Overnight pacesetter Lee Westwood rammed in a 22-foot putt to save par at the ninth and preserve his one-stroke lead midway through the final round at the Players Championship Sunday. The British world No. 4, just short of the green in two at the par-five ninth, overflew the green with his third shot and then splashed out from a bunker well beyond the cup. However, Westwood coolly sank the lengthy putt to stay at 15 under overall and reach the turn in one-under 35 in firm, fast-running conditions at the TPC Sawgrass. Playing partner Robert Allenby of Australia, also one-under for the round, was tied for second place with South African Tim Clark, who had completed the first 10 holes in three under. American Ben Crane was a further two strokes back in fourth at 12-under after nine holes. Westwood made a stumbling start when he bogeyed the par-four first after finding the left rough off the tee and ending up in a greenside bunker with his approach. However, he maintained his one-shot advantage when Allenby also bogeyed the hole after missing the green to the left with his second shot. The straight-hitting Clark, yet to win on the PGA Tour after eight years on the US.circuit, birdied the seventh, ninth and 10th to join Allenby at 14-under. Earlier in the day, world number one Tiger Woods withdrew from the tournament after completing six holes of his final round, citing a painful neck. “I've been playing with a bad neck for quite a while,” Woods told reporters. “I can't play through it any more. They want me to go get a picture on it next week. I might have a bulging disk.” Andersson Hed wins Sweden's Fredrik Andersson Hed ended a 13-year wait for his maiden European Tour win when he hung on grimly to claim the Italian Open title Sunday. The Swede began the final round six strokes ahead and a nervy one-over-par 73 on Sunday earned him a two-shot victory over charging Briton David Horsey (68). Despite carding a magnificent 63 in the third round, Andersson Hed had feared he would be tense on the final day and so it proved. He finished with a 16-under-par 272 total. The 38-year-old's overnight lead was cut to four shots by Miguel Angel Jimenez at the first hole. A bogey by Andersson Hed and a birdie by the Spaniard, who was second overnight, caused the two-shot swing and left the Swede facing a nerve-jangling final round. However, Jimenez then lost his way with three bogeys in four holes and ended a miserable day tied in 17th place. When Horsey bogeyed the 14th by finding the clinging Royal Park rough, soaked by heavy afternoon rain, and then missing the green, Andersson Hed gained breathing space. Fellow Swede Peter Gustafsson (66), Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts (70) and Briton Chris Wood (70) finished four shots behind Andersson Hed in a three
