THE TOUGHEST questions are asked in the majors. Yesterday, as Mother Nature contrived to toughen an already difficult course with winds gusting up to 40mph, the 35th Players Championship here - which has pretensions of gate-crashing that major club one day - turned into a battle of mental fortitude and creative shot-making. Just like a major, in fact.

As the strong winds swirled through the trees and around the stadium course, and a threat of tornadoes and thunderstorms hung in the humid air, an eclectic mix of tour players - from self-confessed journeymen to major champions whose best days lay in the past and others with major aspirations - went about the business of attempting to lay their hands on the Waterford Crystal trophy.

Paul Goydos, a 47-year-old tour veteran with just two wins to his name, started the final round with a one-shot lead over Kenny Perry. Among those cast in the role of pursuers were Sergio Garcia, who started the final round as number one in driving and number one in hitting greens-in-regulation but a lowly 74th, of 74 who made the cut, in putting. Could he get his blade working?

The task was an onerous one. For everyone.

"It's just brutal," said former US Masters champion Mike Weir, one of the early finishers, who nevertheless proved the conditions could be combated. He shot a 72.

However, there was evidence everywhere of the wind's severity. At one point, on the 14th hole, the wind blew Weir's cap and sunglasses some 50 yards down the fairway, while defending champion Phil Mickelson's visor (he later switched to a regular cap) was blown off his head on the driving range.

A worse fate befell Boo Weekley, who incurred a one-stroke penalty when the ball moved after he had addressed it on the eighth green.

"The winds are swirling. One minute they're hurting you, the next they're helping," added Weir.

All of which contrived to make for an interesting final round, with Goydos - carrying a 54-hole lead into the final round for the first time in a 16-year professional career - recovering from a nervy start, with bogeys on the second and third, to retain the lead after seven holes.

Yet again, Goydos showed a touch with his putter that would make Garcia envious. On the fourth, Goydos rolled in a 50-footer for birdie to stem that run of bogeys. Prior to going out, he had remarked, "it's going to be a great experience, irrespective of the outcome. This is why we play".

Garcia, without a win on tour for three years, and 50-year-old Bernhard Langer, without a win on the regular tour since his US Masters triumph in 1993, were seeking to become the first European winners of the Players since Sandy Lyle in 1987.

But bogeys on the eighth and ninth dropped Langer back to one-under for the tournament and meant the German fell out of the slipstream of leader Goydos.

Garcia, though, hung on. After a poor bogey on the first, where he missed a short putt, Garcia ran up five pars before claiming his first birdie on the seventh. However, he gave the shot straight back - returning to three under, two behind Goydos at that stage - on the short eighth where his six-iron found a bunker.

"I've just got to go out there and try to shoot the lowest score I can shoot and hopefully it is good enough," said Garcia.

Yet, his quest might have been served better by ditching his aggressive play and realising that, on such a tough playing day, pars were your friend. The message hit home, when - after putting his approach through the green into a bunker on the ninth - he hit his sand shot to 10 feet and grittily holed the return putt for a par.

Briny Baird, celebrating his 36th birthday and without a tour win in his career, espoused such a philosophy as he went about his business impressively. Baird reached the turn in 34 - moving to three under for the tournament - to get into the mix as he turned for home.

And Stephen Ames, the champion here in 2006, made a move on the run home with birdies on the 10th and 16th to move to two under.

Ernie Els had a great opportunity to set the clubhouse target. The South African reached one-under after birdies on the 16th and 17th holes, but a wayward drive on the 18th cost him dearly. Having pushed his tee-shot behind trees down the right, Els attempted to play a miracle shot around the trees but saw his shot finish in the lake. He ran up a double-bogey six for a 72, leaving him on 289, one over.

Water proved costly to Els over the four days: in Thursday's first round, he ran up a triple-bogey six on the 17th; on Saturday, he had a double-bogey six on the fourth, and then he finished off with yet another double bogey yesterday.

But Goydos - who reached the turn in 38, to be five-under and one clear of Perry at that stage - was proving to be elusive, using his putter like a magic wand to stave off pursuers.