Sergio Garcia bogeyed the final two holes to fall three strokes behind surprise leader Paul Goydos after the third round at the Players Championship.

On a day when fellow European Bernhard Langer fell five strokes behind, Garcia was tied for the lead after a birdie at the par-five 16th, and momentum seemed to be on his side when he hit a lovely shot to 10 feet at the par-three 17th at the Sawgrass TPC.

But his first putt trickled four feet beyond the hole and he missed the comeback attempt.

The Spaniard compounded his problems by dropping another shot at the par-four 18th after pushing his drive into the rough and having to lay up with his second shot.

"I'm a little bit disappointed because I feel the last two days I shot pretty much the highest I could," said Garcia, whose long game has been clearly the best of the field.

"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, who has not achieved anything of note since winning the Sony Open in Hawaii in January last year, dropping to 159th in the world rankings, birdied the 17th to take the sole lead.

He could have had another birdie at the last, but lipped out a 15-footer and settled for a round of 70.

Goydos, who posted a seven-under 209 total, was asked whether he had ever held the 54-hole lead before: "No, but I've only been on tour for 16 years," he quipped.

Goydos headed fellow American Kenny Perry (72) by one stroke, with Garcia alone in third place on four under.

Langer, who struggled on the back nine, shot 75 to slip back to two under with Americans Phil Mickelson and Jeff Quinney.

Garcia was not the only European to strike late trouble. Ian Poulter was hanging doggedly within striking distance of the lead until he struck major trouble at the final hole.

Buckinghamshire's Poulter pulled his drive into the lake and ran up a triple bogey, all but surrendering his victory chances in one hole.

"It was a poor tee shot," Poulter said after plunging seven shots off the pace. "I'm burning right now but what can you do? I'm not going to hang myself because of a bad tee shot on 18."

Meanwhile, Luke Donald, the only British player other than Poulter to make the cut, was cruising along nicely until he made a weak bogey at the par-four 12th.

He promptly dropped three more shots over the difficult closing stretch to shoot a disappointing two-over-par 74.

"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."

Donald, a member of the past two victorious European Ryder Cup teams, is no certainty to make this year's side. He began working on some swing changes late last year and admits they have not yet quite gelled.

"It's getting closer," he said. "I'm starting to control the ball more. Hopefully it's going to be better and more consistent throughout."

Donald has added a couple of European Tour events to his schedule next month. He will play the International Open in Germany, and the following week's French Open.