Staff Reporter.
JJ Spaun takes a one-shot lead into the final round of The Players, as Rory McIlroy’s late birdie kept him in contention after a day where conditions caused chaos at TPC Sawgrass.
Spaun holed a dramatic 25-foot putt to save par on the final hole of his third-round 70, putting him at 12 under ahead of compatriot Bud Cauley, with Lucas Glover three back in tied-third alongside Alex Smalley and overnight co-leader Akshay Bhatia.
McIlroy was playing alongside Spaun and briefly within one of the lead until three bogeys in a six-hole stretch on the back nine, where strong winds left players struggling, before a closing birdie salvaged a one-over 73 and put him within four of the lead.
The world No 2 – chasing a second Players Championship victory – is tied-fifth with Bhatia and Corey Conners on eight, while Scottie Scheffler heads into the final day seven behind as he chases a historic three-peat at the PGA Tour’s flagship event.
The threat of thunderstorms has seen tee times brought forward for Sunday’s final round, with players going out in threeballs and under a two-tee start from 8am local time (midday GMT).
McIlroy, speaking to Sky Sports, said: “I felt like I played better than I scored. Every dropped shot I felt like was soft. I three-putted the fifth, 13th and the 17th. I also took four to get down from not very far away on 12.
“I controlled my ball well apart from that. It’s just unfortunate that I had a couple of sloppy mistakes from around the greens – I feel like I left a lot out there. At the same time, I’m not too far away and it was nice to birdie the last at least.”
Spaun, looking for his first PGA Tour title since 2022, said: “I tried my best to hit solid shots, that’s all you can do with this amount of wind. The majority of time I hit the fairway and, if not, I scrambled really well and made some putts which was key.”
“I’ve just got to address it as another round. I know what is at stake – I’ve won on tour before – and I’ve had the attitude that I’ve got nothing to lose, which has been working out so far this week. I’ve just got to keep that rolling into tomorrow.”