter.

While Goydos needed only 26 putts on the slick greens at the Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass, Garcia totaled 34.

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