Sergio Garcia bogeyed the last two holes to end day three of the Players Championship at Sawgrass three shots behind surprise leader Paul Goydos.
A birdie at 16 saw the Spaniard tie for the lead, but the dropped shots proved costly as he ended the day with a one-over-par 73.
Overnight leader Kenny Perry is one shot off leader Goydos.
Veteran Bernard Langer, who shot 67 on day two, struggled on the back nine and dropped five shots off the pace.
Garcia once again failed to get to grips with the tricky 17th, despite hitting a lovely shot to 10 feet at the par-three hole.
The 28-year-old double-bogeyed the same hole on day three and saw his first first putt trickle four feet beyond the hole before missing his second attempt.
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"I feel like I'm putting well. It's not easy to make a lot of putts, (although) I went a little brain dead with my first putt on 17 and just jammed it by.
"With everything that happened I'm still there with a good chance."
Goydos has achieved little of note since victory at the Sony Open in Hawaii in January last year and has dropped to 159th in the world.
A birdie at the 17th moved him in to the lead and he narrowly missed a 15-foot putt on the final hole to end with a round of 70.
Ian Poulter is the highest placed British player after a one-over-par 73 saw him go into the final day on level par.
Like Garcia, Poulter struggled on the final hole as he pulled his drive into the lake and ran up a triple bogey.
"It's a shame, because I played quite nicely the first 11 holes," the Englishman said after posting a five-over 221 total.
"I didn't miss a shot the first 11 holes and then I chunked one into the bunker on 12. I also four-putted 15 from the fringe and didn't commit to my shot on 17 and hit it in the water."
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