Leader Cejka has come a long way
Obscure Czech halfway to title
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - With drama, action, major surgery, a multicountry escape from communism, and numbness - literally - the Alex Cejka Story seems better suited for Hollywood than the PGA Tour. But even the movie moguls might deem it unbelievable.
Cejka seems comfortable on the big stage, though, and has positioned himself atop the marquee of the tour's most star-studded event, shooting a 5-under-par 67 yesterday on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass to take a two-shot lead halfway through The Players Championship.
Looking for his first win in his seventh full season on tour, the 38-year-old native of the Czech Republic is 11 under par. Ian Poulter birdied his final hole to shoot 68 and sit second at 9 under, with a six-player logjam two shots back.
"The game is there, I can see it on the greens and the short game," Cejka said. "We'll see what happens in the next two days."
Only diehard golf fans are familiar with Cejka (pronounced chay-ka), and even they probably don't know the obstacles he's overcome to put himself in today's final twosome. He had an epidural injection last week to treat a pinched nerve in his neck, which for three weeks had left Cejka with numbness down his arm and in his hand. The epidural was necessary after he ignored his doctors' suggestion and returned too soon following major neck surgery late last year.
"It's still not 100 percent," Cejka said, "but I feel my hand, so that's a good sign."
So were the 13 birdies he's made through two rounds, including six yesterday. A sloppy bogey on the par-4 15th hole, when he bunkered his approach from the fairway and couldn't save par, was his only blemish.
Simply getting to the tour was a journey. Cejka's father decided to flee Czechoslovakia when Cejka was 9, taking only a small backpack and embarking on a trip that took the two from the communist country through the former Yugoslavia, Italy, and Switzerland, before reaching Germany. By foot, by train, by bike, the pair marched on, even swimming, according to Cejka, across the Rhine River.
"I was too young to understand what was going on," Cejka said. "For me it was a vacation, a little trip, I guess. But I think for my father it was quite scary."
He learned golf in Germany - inspired by Bernhard Langer - turned pro in 1992, and toiled in Europe for a decade, winning 11 times, before earning his PGA Tour card for the 2003 season. He's finished second twice, with his best showing in three previous appearances here a tie for 12th in 2005.
The start is nice, but Cejka is a long way from winning. This is his 195th PGA Tour event, and only once before has he held an outright lead - three weeks ago in Hilton Head, S.C., when he opened with a 64 (he followed with rounds of 71-72-72). Plus, only twice in the last 10 years of the TPC has the 36-hole leader won.
Poulter, also in search of his first PGA win, leads the pack. The fashion-forward Brit was the lone star on last year's European Ryder Cup team, winning four of his five matches, and he had a season-best fifth-place finish last week in Charlotte, N.C. Poulter hasn't played much this year - he had Lasik eye surgery in January - but his start here has him daring to dream what a win would mean.
"It would mean everything," Poulter said. "It would mean a couple of years of hard work. It would mean carrying over from the Ryder Cup. It would mean stepping up another level."
Kevin Na, who was paired with Cejka and played in relative solitude - there were maybe 15 people following them as they made the turn, despite Cejka being in the lead and Na chasing - had six birdies and no bogeys, with his 66 giving him a 7-under total, tied with five others for third. Included in that group is Masters winner Angel Cabrera, who matched Daniel Chopra for the day's low score with a 7-under 65.
Tied for 22d, seven shots back after a 69, is Tiger Woods, who finally found his putting stroke but didn't give himself enough scoring chances. Woods hit only half of the 14 fairways - despite using driver just twice - and missed a golden opportunity for a closing birdie when he punched a 7-iron from the right rough under a tree and within 10 feet. But his birdie putt never touched the cup.
"Just kind of plodded my way along today," Woods said. "Overall, I got myself back in the ballgame."
Michael Whitmer can be reached at mwhitmer@globe.com 