Woods struggles as Mickelson leads

World number one Woods dropped three shots in his final six holes for a 75 while Mickelson and South African Sabbatini tamed the brutal conditions to lead on five-under 67, one stroke ahead of American Chris DiMarco, a score that seemed out of reach for the late starters.

"I had three three-putts today," lamented Woods. "The greens are a little bit tricky to read, different grain than we're used to, and I had a tougher time than the guys at the top of the board."

Brian Davis found his long-lost putting touch to head the British challenge four strokes behind Mickelson and Sabbatini.

Davis has endured a frustrating year on the greens this year, ranking 115th in putting on the US Tour, but he rolled in four birdies from outside 10 feet on his way to a one-under-par 71 in extremely strong and gusty winds at the Sawgrass TPC.

He also missed a couple of short ones, but was hardly in a mood to complain after pitching in from 35 yards at the last for an unlikely birdie.

"It's a long time since I putted like that," said Davis, who credited his improved form on the greens to a lesson from Gary Evans, the recently-retired touring pro. The way the year's been going, it's nice to get a bit of momentum."

Davis was the only British player to break par in the brutal conditions, with Luke Donald shooting 74, Ian Poulter 75 and Paul Casey 76 in winds that gusted to more than 30mph.

Donald is usually a mild mannered guy, but he had steam coming from his ears after a nightmare finish, dropping three shots in his final two holes.

"I had a great comeback in the middle (four birdies in five holes) there but to finish double bogey, bogey leaves a bitter taste," said Donald, whose tee shot at the par-three eighth, his 17th hole, finished so far wide of the target that he found a water hazard he barely knew existed.