Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. ? Stephen Ames took on Sawgrass at full strength and finished a grueling afternoon with a rare smile, surviving with a 2-under 70 to take a one-shot lead Saturday in The Players Championship.

Ames didn’t do anything spectacular down the stretch. All he did was keep it simple, the best way to survive the notorious TPC at Sawgrass that crushed the hopes of Arron Oberholser, constantly fooled Tiger Woods and slapped around anyone who made the slightest mistake.

When the debris was cleared away, Ames was at 9-under 207 and one shot clear of Vijay Singh and Sergio Garcia.

Singh played his final 10 holes without a bogey for a 70, making him a serious threat to end six months without a PGA Tour victory. Garcia missed a two-foot par putt on the 13th and was on the ropes until he found his legs over the treacherous closing holes and wound up with 70.

Oberholser walked to the 17th tee with a share of the lead. He walked off the green in a tie for seventh, courtesy of a ball in the water and three putts for triple bogey and a 74.

Adam Scott, the 2004 winner of what some call golf’s fifth major, shot 45 on the front nine and finished with an 82. He tumbled 49 spots down the leaderboard, from one shot out of the lead into a tie for 51st.

Stephen Ames tees off on the 18th hole. Ames shot a third-round 70 on Saturday in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., for a one-stroke lead at The Players Championship.

Woods was seven strokes back after a 73. He never could figure out the wind and was so frustrated after a bogey on the sixth hole that he slung his putter 25 feet toward his bag, pulled off his cap and said angrily, “Stop making mistakes!”

It sets up what should be an entertaining day today for the richest prize on the PGA Tour, with 16 players within five shots of the lead and no one safe until the scorecard is signed.

Former Masters champion Mike Weir was the only player among the last 30 to play who broke 70, a 4-under 68 that put him at 6-under 210 with Henrik Stenson, who had a hole-in-one and shot 70.

Two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen quietly went about his business for a 71, leaving him in a logjam of players at 209 that included 36-hole leader Jim Furyk (75).