Xander Schauffele will take a one shot lead into the final round of the 50th PLAYERS Championship after he fired a moving day 65 at TPC Sawgrass.
Halfway leader Wyndham Clark saw his four shot lead disappear after a third round of 70 and he now lies in second place, one shot behind Schauffele, but a day of low scoring has condensed the field with five shots separating the top-7.
It’s the putter that has made the difference for Schauffele this week, ranking 5th in strokes gained putting and he rolled in his fair share of putts on Saturday including seven birdies in a bogey-free round to climb to -17.
“I only hit two fairways on the back nine. I was just told that on radio. Don’t feel bad for me. When you make 58-footers, you kind of get up-and-down on holes like 18 from the front rough, it takes a little bit of stress off certain parts of your game.
“All in all, it was a bit of a grind. Wind was swirling a little bit for both of us, for everyone out there on the back nine. Just was happy to stay in it and move on moving day.”
The world number 6 is looking for his first win of the 2024 season and what would be the biggest victory of his career.
“Yeah, the most pressure I put on myself is the pressure I put on myself, more than anything else. I hold myself to a pretty high standard at times, and sometimes it’s not good to do that during the middle of the round. You’ve got flick on the self belief and positivity versus sort of wondering why you’re not doing what you’re supposed to be doing. So, yeah, stay in my lane, like I’ve said a few times.”
Reigning US Open champion, Clark, wasn’t quite himself on the golf course and saw his advantage disappear after finding the water on the famous par-3 17th.
He did however, show the mental grit that won him his major title in LA last year, rolling in a seven-footer for a crucial bogey which keeps him in the final group and avoided a disaster double.
“It’s unfortunate on a hole that’s so iconic and has a bunch of trouble to have kind of your worst swing of the day. But yeah, I followed it with a great swing and a great putt. I’m in the final group tomorrow, which is huge.
“I’m hoping that’s a huge point in the tournament and we look back after tomorrow and look at that hole and say, hey, that was maybe the shot and the putt that meant it all.
“I think everyone kind of has one round where they have to really grind it out and make those par putts and bogey putts or whatever it is. I felt like that was today. I’m hoping tomorrow I’ll wake up laser locked-in focused and can go have an awesome round and hopefully have a great finish here.”
Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy’s back nine charge faltered thanks to his third double bogey of the tournament.
There’s been plenty of good stuff from the 2019 PLAYERS champion and he is just the second player to make 21 or more birdies/eagles through three rounds of the tournament.
Remarkably, the trails by eight shots on nine-under after a 69.
Shane Lowry remains on three-under after a 72 while Seamus Power props up the field on three-over after a bruising 78.
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