PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) – Tiger Woods and Adam Scott have such similar swings, it’s often tough to distinguish them. That was hardly the case Thursday in The Players Championship.

The 23-year-old Aussie was in full flight, knocking down flags on his way to a 7-under 65 and a one-shot lead.

Woods continued to search for a swing he could trust, struggling to his fourth straight round over par, a 75 that put him in a tie for 108th and in serious jeopardy of missing the cut for the first time in six years.

Scott was all smiles.

Woods wore a scowl.

Playing in the group ahead of the world’s No. 1 player, Scott showed the fans what they thought they might see from Woods. He made six of his birdies from inside 6 feet, closing out a superb round with a 9-iron into 3 feet.

Duffy Waldorf survived a wild finish to his round of 66 by making a 15-foot eagle on the 16th, dunking one in the water on the island-green 17th for double bogey, and closing out with a birdie from 10 feet.

It was only his fifth sub-70 score on the Stadium Course in 39 rounds.

Kevin Sutherland also had a 66 with a long putter he planned to ditch. He only brought it to keep his clubs stable during his flight from Sacramento, Calif., gave it one last chance after his practice round Wednesday and made just about everything he looked at inside 12 feet.

There were plenty of crazy tales on a course that brings out the best and worst in everyone’s game, from Phil Mickelson chipping in for birdie on No. 17 with his left foot nearly hanging over the edge, to David Peoples making a triple bogey on No. 10 despite taking only two putts and not hitting in any hazard.

“If you play well, you can shoot well under par. And if you don’t, it eats you up,” said Mickelson, who was somewhere in between with a 70.

Retief Goosen, a steady performer and former U.S. Open champion, had three double bogeys.

John Daly never made worse that par in a round of 69.

“Bogey-free, that’s not happened too many times to me out here,” said Daly, who has had five rounds in the 80s on the TPC at Sawgrass. “I didn’t shoot myself in the foot, anyway.”

Thomas Bjorn was among those at 67, while Ernie Els returned to good form after missing the cut at Bay Hill last week and led a large group at 68.

Scott is one of the rising young stars in golf at No. 18 in the world. He won his first PGA Tour event last year at the Deutsche Bank Championship south of Boston, the tournament that benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation.

“You want to become a major champion and No. 1 in the world,” Scott said. “I think Tiger has got that No. 1 spot locked down right now. I’m climbing up there.”

Woods is making the target seem more attainable.

Coming off his worst finish in five years at the Bay Hill Invitational – a tie for 46th – Woods had his highest score since he shot 75 in the third round of the U.S. Open.

That figures to raise more questions about his game, especially with the Masters only two weeks away – and especially with Scott in the lead.

They are good friends, and often practice together.

The biggest difference is that Scott still works with swing coach Butch Harmon, while Woods last year severed his ties with Harmon after working with him for more than a dozen years.

The whispers on the range are that Woods, despite his 40th career victory last month in the Match Play Championship, should go back to Harmon.

Woods says he doesn’t need him.

“I’d just like to not make as many bogeys … and make some more birdies,” Woods said. “I just need to get myself going. If I get in red numbers (under par), I’ll be all right.”

Woods was lucky his score wasn’t higher. He took only one putt on the final three greens, including a bogey after hitting over the island and into the water on No. 17 – his best swing of the day.

“That’s what happens when you catch the wrong wind,” he said.

Scott had no such troubles. He was a model of patience and precision, bursting into the lead with a 9-iron into 4 feet on No. 7, hitting 4-iron into 3 feet on the par-3 eighth, and sticking a 9-iron into 6 feet on No. 9.

His only bogey came from the middle of the fairway on No. 15, when he hit wedge into the bunker, but he closed strong. And most importantly, he found land on No. 17.

Scott and Waldorf played in the morning, when the greens still retained some moisture and held shots. By the end of the day, the greens had a yellow sheen as they became firm, an ominous sign for what awaits Woods on Friday.

“I thought it played hard,” Sutherland said, who played in the afternoon. “The greens look like they’re about to die. They’ve got that brownish, shiny thing going. They’re about to turn blue.”

Bjorn and Els also were among the late starters, and both felt good about their position.

“This is a battle,” he said of the Sawgrass course. “It’s never going to be easy on a course like this. If you let up, all of a sudden you’re making bogeys and doubles and the golf tournament just slips through your hands.”

It could be slipping away from Woods, whose PGA Tour record of 119 consecutive cuts is on the line.

AP-ES-03-25-04 1911EST