Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. ? Former Kansas University golfer Gary Woodland shot a 2-under-par 70 at the PGA Tour’s Players Championship on Saturday and is tied for fifth heading into today’s final round.

Woodland trails co-leaders Jordan Spieth and Martin Kaymer by four shots.

“I played solid,” Woodland said. “It wasn’t anything great, wasn’t anything too bad. Got off to a good start, gave a couple back.”

TPC Sawgrass is the venue for this week, and it’s a course on which Woodland has struggled. He has only played in two previous Players Championships, missing the cut in both.

Beginning his day six shots back of the lead, Woodland started well Saturday with an opening birdie on No. 1 from 16 feet, and his pitch shot from 33 yards short of the par-5 second green that landed and stopped like a yo-yo less than two feet away was undoubtedly one of the highlights of his day.

Golf is often considered a unique test of patience, and on Woodland’s front nine Saturday, that was the case. On the par-4 fifth, Woodland drove into the rough, hit his second shot to the rough in back of the green and chipped his ball to eight feet. He tried to coax the par putt in with some body language, but it just missed the lip

After consecutive bogeys at Nos. 5 and 6 and the day seemingly slipping away from the 29-year-old, Woodland responded with a pivotal birdie on the par-4 No. 7.

“It was big, especially after a good start,” Woodland said. “And to give shots back (5 and 6), it was nice to get one. To make birdie on 7 and give myself a chance going into the back nine was nice.”

The most comical part of Woodland’s round came at the par-5 ninth.

Woodland was in the rough short of the green chipping for eagle, and he mishit his shot.

“I tried to take lob wedge and tried to hit it hard, and I just bladed it,” Woodland said.

He hit a line-drive that pierced just above the bunker in front of him and squirted onto the green with some funky spin. The ball ended up 20 feet away from the hole.

“I got lucky where it came down,” Woodland said. “It was a horrible shot, and I just got lucky with it.”

Playing partner Lee Westwood joked that Woodland hit a good bump-and-run shot, and the two laughed about it.

“He gave me a hard time, which was due for the shot,” Woodland said.

Woodland winced playfully as he looked at his lob wedge in the immediate aftermath. He finished the front nine with pars on 8 and 9 and a total of 1-under-par 35.

At that point, he trailed Kaymer’s 12-under-par lead by five strokes.

Woodland produced a good start to his back nine with a birdie on 11, and he made a bomb from 40 feet on the 14th’s fringe to get to 9-under.

“It was nice to see the ball go in,” Woodland said. “Thirteen, I think, was the big key, making a par save on 13.”

With Woodland’s prodigious distance, he figured that the par-5 16th would be reachable. A drive in the right rough forced him to lay up. Woodland found the heavy rough right of the fairway and subsequently pulled his third shot left of the green and into thicker rough.

“That was one of the hardest shots I’ve had, the third shot on 16 there,” Woodland said.

He lost his balance on his follow-through and had to take a step forward after making impact. Then on his fourth shot, with a tree only a few feet in front of him, Woodland chipped his ball past the hole, and it ran out to 13 feet. Woodland drained the putt to save par and keep a good round intact.

Woodland parred 17 and 18 to post a 1-under-par 35 for his back nine.

“I’m very comfortable with my game, where it is,” Woodland said. “I’m seeing this golf course pretty good right now, which is nice. So hopefully I eliminate the mistakes (today), and then we’ll see what happens.”