After all he's endured, pressure doesn't faze Cejka

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Alex Cejka is excelling this week at TPC Sawgrass, despite the effects of a myriad of injuries that stem from neck surgery late last year.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- Alex Cejka will not be intimidated by Tiger Woods. He even joked that he was going to wear a red shirt and black pants Sunday afternoon.

Of course, the last two guys to do that in the final pairing with Woods were Rocco Mediate at last year's U.S. Open and Luke Donald at the 2006 PGA Championship. We know how those turned out.

Inside the Numbers

Cejka thru 54 Holes

Category Total Rank Eagles 0 N/A Birdies 17 T1 Pars 31 T43 Bogeys 6 T62 Double Bogeys 0 N/A Other 0 N/A Driving Accuracy 83.3% T1 Driving Distance 285.2 yds. T40 Greens in Regulation 66.7% T20 Putts per Round 26.3 T7 Putts per GIR 1.639 9 Sand Saves 50.0% T20

There are two distinct differences between Cejka and them, however.

Cejka is short in stature but long on grit, having played through pain the entire season, including this week, despite a myriad of injuries that stem from neck surgery late last year. If this were hockey, Cejka would be the team tough guy.

Following surgery, doctors told Cejka he should rest six to eight months. He took four weeks off. Coming into this week, Cejka endured a cortisone shot. Saturday, he said there's still some numbness in his fingers.

Then again, maybe being numb isn't such a bad thing when you've got the No. 1 player in the world sharing the tee box with you in the final group of THE PLAYERS Championship.

The other difference between Cejka and Mediate and Donald? Oh yeah, a five-shot lead. That certainly helps when you're playing a course that's as baked out and crusty as TPC Sawgrass has become, especially late in the afternoon.

Go ask Sean O'Hair about five-shot leads, though. But Cejka isn't O'Hair, either. "I was trying to hang in there like a pit bull in double digits [under par]," Cejka said. And that's exactly what he did with what could turn out to be an enormously important birdie on the 18th hole late Saturday to finish in even-par 72.

That was hardly his only good shot, however. Even though he had just as many birdies as bogeys on Saturday, Cejka has played the par-3, par-4 and par-5 holes a cumulative 3 under, 6 under and 2 under, respectively, this week. Over the last 25 years, only one other player -- 1994 champion Greg Norman -- has played each of the par holes at TPC Sawgrass that well.

Woods and Cejka haven't played together often, which shouldn't be any great surprise given that Woods has won 66 times on the PGA TOUR and Cejka is still looking for his first victory. In fact, Cejka could only recall two other times they were paired together -- once in an exhibition, once at the 1996 Open Championship.

"The last time I played with [Tiger], I dealt with it pretty good," Cejka joked.

He sure did, shooting a 67 to Woods' 70 at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. Of course, both were tied for 29th entering the final round that day, and Woods was all of 21 years old and still an amateur.

Cejka's name might seem like an oddity atop the leaderboard here, but it's not entirely unfamiliar territory. Even if he's never held a five-shot lead going into the final round, he has won 11 times around the world. He also endured a tough childhood, escaping Communism as a youth in Czechoslovakia.

"It's nice to have a cushion like this," Cejka said. "I'd rather be five ahead than two behind. I'm in a position where he has to make the birdies. We'll see what happens."

That's hardly bulletin board material, especially from a guy like Cejka, who just as quickly admitted that playing in the final group with Woods will carry with it "a little bit of pressure."

Don't think Woods won't notice the red shirt his playing partner is wearing, but don't think Cejka won't sleep easy on Saturday night, either. Asked how he'll prepare Saturday night for what will be the biggest round of his career the following day, Cejka said, "Some Japanese food, a shower and watching a few sitcoms."

Follow all the action at TPC Sawgrass this week on Twitter at Twitter.com/pgatour and get more news and insight from Brian Wacker at Twitter.com/pgatour_brianw.